Every time you update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS, it starts
by requesting the update then downloading it from Apple's servers and then preparing
it on your iPhone. Most people don't notice this process because there's almost never a problem,
but what do you do if your iPhone gets stuck on "Update Requested" or "Prepare
an Update"? That's the problem we'll show you how to fix in this video.
First, make sure your iPhone is connected to the internet, preferably using Wi-Fi. Your iPhone
needs a good internet connection to connect to Apple servers and download the update. Let's
open the Settings app, then tap Wi-Fi. Make sure a check mark appears next to the name of
your Wi-Fi network. Sometimes, toggling Wi-Fi off and back on can fix a minor connectivity issue.
If Wi-Fi isn't working, you can also try downloading over cellular. Just keep in mind,
if this update is large, you don't have a lot of cellular data with your cell phone plan and you'll
use a lot of it pretty quickly. To do this, turn off Wi-Fi, then go to Settings, scroll down,
tap General, tap Software Update, and then tap Download and Install. Enter your passcode, and
when the pop-up appears asking you to use cellular data to download the update, tap Continue.
Restarting your iPhone can also fix a variety of software bugs, so try turning it off and back on
again to see if that fixes the problem. If you have an iPhone with Face ID, simultaneously press
and hold the side button and either volume button and wait till "Slide the Power Off" appears on
the screen, then swipe the power icon from left to right. If your iPhone doesn't have Face ID,
just press and hold the power button until "Slide the Power Off" appears.
It's also possible that your iPhone is stuck updating because it is frozen.
Here's what to do on an iPhone 8 or newer: press and release the Volume Up button,
followed by the Volume Down button, and press and hold the Side button until the screen goes
black and the Apple logo appears. If you have an iPhone 7, it is the Volume Down button and the
Side button. If you have an iPhone 6s or older, it is the Home button and the Power button.
If that doesn't work, there could have been a problem with the download process,
so try deleting the update and installing it again. In the Settings app, scroll down and tap
General, then tap iPhone Storage and look for the update in your list of items. Here,
we have iOS 16.4 Developer Beta 2, so we'll tap on that and then tap Delete Update. Before going
back to Settings > General > Software Update to download it again, let's tap
back and just make sure you have enough iPhone storage space to actually install the update.
As a general rule of thumb, it's a good idea to keep about 10% of your iPhone storage space
free. So, if you have a 256 gigabyte iPhone like I do, keep about 25 gigabytes free.
Next, check Apple's Systems Status page to see if all the green dots are present. If there are
lots of red triangles, this could be the reason why your device is not working. Unfortunately,
the only thing you can do is wait for Apple to fix their services;
they usually get it done quickly. Keep in mind that whenever Apple releases a new version of iOS,
things can get slow because everyone is trying to download it at the same time.
If you have issues updating your iPhone in the Settings app, you can try using
a computer instead. If you're using a newer Mac, use Finder; if you're using an older Mac or a PC,
use iTunes. If you have a brand new PC, use the Apple Devices app. Grab your Lightning cable,
plug it in, and open Finder. Look for the iPhone under Locations,
and click "Trust" when prompted. On your iPhone, make sure to tap "Trust
this Computer" and enter your passcode. Then, in Finder, click "Check for Update"
to look for the latest software update. If one is available, it'll download and install
it. This is also a good workaround if there isn't enough storage space on your iPhone. Just try your computer.
Before we talk about how to fix a deeper software issue, we want to give a shoutout to some of the newest channel members:
We have Iva, Vincent2116, Judy Whitmire, Karen Borowski, and Diane Graham.
They also clicked that big "Join" button below this video, and you should too because when
you do, you'll get member shout-outs, free badges and emojis, and access to PDFs of
those settings videos that we just talk to fast during. For deeper software problems, there's
no better solution than backing up your iPhone to iCloud or your computer, preferably iCloud,
and then DFU restoring it, because you can't do a restore without also doing the update.
First, let's make sure you have an iPhone backup so you don't
lose all your data after that restore. Tap back to the main page of Settings,
scroll up, and tap on your name at the top of the screen. Then tap iCloud, then tap iCloud
Backup. Make sure the switch next to "Backup This iPhone" is on, then tap "Backup Now."
A DFU restore is a little bit more complicated, so we made a video just for that. Check out a link
in the description below or the card up above, and once you finally get your iPhone up to date,
make sure to check out our most recent "Settings You Need to Change" video. Sometimes some of these
settings, after you do an iOS update, have a way of getting turned back on. Watch that video next!