iOS 8.4.1 has again come to the fore with Tihmstar releasing a jailbreak for it. But is it still worth installing in 2017! Let’s find out below.

Why is iOS 8.4.1 getting popular?

It has been already been over two years since iOS 8.4.1 was released. With the release of iOS 11, iOS 8 firmware is now considered “legacy”.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, its popularity has skyrocketed in the past few days. The two major reasons behind this are –

• Untethered jailbreak
• Untethered downgrade (without SHSH Blobs)

If you would like to downgrade your 32-bit device to iOS 8.4.1, check this tutorial out. It works for every iOS device except the iPhone 5c.

If you are wondering whether or not you should downgrade, here are a few pros and cons to keep in mind.

Pros

1. Fully Untethered Jailbreak

Untethered jailbreak tools are getting scarce now just because they are too valuable.

Whenever such a jailbreak drops, people go crazy even if it downgrading to an older version. This is exactly what has happened with iOS 8.4.1 firmware.

You can now enjoy an untethered jailbreak on iOS 8.4.1 with EtasonJB.

2. Better Performance

As soon as you downgrade, you will notice an instant performance boost on your device. This happens because older versions are designed specifically for the older hardware.

As you start climbing the firmware ladder, the newer versions begin to get optimized more for newer hardware.

3. Battery Life

Battery life is another aspect that you must keep in mind before installing a new firmware. This is one aspect that is almost bound to get a boost once you downgrade.

If your device is running out of juice on iOS 9.3.5, I recommend you downgrade it to iOS 8.4.1 as soon as possible.

Cons

1. Limited App Compatibility

Since iOS 8.4.1 is over 2 years old, having app compatibility issues is evident. A lot of popular apps no longer support iOS 8 and require you to update to iOS 9 or later versions.

You can solve this issue by installing the LowerInstall Cydia tweak once you jailbreak your device.

This amazing tweak lets you install newer apps on older iOS versions without a hitch. However, apps that require new APIs to run properly will still not be compatible.

2. Limited Tweak Compatibility

Apart from App Store apps, most Cydia tweaks no longer provide support for iOS 8. Forget iOS 8, most of the developers aren’t even releasing tweaks for iOS 9 any longer.

iOS 10 is where it’s at right now! You go any lower than that, you are bound to face compatibility issues.

3. Buggy Jailbreak

Tihmstar’s EtasonJB (RC2 version) is riddled with bugs right now.

Nothing too ridiculous, but it can break Springboard’s functionality on your device. Here’s a fix for those of you who are facing this error. Thankfully, developer Angelxwind is working on it and will release a fix soon.

You can also check out my firmware recommendation for 32-bit devices here.

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