GeorgeKaplan

US said:

Apple should test on all Apple items that may be downloding updates by customers. Then have a message that it will not work on certain models. Or a message stating you must download the update a specific way for it to work. I think sending updates out without these messages is irresponsible and should make Apple liable for customer Apple hardware failures. Just my view as a long time Apple customer.

Of course, it does. The download info included a list of iPods, iPads and iPhones which were deemed compatible. The 2nd-gen iPad was on that list. 

What is clear is that very few people chime in on sites like this to report success with updates. Most of the posts relate to failures, but it is risky to try to extrapolate the experience of all iPad owners just from the comments in a place like this. If it is 5% of 2nd-gen iPad owners who experience difficulty, it sucks to be in the 5% but it also obscures the 95% who had no problems. 

With my iPhone 6S and iPad Air, I had no qualms about doing an OTA update. With my 1st-gen iPad mini, I did full iTunes backup, wipe and restore. For me, that's the only smart way to do it. I wouldn't assume a device so relatively old would respond easily to any iOS 9 iteration.