I have an iPad 1. I barely used it when it was given to me and then it more or less sat unused apart from the occasional booting to see if it still works every few years.
I’m fairly sure it would still work today though I haven’t tried for about 3 years. Trouble is, it never got much use because when I got it from my Mum in 2012 it was already becoming obsolete and after about a year I couldn’t do basic web browsing because almost every site just crashed whatever browser I ran, none of the apps in the app store would work anymore and the bookshelf app (think that’s what it was called. Came with the tablet) I tried to use to make it basically an e-reader device stopped working. There were many similar issue I forget the specifics about but basically amounted to the hardware working fine but being mostly unusable even for old software.
I wondered if there were any good ways to make use of or generally rehabilitate this device. I had hoped there’d be a lot Linux options for something like this but it looks like the earliest model anyone made.any progress with was iPad 2.
Any suggestions besides picture frame?
Frisbee
sharpen the edges, and it’s a home defense weapon
Ninja star
A chopping board: https://youtu.be/U2gQE0J00UE?si=_AQeSokJG0B37plu
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Not too much. It’s 13 years old now. To put that in perspective, it would be like trying to use something from 1997 when the iPad 1 came out.
This was the tech of 1997 - https://www.cnet.com/pictures/this-was-the-hottest-tech-20-years-ago-in-1997/
Technically speaking you might be able to do something, but it wouldn’t be great and you’d really be forcing the use case. If you haven’t found a use for it after all these years, it’s probably time to part with it. You can see if they are worth anything to sell, if not, Apple has a recycling program.
I agree the iPad is almost completely useless, but I don’t think comparing it to 13 years before the iPad is useful. My MacBook Air is 11 years old and it’s still great because it’s good enough to run YouTube, all the major websites, office suites, etc. It’s still getting security updates from Apple. I think that’s what 90% of people use a laptop for. A computer two years older than it, on the other hand, might be useless. It’s not really linear. Hopefully, iPads from 5 years ago can last over a decade.
I think a general purpose computer can have a longer life than a device like the iPad, as it allow you to more easily run old stuff and find solutions that work. That’s harder to do with locked down hardware, and an App Store that only has current versions of apps, along with internet connectivity where security is a concern.
A computer from the 80s can still write a document. George R R Martin still uses DOS.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27407502
The first iPad can still do stuff with apps it has, but if you need a new app, or that app connects to the internet in any way, it’s very possible you’re out of luck.
These are good points. But I wonder if the longer life really comes from it being a general purpose computer per se. The points you make are more about the internet connectivity of the device. You can use a DOS machine in 2023 because it’s almost like an appliance. It works just as well now as a text editor as in the 90s. But an internet connected device has to be supported, and good enough for today’s processor intensive web apps. That general purpose DOS machine, like the first iPad, is never running Discord or Netflix.
Because they are a soulless profit-maximizing corporation, there will come a time when Apple stops supporting perfectly functioning iPads for no reason, but I’m not sure we’re there yet. The iPads they stopped supporting really do suck from a hardware perspective.
But I use my Tamagotchi everyday??
I would note that, because it’s so old and out of support for everything, anything you got running on it would be full of security vulnerabilities.
Like, do not connect this to a network you care about kind of vulnerable.
I’d frankly just find a way to recycle it safely and learn to do that earlier with devices you’re not using, so others can use them instead of just sitting in a closet. (It’s not like I’m not guilty of the same thing.)
What makes his 13 year old iPad a target for hackers ?
Software vulnerabilities that aren’t (and never will be) patched.
Anything with any computing power an internet connection can be a target. It will likely become a part of a bot net used to ddos, spam, or crack passwords. In addition, it’ll give hackers access to any accounts you’re logged in to, such as apple ID, email bank etc, so it could be further used to steal your identity or money.
Because it’s so old and full of vulnerabilities, it makes it an easy target. If it gets hacked, it’ll most likely be automatic process, without any intervention from the hacker, and there may be no signs that the device is infected.
Unethical Idea for OP: create a botnet to ddos, spam, mine crypto or hack passwords! Give life to your old iPad (and other people’s too!)
Devices that are no longer supported and kept up to date with security updates contain known, but unpatched, vulnerabilities. Some of them are software based, but some are a function of the hardware itself. Connect these to a network, manage to do something that gets them compromised, and you’ve given bad actors a foothold on your network.
Because most networks, especially home networks, tend to be configured in a way that trusts local network traffic more than external traffic, such a foothold can further compromise your systems. Very few people have the resources, or technical know-how to properly segregate potentially dangerous or vulnerable devices on a network.
That’s what.
I have a first gen ipad air and we use it as “the music ipad” for my kids. If you can’t get Spotify running, then you could fill it with mp3s and use it that way. If you don’t have kids, you could have it hooked to a bluetooth speaker in the kitchen where it could double up as a e-cookbook or notepad for shopping lists which could then easily be emailed to yourself for when you go out to do a shop
This is the kind of thing I was thinking of, it’s entirely within it’s capabilities when new. The frustrating thing is though that I’m not really sure how I’d actually do it now. I doubt I’d be able to get the Gmail app on there and it’d be a bit of a pain to plug it in to the computer to transfer files to it every time. Although maybe that’s not too onerous. I wonder I iTunes will still talk to it.
This is why I was wondering if there was something that could be done to breath some life in to it. I take what many of the responses have to say about it being really just too old, but the thing is, I’d like it to at least be useful for the things it used to be useful for in it’s day I find it frustrating that it’s artificially locked out of most of that, like the stupid e-reader app not working anymore when theoretically all it needs to do is facilitate payment and receipt of a file and then display text for me to read.
I kind of hoped there might be some means of putting a new OS on there that is light weight and would allow to do all the things it used to be able to do.
I recommend just data transfer through cable. Anything with an internet connection with this device is a security vulnerability
You can use the browser for email.
I wouldn’t expect Gmail or most web mail hosts to work in a browser that old. Maybe if you used Gmail in basic HTML mode.
Of course the software is a problem, but its hardware is the same as an iPhone 4. It has 256MB working memory. Most browsers take up that kind of ram four-fold to just have a window open. Although I do agree that any and all devices should have the freedom to run whatever software you want, even Linux would be having a hard time on a 800mhz processor with so little ram for anything other than basic terminal work.
Great insight! You must know a lot about Linux
You’re going to answer like a dick, you should at least provide some insight.
depending on your technical aptitude, you could wipe iOS and install linux, I’m sure there are projects allowing that.
then it can become a simple graphic terminal for smart home
home assistant is full similar pet project, with old kindles and tablet to control the server
Actually, that’s a good point, someone did mention this Home Assistant thing once before. That could be interesting. Trouble is I’m yet to find a Linux project that’s supposed to work on iPads quite this old. Makes sense, but it’s a shame. I think I’d have just about the ability and patience to install OS and roll with the punches when it inevitably requires some kind of finessing and fixing, but k definitely don’t have the ability to personally figure out how to make a kernel or distro that would work on this hardware. I’m guessing it’s not an iOS app or if it was, one that work on such on old iOS
When I Google “how to jailbreak iPad 1” there’s lots of results. Is it a problem with the operating system being too old?
That’s the root of most of the problems yes. Of course there’s the very limited hardware to contend with. I can’t do much about webpages being simply too big for the amount of RAM, but then again I like to think if I could run something more lightweight it could maybe squeeze a little more performance out of her. I know I could maybe jailbreak, but what to do then I’m not sure.
Like for example, would being able to run a later iOS help things or is it capped around v5.0 out of necessity more than just planned obsolescence?
I don’t think jailbreaking would allow you to upgrade your operating system, but you could download/install apps yourself instead of using the app store. That would allow you to use older apps that meet your system specs.
Oh. That sounds good. How do you get those apps? Are they like an alternate app store kind of thing like f-droid on android, is it just that permission isn’t needed to install just anything and apps can just be scavenged from the web and sideloaded?
Jailbreaking allows full access, so you can sideload and there’s an alternate app store called Cydia. Sometimes jailbreaking instructions will include installing it, or you may need to install it separately. You’ll also need legacy iTunes. I haven’t worked on anything quite that old but there are some YouTube tutorials still floating around.
Oh man I forgot all about Cydia, this is all taking me back. Thanks, this might be the more practical option. So basically I might hopefully be able to use it for the types of things it used to be used for but now can’t, because of non functioning obsolete apps, by downloading alternate apps from Cydia after jailbreaking?
I guess the only kink in that plan is the security implications of connecting it to a network that people keep mentioning. Is it really at great risk just by being on the internet or do you need to actually do something like stumble across a website that tries to do something malicious?
The two big risks with jailbreaking are:
- You’re running an old operating system that’s missing modern security updates.
- Any app you install or website you visit has easier access to your root files, as opposed to the “sandbox” approach for a non jailbroken device.
I wouldn’t recommend doing anything that requires your banking or personal info. This device should get its own apple account and if you need to pay for something, use a gift card. Only use jailbroken apps from trusted sources - after all this time, most sources that are malicious for older app versions should be easily identifiable with a little research. There is also iSecureOS which can check if you downloaded something bad or have a third party connected to your device.
The internet itself isn’t a risk, it’s what you do with it. Don’t use your device for general web browsing, don’t use the device outside of your home, don’t use the internet after the device is set up, and use iSecureOS regularly to check the health of your device. As long as it is set up correctly and you’re only using the iPad for one specific project, it should be fine.
If you have questions about how to jailbreak or where you can safely find apps, I’d recommend checking out https://www.reddit.com/r/jailbreak/
Play the demo for Tap Tap Revenge and Temple Run that’s what I did back when it was in style…
i use my ipad1 with soma.fm . I installed it like 2 years ago, so maybe you still could get the app from the store. When you asked to enter the verify code on the app-store you have to type in your password an then the verification code. See this old thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7392317
Groove Salad ftw
I use mine for a kitchen tablet. Basically it opens a web page where I have all my recipes and a unit converter.
I have an old iPad (not as old as yours but still at least 8-9 years old) that I use pretty much exclusively as a pdf reader. There are also some library apps that work with it but I don’t trust it too much on network so it’s mostly pdfs.
