Which method do you prefer when performing Software Updates, via iTunes or OTA/wifi?

[conrad721]

Would be interesting to know which method you prefer, and why?.
I voted, iTunes. I think im oldschool who prefers hardwired.

 

[scifan57]

Would be interesting to know which method you prefer.

I usually use the OTA method.

 

[ogilley]

I usually use OTA. It is quicker and easier for me. It really doesn't matter unless you have plans to jail break.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[scifan57]

I usually use OTA. It is quicker and easier for me. It really doesn't matter unless you have plans to jail break.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

Right, SHSH blobs from an OTA update won't work for a jailbreak.

 

[AQ_OC]

OTA. Wired is so 2000.

 

[LannyC]

Wired, assuming this poll is about OS updates. I always prefer combo updaters over delta for system software. OTA for everyday app updates, though.

milliHelen: amount of beauty required to launch one ship.

 

[sjleworthy]

Wireless, for everything.

Because thats purely the way I'm set up. The only cable i use is the wall plug. Wireless might take longer, but I'm in no hurry

 

[LannyC]

For OS updates, it's not about speed, it's about decreasing the chance of a bad installation. The combo updater replaces the whole operating system from scratch, overwriting any files that won't change but may have become corrupted over time. Also, by downloading the package to iTunes and updating the iPad via cable, I am insulated from Internet problems possibly resulting in an incomplete installation (and perhaps a brick).

Call me paranoid, but in 20 years of Mac combo updates, I've never had a single problem, when others are reporting unbootable machines.

milliHelen: amount of beauty required to launch one ship.

 

[davidinvirginia]

Would be interesting to know which method you prefer, and why?.
I voted, iTunes. I think im oldschool who prefers hardwired.

I do Apps via iTunes, but system updates through Wi-Fi at work which is must faster than my home DSL.

 

[Talk2USoon]

Up until I started using iCloud to back up my entire music library, I swore by iTunes. Now OTA is just so much more convenient that there's no looking back.

 

[Sleaka J]

Major version updates (5.1.1 - 6.0) via iTunes.
Minor version updates (5.1 - 5.1.1 or 6.0 - 6.0.1) OTA.

 

[Hayles66]

over the air every time! for all updates. it is so quick now and to be honest, laptop and itunes sucks!

 

[f4780y]

...Also, by downloading the package to iTunes and updating the iPad via cable, I am insulated from Internet problems possibly resulting in an incomplete installation (and perhaps a brick).

Call me paranoid, but in 20 years of Mac combo updates, I've never had a single problem, when others are reporting unbootable machines.

Just to be clear, it is not possible to brick an iPad via a failed (or otherwise) installation of IOS software. The failsafes to prevent this cannot be corrupted via an IOS installation (even if interrupted). DFU mode to the rescue!
The only exception would be if it coincided with a simultaneous hardware failure, such as the failure of a portion of the flash storage, but in that case the update method is irrelevant. You can't cater for a failure in the hardware!

Since starting my Apple journey in 2007 I have personally never once come across a truly bricked iDevice which was not the result of a failed attempt to hack the baseband, and even then the total devices I have come across which have been bricked is 2, and these were both old iPhone's from "back in the day" when unlocking the baseband required a lot more "jiggery pokery" than it does now

And as to the question at hand, for me as a jailbreaker updates, OTA or otherwise, are completely off the table.
It's iTunes PC restores all the way!

 

[f4780y]

Right, SHSH blobs from an OTA update won't work for a jailbreak.

Almost

The APTicket component of any SHSH Blobs you save from Apple will not match the APTicket on a device which has been updated OTA, since the OTA process is subtly different. Remember, SHSH Blobs are not strictly about jailbreaking (they are simply a thing which jailbreakers, amongst other folks, are interested in).
SHSH Blobs are about restoring your device to a version of IOS which is not current, regardless of whether you are jailbroken or not (now or in the future).

For example, my wife has an iPad2 which she has not ever used in a jailbroken state. I do however diligently save SHSH Blobs for all our devices. When she recently installed IOS6 and decided she did not like it, I was able to use them to downgrade the device from IOS 6.0 back to 5.1.1, thanks to her saved blobs (all the way back to 4.x) and the fact that I had done the major IOS 6.0 update via iTunes on the PC!

So, it is more correct to say, you will not be able to use saved SHSH Blobs to restore a previous version of IOS on your device if it was updated via the OTA method, since the APTicket components will not match. You also may not be able to use saved SHSH Blobs if you have the factory installed version of IOS still on your device as the provisioning of IOS at the factory is subtly different from a normal IOS installation.

My advice to anyone who may be interested in maintaing or restoring an older version of IOS in the future is that you should use the iTunes restore method on your PC at least once when you install a major version of IOS, but ideally all the time and you should also download and use TinyUmbrella to your PC to save your blobs from Apple. It is not a guarantee of anything, but it gives you a potential lifeline in the future.
If that sort of thing is not important to you at all, then knock yourself out with OTA updates galore! They are, after all, simple and convenient!