What can we do now that Facebook iPad app crashes on launch after update?

A family member today updated the Facebook app on a 3rd generation iPad (retina display) running iOS 5 and now the app crashes every time one tries to launch it. We've tried rebooting the device, deleting and reinstalling the app, and angrily glaring at the machine.

The old version worked. Is there a way to go back to the old version, to make the new version work, or to somehow solve this problem? We'd rather not upgrade to iOS 6 as part of the solution. iCloud backups are off; I don't know if there's some sort of local backup on our computer or not, or what we'd do if that were the case.

Solution 1:

Sadly, unless you have a computer with that accounts signed version of the old Facebook app, you can't get the old version from the iTunes Store.

Deleting the app should have removed all preferences, so you can only make sure the crashes are being reported to Apple and hope the app is popular enough to get a bug fix rapidly.

To restore the old app from a computer, be sure to delete the faulty app before connecting the iPad to the computer. Then add the Facebook app from the computer being careful to not update it there.