It was one week ago today that Apple released iOS 8 to the public, and while Apple’s own numbers show 46% of all iOS devices are now running the new mobile operating system, some users are reporting issues with slow Wi-Fi speeds, short battery life, and more.
As outlined by PCMag, iOS 8 users on the Apple support forums have been complaining about Wi-Fi problems in a thread that now spans multiple pages, an issue that was confirmed by the site’s own testing.
Multiple devices have been reported to be bitten by the Wi-Fi bug, including the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus, the iPad Air, the Retina iPad mini, and more.
One user reported “sluggishness” with his new iPhone 6 when connected to his home Wi-Fi in New York. Twitter and Instagram “took forever” to appear, and Safari would hang when opening a news site. The user performed a speed test using the Ookla Speedtest app, and the test showed a mere 0.01 Mbps download and 1.05 Mbps upload. Minutes later, another test jumped up to 4.75 Mbps download and 0.24 upload, but a third test was again at 0.02 Mbps download and 0.76 upload.
Some users report success in fixing the problem by going to “Privacy” -> “Location Services” -> “System Services” and disabling Wi-Fi Networking.
This author has also experienced the Wi-Fi issues, with downstream speeds on my home network fluctuating from 9 Mbps up to 28.7 Mbps when testing with the Ookla app on my iPhone 5s. Disabling Wi-Fi Networking made no discernible difference for me.
Battery drain issues are also being reported, with users on the Apple Support forums complaining of batteries draining much faster than usual. Users report their battery going from 100% to zero in four hours with minimal usage. (As for battery life, I haven’t experienced any noticeable changes in time between charges on my device.)
MacRumors readers report other issues related to iOS 8, and users are are posting a list of bugs in the site’s forums.
Apple is reported to already be working on an update for iOS 8 that will be available in the near future. While the update will bring support for Apple Pay, and other promised features, the update will also likely contain fixes for some of the bugs that have been reported so far.
Are you experiencing similar issues with your device when running iOS 8? Please, tell us in the comments section below what issues you’re experiencing.
