My first iPad is Mini 2

[TechnicGeek]

Hi there! iPad 2 Mini is my first iPad. While I did expect version 7 of iOS, it came with version 10.0.2

I heard that the earlier versions are faster and newer versions make this model slower which prompted me to find out if I can downgrade to earlie versions. It seems that I can't actually?

Another reason is related to usability, specifically size of fonts. They are very small and cause strain on my eyes. I increased font size in settings which helps for general menus but for applications it did not really make a noticeable difference. Since my main acitivity is browsing websites, I cannot find option that allows me to increase font size. In my research I found out that I need to use console and enter special command for that. Does this sound complicated or what?

I will be glad if someone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks.

 

[J. A.]

Welcome to iPadForums!

Apple is signing iOS 10.2 currently. You can't install a different software version than the one(s) signed by Apple. It's possible to update to 10.2, if 10.0.2 is installed on your iPad, but it's impossible to revert to an earlier iOS version.

Some apps allow a two-finger gesture to enlarge their content. Put thumb and pointer on your iPad's screen, and slide them away from each other. To revert this, slide them together again. That's called "pinch to zoom".

 

[TechnicGeek]

Impossible even with jailbreak or some hack?

Pinch-to-zoom? Yes, I know this. But you can't pinch-to zoom interface itself, text and icons. It's webpage that is only zoomable.

 

[twerppoet]

Addressing text size issues, when changing the system font size doesn't help.

The ability to pinch zoom (or double tap on text to expand columns) helps in Safari and a few other apps; but you probably already knew this. Some sites lock in the the font size (often painfully small), and little beyond my last suggestion can help there.

If you are reading an article in Safair look for the lines icon in the URL bar. If you tap this the text will be converted to a more readable format, and you'll find some text size and theme contorls in the URL bar. I'm not sure when this change happend. I'm on iOS 10.2.

Under Settings > Genreal > Accesibilty you will find the Zoom feature. This can be used anywhere on the iPad. It's not ideal, but it works. Be sure to read the descriptions of all the options and gestures there.

Also check out the Accesibbility Shortcut options at the bottom of the Accessibilty feature page. This lets you turn Zoom on and off with a tripple click of the Home button.

 

[TechnicGeek]

Here is the forum post I found earlier about usig console: How do I adjust the FONT SIZE on Safari 10? | Official Apple Support Communities

Is it possible to do?

 

[J. A.]

That's for Safari on a Mac. iOS works different.

 

[twerppoet]

Another option is to use a third party browser. There are a lot of them, and one is bound to have the ability to change font sizes.

iCab Mobile does (burried deep in it's settings); but their FAQ acknowldeges that the feature is broken in iOS 10, and likely to remain that way until Apple fixes a bug.

Chrome, and Puffin (my other two standbys) do not appear to have a font size settings. Atomic, one of my favorites of old seems to have disappeared from the App Store.

I've never used them it, but both the Dolphin and Mercury browsers are popular. Or used to be. It might be worth your time to see if they have a font size setting.

 

[Jupiter7]

Dolphin has options for Default, Medium and Large font sizes.