iPad 1: Fancy a revive?

Here's a little guide to revive that original iPad 1 into acceptable working order and beyond... yes even in 2014.

ASSUMPTIONS:
- using an iPad 1
- fully charged the iPad before making any updates/tweaks
- you made the mistake to upgrade past iOS 4.3.3 (the most stable iOS for the iPad 1) and are now stuck on iOS 5.1.1 or you're happy to update to 5.1.1
- you're fine with apps crashing now and then
- all your personal data is backed up and hence you're happy to wipe the iPad memory clean
- you have a basic understanding of jailbreaking, iTunes and iOS settings
- you follow these instructions at your own risk

After upgrading to iOS 5.1.1 you might find a lot of apps will crash and close down and even new apps in the App Store aren't compatible. Not to worry, there's always a way.


STEP 1:
Plug the iPad into your computer and from iTunes hit RESTORE then choose to setup as a new device
- this will help lower the rate of app crashes but not eliminate it
- I had to perform three restores before Safari ran somewhat stable
- some folks online report no crashes after a restore so you might get lucky
- test apps and Safari (i.e. on heavy websites like YouTube, Google Images, etc) to see if they're running more stable but if not then repeat the restore
- apps will still manage to crash but no where near as easy as they did initially

STEP 2:
Download Absinthe for iOS 5.1.1 and follow the instructions to Jailbreak your iPad
- I used version 2.0.4 for Windows
- make sure iTunes is not running while Absinthe runs
- there are lots of videos online showing the process but it's literally one press of a button and incredibly simple

STEP 3 & 4:
I've removed these steps to follow the new forum rules regarding Jailbreaking, as it involves adding a Cydia repo for the sole purpose off installing an app which gives you access to older versions of apps. The older version apps in question are free but they are copywrited material so I'll air on the side of caution.

STEP 5:
In Cydia search for AppSync for 5.x+ and install
- without this you can't install any apps outside of the appstore
- it may already be installed

Now we have a blank canvas ready to install our apps and tweaks.

-= APPS =-
* GMail v2.2.0
* iBooks v3.1.2
* Netflix v4.1
* XBMC v 1.0 - change skin to 'confluence' to add channels

Search for those using the app you installed in STEP 4, just hit the history button and scroll down to find older versions and select to install. These apps are free to install in the app store but will not install due to your unsupported iOS version 5.1.1 so installing the specified version number will get around that issue


-= CYDIA TWEAKS =-
* Quasar - run apps in windows (i.e. watch Netflix while browsing )
* NCSettings - an SBSettings alternative in notifications window
* f.lux - add a red filter to the screen to help eye strain in the dark
* Activator - customize button/gesture operation
* SBSettings - easily accessed hotkeys


I bought the apps below from the regular app store and found them to still run smooth but very occasionally crash.

-= PAID APPS =-
* Alien Blue v2.1.1
* PLEX v3.5.1
* Angry Birds HD v3.4.1
* Figure v1.4
* Reckless Racing 2 v1.1.1
* Skyfire (flash browser on iOS) v36190
* Splashtop


That's it! I could just about use the iPad 1 before but without the ability to install older apps it was cumbersome and somewhat pointless... now I 'almost' prefer to use it over my iPad Air!

"almost"

Good post. It's good to keep the iPad 1 in reserve for all those apps that don't like iOS 8.

Thanks mate!

There's not too much information out there about circumventing iOS 5.1.1 issues so I figured why not forward the information I found manually to help others, be that to tinker or even to buy and use a cheap tablet.

It does sound ridiculous but I haven't touched my iPad Air since setting this up. It's really nice playing media while browsing and getting f.lux filter to dim the screen. The additional media options are great too with XBMC and flash content using Skyfire. It's just a shame that apps still crash.

Why does it crash so much. Low ram or the 5.1.1 update?

I'd be happy with using it for basic things only for the crashes. I've restored our one a few times, but its still crashes a lot, when browsing.

Keep trying STEP 1 because I noticed a marked improvement on the third attempt and some claim to experience no crashes at all.

It's definitely the 5.1.1 update causing instability. iPad 2 used an additional CPU core, had twice as much RAM and was launched on iOS 4.3 so it's no surprise iOS 5.1.1 is unstable on an iPad 1.

Such a shame we can't install 4.3.3 without device unique blops but it was completely stable and is still considered the best iPad 1 iOS release.

Can't say I have any real issues with crashing on mine running 5.1.1 and it still gets daily use (in fact posting this from it)

That's crazy, did you ever need to perform a restore to factory settings?

I'll have to try the rest a few times. I think this has got worse since I reset it. The app store and safari crash a lot.

I don't think I've ever done a restore to factory settings ...

I've noticed that using the Quasar tweak has helped the most unstable apps (Safari, Reddit Blue, etc) from crashing when running in a window!

If I hit the 'Full Screen' button then it still crashes as frequently but I've grown to just manually expanding the window to full screen and it doesn't crash any where near as much.