How To Update iOS Software on Your Device

Apple releases iOS updates periodically for your device. You should periodically update your iPhone or iPad to the latest version of iOS to get the most out of your device. New iOS updates may offer new features, services and bug fixes.

This article explains how you can check and update your iOS version. This article includes three parts: (a) creating a backup (b) updating your device wirelessly (c) updating your device using iTunes.

A-Backup your device

The first thing you should do is to back up your iPhone or iPad before upgrading. You should do this because it is possible that you may lose your data in the updating process. There are two ways to do this. Here is how:

1-iCloud

1. On your device, connect to Wi-Fi (Settings > Wi-Fi)
2. Go to Settings > [your name], and tap iCloud.
3. Scroll down and tap iCloud backup.
4. And then tap Back Up Now.

2-iTunes

1. Open iTunes on your computer (Mac or Windows PC). (iTunes Has Stopped Working?)
2. Connect your device to your computer using your USB cable. (iTunes Not Recognizing Your Device?)
3. Follow onscreen instructions (you may need to enter your passcode etc).
4. Select your device.
5. Your device will appear in iTunes.
6. Select the “Encrypt iPhone/iPad Backup” option if you want to back up your Health and Activity data. If you do not want this, just click Backup Now. (what is iTunes backup password?)

B-Install the Latest Version of iOS Wirelessly

This is the easiest way. here is how:

1. On your device, connect to a Wi-Fi network.
2. Connect your device to a power source.
3. Go to Settings > General > Software Update.
4. Tap Download and Install.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions.

C-Install using iTunes

1. Connect your iOS device to your computer using the USB cable.
2. Open iTunes on your computer.
3. Select your device in iTunes.
4. Click the Summary button in the left pane.
5. Click the Check for Update button.
6. If there is an update available, you will be asked to download and install it.
7. Click Download and Update .
8. Follow onscreen instructions.

Fix an Updating Issue

• Not Enough Space Available: If you are getting this error message, you have two options: The first one is to try to clear space on your iPhone or iPad. You can check the storage by going to Settings > General > [Device] Storage. You may want to the remove apps, videos or other content to free up space. You may want to remove your old iCloud backups. The other option is that you can use iTunes to update your device.
• Unable to Install Update: Please see this article.
• A software update is required to connect to your iPhone (or iPad): Please see this article.
• If the update takes too long: It is possible that Apple’s update servers are down. You can check system status.
• Some Files Were Unavailable Error: Please see this article.

One last note: You can update automatically by turning this feature on so that you do not need to worry about future updates. To do this, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates. If you enable this, iOS updates will be installed automatically overnight.  You will receive a notification because an update is installed.