Updating your iPad to iOS 4.2 now, GM2 that is
Can’t wait for the official release of iOS 4.2 for the iPad? Well, if you are daring enough to take the risk of installing non-official firmwares, then you can get it today!
I’m sure you’re aware that the GM (Gold Master) candidate for iOS 4.2 has been out since last week. But if you might also be vary that there were some bugs in the GM release, specifically for the iPad on some issues with the WiFi. But now that the build 2 of the iPad’s iOS 4.2 GM has been released to the developers, is it safe to update your very own iPad then?
History tells us that generally, the official release of the iDevice firmwares have generally been the same build as the GM release. And since I figured that Apple would have taken the chance to fix all the bugs found in the first GM before they release GM2, I went on to a certain site to download the latest GM (build 8C134b) and immediately proceeded to option+restore (shift+restore on Windows) my iPad with the latest firmware.
How did it fare? Well, I’ve to say that the GM2 release of the iOS 4.2 for the iPad worked without any major kinks so far. WiFi connectivity is working perfectly and I’ve not experienced any major crashes on the iPad yet.
Also, all the features expected of the iOS 4.2 worked too. The multitasking bar looks really great and I love the fact that I can now easily control the brightness of the iPad directly from the bar. Oh can I say folders is also awesome on the iPad?
Unified inbox is also one of my most missed feature on the iPad having used it a lot on my iOS 4.1 iPhone 3GS.
So… if you’re wondering whether or not you should update it to iOS 4.2? I’d say if you know what you’re doing, go for it!
Getting all the iOS 4.2 features on the iPad is worth the risk. And even if you manage to fail the firmware upgrade (like I initially did), the risk of bricking the iPad is still relatively low. Just get the iPad into the restore mode and start over. Just make sure you do a full backup of the iPad BEFORE you attempt to update it to iOS 4.2.
Oh and make sure you’ve updated your iTunes to 10.1 too! iOS 4.2 needs iTunes 10.1 to work.
Update: And one more thing. If the restore from backup takes forever, don’t worry. It’ll complete itself eventually. My ~15GB filled iPad took about roughly about 2 hours to complete the restore from my backup.
