iOS 6: to upgrade or not?

By Shane, 20 September, 2012

Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Hi Everyone, It seems that I've been hearing mixed things about the new iOs 6 with varius bugs and such. I'm sure though it varies from phone to phone. My question is should I upgrade now or wait until n update is available? Also, if I upgrade and it proves to be full of bugs, can I roll back to 5.11, and how would I do this? Finally, I read where its better to upgrade through iTunes on the pc rather than through the phone because of various differences. What are they if any and how would one do this through iTunes on the pc? Or does it matter which way you upgrade? Thanks for any feedback, Shane.

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Comments

By Lisa on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 23:30

Honestly, I really haven't encountered any problems since I upgraded. I've heard about a couple of bugs, but haven't encountered them myself. None of the bugs I've heard about seemed problem enough to wait for the next update, so I upgraded. I didn't use ITunes, I used the over-the-air update on my phone, and I didn't have any issues. I did, however, plug it in to a power outlet to make sure it didn't run out of battery during the update. I'm not sure if you can restore back to 5.1 once the upgrade is complete, but I don't imagine you'll need to do so.

I haven't upgraded and I probably will not for a few weeks or months. Why? Because I am running a jailbreak iOS 5.1.1 iPhone. Many of the new things you get with iOS 6 I can already do with iOS 5.1.1. In fact, there are things that iOS 6 won't do still. Below are some of my favorite things I can already do with iOS 5.1.1.

  • Total Google Voice integration in phone calls and sending/receiving text messages.
  • Use Siri to open or launch apps.
  • Use Siri to post to Twitter and Facebook.
  • Use Siri to toggle things like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Air Plane mode, Location, and Data.
  • Post to Facebook or Twitter from the Notification screen.
  • Send a picture from the camera roll to Facebook or Twitter.
  • Customize my status far.
  • Customize my lock screen.
  • Use 5 rows of icons on the home screen.
  • Use 5 or more icons per row, in the dock, and in the task switcher.
  • Add more than 12 apps per folder.
  • Much much more.

I realize that by not upgrading I will not get the new Apple Maps feature and the Passbook feature, but eventually a jailbreak for iOS 6 will be available and I will consider it then. In the mean time, I already have many things which I can enjoy with iOS 5.1.1. The same was true when I reamined on iOS 4.3.3 for several months before jumping to iOS 5. Eventually when 5 came out I saw that it had many of the existing jailbreak features that I was already enjoying with 4.3.3. So, this is no different.

Jailbreak isn't for everyone, but just to be clear, the process is completely reversable, and legal.

By Raul A. Gallegos on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 23:30

Shane, to answer your question, if you want the new features, all jailbreak stuff aside, I would recommend you upgrade. It will be safe to do so from the pc or over Wi-Fi. Apple is good about fixing bugs and from what I've read so far, iOS6 is very good and very stable, so it will be fine. I just choose not to for the reasons outlined in my prior post.

Hi Raul, Couple questions. First, for whatever reason, I didn't get your reply in email, but I got your second one i had to look on the site to get this one. Secondly, when I go to comment or start a new topic, I have trouble bringing up the keyboard to write. Wonder why? Thirdly, I guess its more of a user preference issue, but is it better for me to upgrade through iTunes or over the air? They say over the air changes the Os verses iTunes does it from scratch. I've always upgraded via OTA. Wonder why I didn't get the email you sent Raul? And when I go to comment or post a new topic, like I said, I hear comment star, and double tapping doesn't always bring up the keyboard. Any clue? Others feel free to chime in. Thanks, Shane

By Lisa on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 23:30

There is no difference in IOS when you upgrade over the air, or use ITunes. The only thing that's different is one requires you to be connected to the computer, and the other does not. It doesn't change the end result. I personally prefer over the air, because I don't like the hassle of having to hook the device to my computer and muck around in ITunes.

By Dom on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 23:30

Hi, if you were to upgrade to IOS6, the only way you can downgrade to a previous version is if you have your SHSH blobs saved in a custom .ipsw file, (apple has stopped signing signatures for IOS 5 now.) sense IOS 6 is out. I could still downgrade to IOS 5, sense I saved my SHSH blobs a long time ago. And these signature files are impossible to obtain, you can't share signature files between each other, as well. Its really kind of hard to explain

By Dave Nason on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 23:30

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
Hi. Unless you're very worried about a few niggly little bugs, which you can read about on this site, I see no reason not to update myself. I'm happy with it anyway. Over the air is far easier as far as I'm concerned, just plug the phone in to the charger. I have no idea what that SHSH stuff is all about though, so can't help on the rolling back question.

By Bahzad on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 23:30

Posting comments to this website is a bit problematic with regard to an iOS device. I have to fiddle around with some of the edit boxes in order to properly comment on anything. In the past I have posted about this issue, and I understand that it is simpler if you have a Bluetooth keyboard. However, there might be a solution if you do not: After you write your subject in the subject line (that should not give you a difficult time, as it doesn't for me), Navigate to the comment field and turn voiceover off. Tap the middle or lower half of your screen To trigger the keyboard. You should hear a click, which indicates that your keyboard is up. Type or dictate your comment, then double tap the submit button. Be careful not to leave the edit box in which your comment will be written, because you might have to perform the process over. Hope this helps you.

I also have trouble posting comments to this website using an iphone 4 and a a bluetooth braille display. My solumention is to only fill out the comment portion and leave the subject blank. For some reason I can only click on one edit field and then after that all other edit fields on thepage will not open.

By Kathy Blackburn on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 23:30

I had trouble when I updated from version 4 to version 5, and I'm having the same problems trying to update from Version 5.1 to Version 6. I have tried the wireless update and updating through iTunes. Apps don't get transferred. Last time, it took me days to re-download each app manually. Hoping for a quicker resolution this time, I called Apple support. I didn't want to keep the advisor on the phone while iTunes took an hour to complete the Restore from Back-up. I have left 3 voicemails for the advisor since the restore from back-up supposedly completed. He must have had to leave the office or something. I can use the phone for basic things, but a lot of my travel, social networking, and reading apps didn't get restored to the phone, even though I can see them in iTunes, both on the phone and on the PC. Updates need to come with the disclaimer, "Don't try this at home!"

By nano junky on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 23:30

Wel, yes there is no difference, but what I like from doing it in itunes, is that you always get feedback from the pc side as to how far its going, but if you update over wifi, then once the update start instaling, you have no speech, and you have to wait for it to finish and restart before VoiceOver come back on again, and its fine, but sometimes it take long and you then just would like to check the status wich then you con't do. But otherwise using wifi is great to update. The best thing is to leave it to do its thing and grab some coffee.

This step process works very well. I attempted to double tap the comment field and left the subject edit box empty, and I was able to comment without difficulties. Thanks for the information.