29th Feb bug in Numbers?

[Ian Bond]

G'day from Australia. New to forum.
My device usage spreads across PC, Android & Mac.
I'm an iPad Mini user, NOT a guru!

BACKGROUND
I was bequeathed this (older) iPad Mini 2
Ipad Mini 2 - Model No ME828X/A | iOS 12.4.5 | Numbers v5.2.1
As far as I know everything is up to date.

As far as spreadsheets go, my usage is very simple, 14 months of data uses about 35KB of file space.
Been using Numbers to track & plot medical stuff like sleep apnoea, blood glucose levels, weight etc.
iPad Mini & Numbers has been perfect for over a year, but recently Numbers has slowed to a crawl (like ... up to 10 seconds just to re-position the graph). Other apps are quite OK and response speed is good.

PROBLEM
I could work with slow Numbers until ...
January 28th I was able to enter data as usual.
January 29th when I tap the keyboard symbol, Numbers freezes and after about 10-15 seconds Numbers shuts down completely. Black screen for about 5 seconds, then the home screen.
March 1 and thereafter simply can't add data to Numbers.

1 Has anyone else experienced this behaviour by Numbers and, if not
2 what am I doing wrong?

I've tried another simple spreadsheet app (Utility Spreadsheet v7.3.7 from Luminent Software) and entering data on 29th Feb and later is quite OK. To me this says the problem is within Numbers, not iOS.

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Regards,
Ian

 

[BikeFlagAZ]

Strange. I would back up my data and try reinstalling Numbers.

 

[alexm1]

Have you tried a hard reset, hold the home button and the on/off switch together until the Apple logo appears then release, once the iPad reboots it may well be fixed.

 

[Ian Bond]

Thanks for suggestions BikeFlagAZ and alexm1 - is appreciated.

Yes, done a number of hard resets, alexm1, and the Numbers continued behaving badly - well - not at all actually. :-(
Data was already backed up to iCloud, presumably initiated by previous owner?
Deleted and re-installed Numbers, BikeFlagAZ , and am pleased to say the keyboard is now usable but, if anything, Numbers is even slower than I remember before the 29th crash.
Unacceptably slow.
The blurb on the app store said this version of Numbers is suitable for my device. Huh!
I think it is time for Numbers and me to part ways.

Anyway, thanks again for your help.
Best regards, Ian

PS Ummmm ... how do I add a 'Thanks' to your posts?

 

[J. A.]

Welcome to iPad Forums!

If the iPad has been removed correctly from the previous owner’s iCloud account, backing up your data was not initiated by him/her. That feature has to be enabled when you’re setting up your own iCloud ID, as far as I remember.

Make sure your iPad is not connected to the former owner’s iCloud ID any more. We’ve already seen lots of users asking how to unlock an iDevice locked by iCloud’s Activation Lock, which is impossible, btw.
If you find an iCloud ID other than yours, ask the previous owner to remove it from their ID.

I’ve noticed you’ve already liked one of the replies above. That’s the way we add “Thanks” to a post on iPad Forums.

 

[Ian Bond]

Thanks J.A. for reply and info.
A bit naughty of me, I guess, to not explain fully. The Mini was my partner's and, so we could both access the same apps and data, we kept everything in her account.
So, your explanation now makes sense to me as to how stuff was already on the iCloud.

I forgot to add to my second post above, that the two suggestions sounded VERY 'Windoze'-ish. I thought Apple products were immune to needing re-boots and software re-installations!
All I need now is the iPad to have the classic BSOD! Ctrl(Command)-Alt-Delete, anyone? [Couldn't resist that! Hehehe!]

Anyway, thanks again J.A.
Best regards,
Ian

 

[Ian Bond]

Just in case anyone's interested ... re super slow Numbers ...
Removed the graph and all hidden columns (no longer needed).
While scrolling the spreadsheet around is still jerky, but nowhere as bad as previously.
Looks like Numbers is pushing iPad 2 to its limits?

 

[twerppoet]

Not too surprising. The Numbers app is far more powerful than it was when the iPad 2 came out. And, it sounds like you’ve pushed the spreadsheet further than most early uses of numbers ever reached.

It might be time to upgrade. The new iPad 7 isn’t terribly expensive, and crazily more powerful than the iPad 2.

 

[Ian Bond]

Not too surprising. The Numbers app is far more powerful than it was when the iPad 2 came out. And, it sounds like you’ve pushed the spreadsheet further than most early uses of numbers ever reached.
It might be time to upgrade. The new iPad 7 isn’t terribly expensive, and crazily more powerful than the iPad 2.

Thanks for comments, Twerppoet.
Bugger! Sorry - my mistake - I left out "mini" - it's an iPad Mini 2.
But, either way, yes - the poor old Mini 2 is really struggling with Numbers.
I agree Numbers is a VERY powerful bit of spreadsheet app and I couldn't find anything in the App Store that came even close to its functionality.
I've decided the way around all this is to just enter the data into Numbers (far more convenient), do a little bit of data manipulation (Averaging, etc) so I can see how I'm going, then export as CSV and do the graphing, etc in Open Office on the PC.

Actually ... SWMBO has just suggested SHE'LL get the new iPad and I can have her old iPad ....

Thanks again everyone who contributed their thoughts and suggestions.
Best regards,
Ian

 

[twerppoet]

Well, Microsoft’s Excel exceeds Numbers in capabilities, but I just don’t like it. I find Numbers easier to use, and powerful enough for my few projects. None of which are as large as yours.

Note: I do have Excel (and Word, and PowerPoint, etc) with a personal Office 365 subscription. I keep it because some of the organizations I volunteer with insist on using it, and it’s too much trouble finding workarounds.

Congrats on your new-to-you iPad; if thats how things roll.

 

[Ian Bond]

Hehehe! Off topic, but ...

Ummmmm .... and OpenOffice or Libre Office exceeds anything from Micro$haft.
I have yet to find the limits of these suites. No work-arounds, guaranteed.
Both open and save documents in propriety M$ formats, or Open Document formats, and save to PDF.
You'll also save heaps as these office suites are FREE. Need I mention they are available for Macs? And Linux?

You might have guessed I don't like M$ software products, either - except, ironically, their hardware has NEVER let me down.

But ... but ... but ... I don't WANT a big iPad!
Maybe if I'm good Santa will bring me a NEW iPad Mini for Christmas.
[Poomph - there goes the dream. I don't believe in Tinkerbell, either.] LOL!

See Ya