The iOS 14 update is out of beta testing which means iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users around the world can now download Apple’s new operating system.

Apple’s decision to push iOS 14 to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus came as a bit of a surprise given their age. They were released all the way back in 2015.

The company’s decision means iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users now have another full year of software support to look forward to. That might convince some people to skip the iPhone 12 and hold onto their aging phone for another year or more.

The iPhone 6s’ iOS 14 update is a big one. The new operating system comes with a long list of changes including new features, under-the-hood improvements, and security patches.

Many users have already made the jump to iOS 14 which means we’re starting to get feedback about the software’s performance. So far, a lot of it is good, but we’ve also heard about various bugs and performance issues.

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If you decide to install iOS 14 on your iPhone, note that it requires a ton of free space on your internal storage. It’s a 2GB+ download.

If you’re running an older version of iOS on your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus, your iOS 14 upgrade could be larger because the features and fixes from iOS updates you skipped are baked in.

With that in mind, we want to take you through the most important things to know, right now, about the iPhone 6s’ iOS 14 update.

Our walkthrough will take you through the software’s initial problems, the downgrade status, the iOS 14 jailbreak, and the iPhone 6 iOS 14 update’s performance.

We’ll start with the software’s performance. We’ve been testing iOS 14 on the iPhone 6s update for a short time and here’s what we’ve learned.

iPhone 6s iOS 14 Impressions & Performance

We recently installed the iOS 14 update on an iPhone 6s that was previous running iOS 13.7. The download and installation took quite awhile, more than 20 minutes, so that’s what you should expect if you decide to install it this week.

So far, the software’s performance has been excellent. iOS 14 feels faster than iOS 13. Animations and transitions are snappy and apps open up quickly.

While the user interface would sometimes lag on iOS 13, that hasn’t been the case on iOS 14. We haven’t noticed any lag in problem areas like Control Center, Notification Center, or the keyboard.

We’ve only been using the software for a short time, but battery life is stable. We haven’t seen any abnormal battery drain and that’s a good sign right out of the gates.

Our core applications, which include Slack, Asana, Spotify, Chrome, and Gmail, are all stable. The Netflix crashed once while trying to watch a show, but we’re not going to pin it on iOS 14 just yet.

Developers are rolling out iOS 14 support updates so if you’re having issues with one of your apps, make sure you’re running the latest version.

As of right now, iOS 14 is running smoothly on our phone. We haven’t run into any game-changing performance issues and we’ll let you know if that changes in the days ahead.

Right now we’re recommending iOS 14 to most iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users. If you’re feeling leery, have a look at our reasons to, and not to, install iOS 14 right now.

You Should Prepare for iOS 14

If you plan to install iOS 14 in the near future, make sure you prepare yourself, and the device, for the move.

While some of you might see a performance boost after moving up from iOS 13, others will run into trouble. This is why it’s important to prepare.

If you don’t know where to start, we’ve released a pre-installation guide that will take you step-by-step through the process we typically use before we install new iOS software on our iPhones. If you’re new to the iPhone and iOS, or you just want to play it safe, it could help.

At the very least you’ll want to make sure all of your data is backed up before you move your phone to the new operating system.

iPhone 6s iOS 14 Problems

We haven’t run into any major issues during our time on iOS 14, but many users have.

The current list of iOS 14 problems includes abnormal battery drain, UI lag, issues with first and third-party apps, Touch ID issues, touchscreen problems, Exchange issues, Wi-Fi issues, Bluetooth problems, and more.

This is only the beginning. You can expect the list to grow as more iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users upgrade to the new firmware.

If you’re nervous about the current state of iOS 14 problems, you might want to hang back and wait for Apple’s next batch of bug fixes. They should arrive soon.

How to Fix iPhone 6s iOS 14 Problems

If you run into an issue on iOS 14 you might be able to fix the problem(s) on your own.

If you don’t know where to start, our list of fixes for the most common iOS 14 problems is a great place to start.

If you’re noticing horrendous battery life after the move to iOS 14, our tips should help you improve battery life going forward. And if you’re experiencing bad performance (lag, slow download speeds, etc), take a look at our guide to fixing bad iOS performance.

iOS 13 Downgrade Open

If you move your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus to iOS 14, and you run into bugs or performance issues, you could try moving back to iOS 13.

Apple is currently signing on iOS 13.7 which means you can drop your iPhone’s software back in an attempt to improve its performance.

The company won’t sign on iOS 13 forever so if you really want to get your phone off of iOS 14, you’ll need to drop back soon. Once Apple stops signing on iOS 13.7, there won’t be a way back to the previous operating system.

If you’re unfamiliar with the downgrade process, take a look at our guide.

iPhone 6s iOS 14 Update: What’s New

The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus get a pretty stacked version of iOS 14. While the devices do miss out on a few features, the key features are all there.

Some of the highlights include Widgets on the home screen, improvements to Messages and Maps, the new Translate app, and a laundry list of changes to Siri.

We’ve put together a guide that will take you through some of iOS 14’s best features and it’s worth a look if you haven’t dug into the new operating system yet.

If you’re moving up from an older version of iOS 13 you’ll, again, get the features and fixes from the updates you skipped. We also have a guide that goes over the latest iOS 13 features and you should check it out if you’re running old software.

What’s Next for the iPhone 6s & iPhone 6s Plus

If your device is struggling on iOS 14, or you’re leery about upgrading, you won’t have to wait long for Apple’s first batch of bug fixes.

Apple recently told CNET that it is “aware of an issue that can impact default email and browser settings in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 and that a “fix will be available to users in a software update.” It didn’t call a version out by name.

The company recently confirmed an iOS 14.2 update and there’s also been chatter about an iOS 14.1 release alongside the iPhone 12 series in October. We could also see a fast iOS 14.0.1 release.

One way or another, we should see a new version of iOS 14 roll out soon and that’s great news for those of you looking to squash bugs or performance issues.

iPhone 6s iOS 14 Jailbreak

Developers have released an iOS 13 jailbreak tool that’s compatible with iOS 13.5 and older versions of iOS 13. However, we haven’t seen anything for iOS 14.

Earlier this year the developers behind the “unc0ver” jailbreaking tool released version 5.0.0. It’s compatible with iOS 13.5 and most versions of iOS that fall between iOS 13.5 and iOS 11.0.

It doesn’t work with iOS 12.3-12.3.2, iOS 12.4.2-12.4.5, or iOS 13.7-iOS 13.5.1. It doesn’t work with the current version of iOS 14 either.

We don’t know when or even if we’ll see a public iOS 14 jailbreak tool so keep your eyes peeled for new information as we push deeper into the month.

For more on the iOS 13 jailbreak, head here.

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