My IPhone Won’t Update: 11 Easy Hands-On Fixes

The iPhone is the most powerful phone ever to hit the market, and it is also the most secure. Apple has ensured that by constantly updating the phone and patching up bugs. 

But even our smartphones have problems. And unlike your car, they don’t come with an owner’s manual. Instead, they come with an owner’s hope that everything will work.

A broken iPhone can become one of the most frustrating things in the world. With life’s many annoyances, there’s no need to make them worse. 

So if you are wondering how to fix your apple update problem right now?

Solutions When “my iPhone won’t update“

1. Charge your Apple device
2. Ensure an Internet connection
3. Check if you have enough free space
4. Using iTunes
5. Update in Finder
6. Use the settings app
7. Force restart
8. Check apple servers
9. Put your phone in the DFU mode
10. Delete and download your IOS update again
11. Contact apple support

1. Charge your Apple device

Your apple device needs to be at least 50% charged or should be connected to power when you are trying to update it to its latest version. So before we get down to business and try the other elaborate methods, let’s kick this out of the way.

2. Ensure an Internet connection

Apple updates are generally large and require a strong wi-fi connection to complete. Many users experience difficulty downloading the latest update because of weak connections.

To check if this is just a case of a weak connection, open any browser on your phone. Search for something, anything. Check if the result comes in 5 seconds. If not, sorry to tell you, but you might have a weak internet connection. 

You should also know that your mobile data is often not enough to download such updates; hence, you should use Wi-Fi instead of cellular data when updating your iPhone. 

Tip: If you believe your wi-fi is working perfectly fine, but your mobile still has some network issues, you should reset network settings. 

3. Check if you have enough free space

As mentioned before, IOS updates are large, and you need enough storage space on your Apple device to download the latest update. You need at least 750-800 megabytes free on your device.

You can check the storage on your iPhone as follows-

1. Open Settings on your phone
2. Scroll and find General
3. Find iPhone storage 
4. On the screen, you will see the storage component of your iPhone

After you’ve ensured that at least 1GB is available on your device, then you can move on and try downloading the update again.

4. Using iTunes

There are two ways you can update your iPhone: through iTunes or the settings on your iPhone. I’ll take you along the way for both options. 

This is how you’ll proceed with this method-

1. Open iTunes on your PC.
2. Plug in your USB cable onto the PC and connect your iPhone. (The charging cable)
3. You will find the iPhone button at the top of your iTunes screen.
4. On the right-hand side, find and click the update option.
5. Tap on ‘Download & update’

5. Update in Finder

If the Mac operates in macOS Catalina 10.5 and higher, you will have to use finder instead of iTunes to update your phone.

1. Connect your iPhone to your mac
2. Open finder
3. Go to locations
4. Click on your iPhone and check for updates

6. Use the settings app

This is an option you can use in case you cannot download it through iTunes.

Follow these steps-

Settings> General > Software update > Download and install.

This is a pretty basic method and won’t take much of your time trying.  

7. Force restart

Another quick DIY for you to try out to get the latest iPhone update. You can perform this function as follows-

1. Press and quickly release both the volume up and down buttons 
2. Press the power button at last 
3. Do this until you see the Apple logo
4. After your phone completely blacks out, press the side button again until the Apple logo appears again.
5. Enter your passcode to unlock your iPhone and try updating your phone.

This method to restart is applicable for iPhone xs, iPhone XR, iPhone xs max, iPhone SE, and all the models above the iPhone 8 model. 

8. Check apple servers

A million users rushed to download the latest version of IOS immediately after Apple released it. Apple’s servers struggle to keep up with such a heavy flow of users wishing to get the latest ios. 

This might be another reason why your iPhone won’t update. There is no fix for this problem. You have to wait it out and try again in 1-2 days. So be patient, and don’t worry if you still can’t download the updates. We still have a few methods waiting for you.

9. Put your phone in the DFU mode

In case of a software issue, it becomes vital that you rule out this method. A DFU is a troubleshooting step you can take as follows-

1. Plug your phone into your laptop
2. Open iTunes or finder, depending on your macOS.
3. Press and release both the volume buttons of your phone.
4. Hold the power button until your screen goes all black
5. Hold all three buttons.
6. After five seconds, release all the buttons except the volume down button
7. Release that button too when your iPhone gets recognized on your mac
8. Now your phone is in DFY mode
9. Click restore on your mac screen
10. Follow the steps shown to restore your iPhone.

10. Delete and download your IOS update again

If you started on the voyage of downloading the ios file but were stuck in the middle of installing it, then you should try and delete the update that has been downloaded and re-download it. You can do this as follows-

1. Go to the settings on your iPhone
2. Visit general
3. Locate iPhone storage
4. Within the list of storage compositions, locate and tap on the IOS update
5. Choose the delete update option
6. Download the update again through iTunes or settings.

If this also did not work out for you, we still have one last resort.

11. Contact apple support

Apple has its channels to help you out with your difficulties. Their repair services can be of high quality, and you can get the services in apple stores. So when you update issues that have escalated to an unsolvable level, it’s time for you to contact apple support.

You should also submit your problem on apple’s online platform and wait for them to revert with the answer to your issue.

Conclusion

Although regular iOS updates fix several problems with Apple’s operating system, some users have experienced issues with updating their Apple devices. So here are some pretty satisfying fixes that will help you navigate this problem seamlessly.

And a tip for you: Make sure you’re iPhone is backed up throughout to prevent any loss of your precious data.

FAQs