- David and David here.
Let's talk about what to do
when your iPhone is not updating.
- There are a lot of different ways to update an iPhone.
Most people watching this video probably just went
to the Settings app, went to Software Update,
and had a problem.
You can also use a computer.
We're gonna walk you through the gamut of fixes,
and there are a bunch of different ways to fix this problem.
For 90% of the people, what we talk about,
is gonna fix the problem right away.
The other 10% are gonna have to do a DFU Restore
and we're gonna help you with that, too.
What's the first one?
- First, the thing to do is just make sure
your iPhone is actually compatible with the new iOS update.
Every year a few phones just don't make the cut.
So we'll leave a link in the Description Section below
to the phones that are up-to-date
and compatible with the most recent iOS update.
- And if it's time for a new phone,
which it might be if your phone isn't on that list,
check out UpPhone.com/phones,
it's our website and you can compare every phone in the U.S.
- Yeah, if your iPhone is compatible
with the new iOS update, let's do a hard reset.
Why are we doing a hard reset instead of a normal restart?
- Because sometimes a little software problems can crop up
that cause iPhones to have a difficult time updating.
How do we do it?
- To hard reset an iPhone eight or newer,
press and release the volume up button,
then press and release the volume down button.
Then press and hold that side button.
Keep holding, the screen was gonna go black,
Apple logo will appear
and then you can release the side button.
If you have an iPhone seven,
it's the side button and the volume down button.
Just press and hold those simultaneously
until the Apple logo appears.
Sometimes it can take 25-to-30 seconds
for this to actually happen.
So be patient and keep holding, don't give up early.
- Right, and then you can let go.
Especially if there's a software problem,
it can take a long time.
- Yep. - What's next?
- Next, make sure you have enough storage space
for the iOS update.
These updates can be one-and-a-half, two gigabytes.
The iOS 14.5 update on my phone was 5.7 gigabytes,
which felt kind of high.
Yeah, they used to be one-and-a-half or two.
Now they're getting, yeah, crazy big.
- Let's go to Settings, tap General, tap iPhone Storage.
And here you'll see how much storage space you have left.
I have 46.3 gigabytes of 64 use,
so that's about 18 gigabytes left.
That should be enough for an iOS update.
- Absolutely, good math right there, David.
- While you're here if your iPhone's just stuck
on Update and Verifying, or stuck preparing,
come down here and look for iOS 14.5, 14.6, 15,
and just tap on that and then tap, Delete,
and go back and download and install the update again.
That's where a lot of people can get stuck
when it's verifying or preparing.
And just, start over.
- Yeah exactly.
It's not like you can get in there and tell it to move on.
That's the way to do it.
Actually, David had that problem the other day-
- I did have that problem the other day.
- Yep, and you fixed it.
- I did. - "Hey!"
(audience cheers)
- Next, try using a different update method.
So maybe you just tried using your computer.
Well, now you try it on the iPhone.
If you go to Settings and then tap on General,
select the main page of Settings here.
Tap on General, tap Software Update,
and then tap Download and Install
if an iOS update is available.
- Right, And if you've already tried this way,
it's time to use a computer.
It can be any computer, it doesn't have to be yours.
'Cause iTunes or Finder is just a tool in this scenario.
So if you have a Mac that's running Mac OS 10.15 or later,
you're gonna use Finder.
If you have a PC or a Mac running a 10.14 or before,
you're gonna use iTunes.
Try to update your iPhone that way.
- If you're using your computer to update your iPhone,
try using a different lightning cable.
Sometimes the cables can get frayed
and then their connection might be some issues there
and then it won't update if it can't make a clean connection
and make it all the way through the process.
- Yes, it's cool that they built in
the over-the-air software updates,
even though most of the people who are watching this video
had a problem with the over-the-air software updates;
meaning it just happens on the phone.
Because there are so many variables with PCs and Macs,
like cables, like USB ports would have be a problem.
Try somebody else's computer, try the phone.
What's next?
- Yeah, and if you're using a PC,
watch out for that antivirus software.
- Right, and we're not even gonna get into how to fix that.
Yeah, watch out. - Watch out.
- We can put a link to that article.
- Perfect, we'll leave a link to that
in the Description Section of this video.
Next, check Apple's servers.
This is really only an issue with the major iOS updates,
iOS 15, but everyone tries to download
the new major update all at once, and Apple's servers,
sometimes they just can't handle it.
- Yeah, can you believe that?
That can happen at any time, really.
Sometimes they just do it to drive traffic
to the Apple store when they stop selling enough stuff.
- Yep. - Just turn off the servers.
But you can check to see if they're off.
- Yes. - How do we do it?
- Well, we'll leave the link
in the Description Section below
to the Apple System Status Page.
- System Status Page.
One of the lesser visited websites.
- Make sure that the dots are green.
If the dots aren't green, there might be an issue.
Next, if you've made it this far
and your iPhone still won't update, back it up.
- Back it up, because we're gonna have to get a little bit
more invasive with the fixes.
You can either back your iPhone up to iCloud,
which is I think the easiest way, or a computer.
Same deal as before with Finder
on the newer Macs, or iTunes on the older Macs and the PCs.
Then we're going to reset all the settings.
- Yes, this restores everything in the Settings app
to factory defaults.
Your Wi-Fi passwords are gone.
Bluetooth devices, they're gone.
But really, it's kind of annoying,
but this is this can fix a lingering software problem.
- Right, and if you're really, really annoyed by it
then you can just restore from the backup afterwards,
which is more annoying.
But at least you won't have lost anything at all.
So yeah, Reset All Settings can get things unstuck.
It's a magic bullet for software problems
like updates not working.
- Yep, so let's tap back to General,
upper left-hand corner of the screen.
Scroll all the way down and tap on Reset,
and then tap Reset All Settings.
Enter your passcode,
a confirmation pop-up will appear saying,
"Are you sure you want to reset all settings?"
You tap Reset All Settings, the reset happens,
your iPhone will turn off and then turn back on.
- We've done it before.
- [David Lynch] I'm not doing it now.
- No, why would we do it now?
If we Reset All Settings didn't work,
it's time to put your iPhone in DFU mode.
But before you do, here's a quick word of warning.
- Right, first off, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.
It can help things along with the technical side of things,
which is, you have to be careful
before you do a DFU Restore,
which takes everything off your phone
and puts it back on again.
Because, if your iPhone is damaged in any way,
sometimes the DFU Restore will fail
and then you'll end up with a Bricked iPhone.
So it just won't work.
So be very careful before you do this.
There should be absolutely no problem with a DFU Restore
and it will update your iPhone in the process.
You can watch our video about
how to DFU Restore your iPhone.
We'll drop some links in the Description Section below.
- Yeah, but especially if you just dropped your iPhone
in a lake or dropped it on the concrete
and ran over with your car,
maybe then the DFU Restore, kinda scary.
- Yeah. Don't do it.
Don't do it and blame us.
- Don't blame us-
- There's a reason why we added this warning to this video
and it's because we didn't have it in other videos.
- Yes, well, and then
if maybe you're a little bit concerned;
Apple store punch out, set up an appointment,
or call or online. Lots of good options there.
- Yeah, so different Wi-Fi networks, different everything.
Just try different stuff until this works.
And eventually your iPhone will update.
- Unless it is not compatible.
- Unless it wasn't compatible to begin with...
- And you're not watching this point anyway.
Thanks for watching this video, though.
Those of you who are still around, give it a Thumbs Up
if you enjoyed. Please subscribe.
- Please. - We really appreciate it.
And leave a comment down below with any other questions.
- And please subscribe and leave a comment.