The iOS 18 has been released. You must want to update your device to access the latest features of iOS 18. Unfortunately, you didn’t make it, so you are here.
The following sections discuss the cases where your iPhone won’t update iOS 18, and will also teach you how to rectify the errors that are preventing your device from updating normally. In one of the sections, you will even get to know about 2 alternative update methods that you can try if everything else fails to work. All the solutions talked about in this blog also apply to other iOS versions.
- Different Cases When iPhone Won’t Update to iOS 18
- Do Some Checks
- Alternative Ways to Update iPhone to iOS 18
Different Cases When iPhone Won’t Update to iOS 18
There could be several case scenarios when your iPhone won’t update to iOS 18. Some most common situations include:
· iPhone Is Stuck on Apple Logo
Under this situation, sometimes iPhone downloads the update and restarts. However, while rebooting, it gets stuck on the Apple logo for several hours. If this happens, it means that the software update file was successfully downloaded but failed to install. Check this guide to fix “iPhone stuck on Apple logo”.
· iPhone Is Stuck in Recovery Mode
If you interrupt the process when iPhone is updating to iOS 18, or the process is interrupted by other factors, your iPhone may be stuck in recovery. Check this guide to fix “iPhone stuck in Recovery Mode”.
· iPhone Update Is Taking Forever to Download
After your iPhone requested the Apple server for the iOS 18 update file but the downloading process is extremely slow or halted altogether, your device will fail to install the update. Check this guide to fix “iPhone update taking forever to download”.
· iPhone Update Is Taking Forever
After downloading the update file, when your iPhone initializes the installation but is taking too long, you can well assume that iPhone won’t update and you should terminate the process. Check this guide to fix “iPhone update is taking forever”.
· iPhone Is Unable to Verify Update
After your iPhone has successfully downloaded the update file, if it fails to verify the update, the installation process will automatically terminate and your iPhone won’t update whatsoever. Check this guide to fix “iPhone unable to verify update”.
· iPhone Is Unable to Check for Update
When you tap the ‘Software Update’ option from the ‘General’ screen of the iPhone’s ‘Settings’ window, and your phone fails to check for an update as it should usually do, it won’t let you download the update file, let alone install it. Check this guide to fix “iPhone unable to check for update”.
· iPhone Is Stuck on Preparing Update
After your iPhone downloads the update and starts preparing the file for installation but the ‘Preparing Update’ message stays on the screen forever, this means that either the downloaded file is incomplete or corrupt. As a result, your device cannot prepare the update and therefore won’t install it whatsoever. Check this guide to fix “iPhone stuck on Preparing Update”.
· iPhone Is Stuck on Update Requested
After you tap ‘Download and Install’ on the ‘Software Update’ screen, if your iPhone is stuck on the ‘Update Requested’ message, it means that either the Apple Server is busy or there is some communication problem. Even in this situation, your iPhone won’t update. Check this guide to fix “iPhone stuck on Update Requested”.
In addition to the points that are listed above, there could be several other factors and symptoms that may prevent your iPhone from updating.
Do Some Checks
Apple recommends several solutions to fix the problem. Now, instead of picking and trying a solution from the above list (if your case is not listed), you must find the exact issue, and then try to address it with the precise solution. Then you will be able to update to iOS 18.
The diagnostic tests that you must perform to find the root cause of the trouble are listed below:
· Check for Beta iOS
Beta iOS are unstable releases of a fully functional operating system and are rolled out merely for testing purposes. If your iPhone won’t update, the first thing that you must check is, if you have installed a beta version of an upcoming iOS. If so, make sure to uninstall it and revert the operating system to a previous, more stable release.
· Space Availability
It is extremely necessary to check if your iPhone has enough free space to accommodate the latest iOS. Usually, your device must have a minimum of 5 GB of storage available before it can download and install an update.
· Mode Configuration
If your iPhone is configured to use ‘Low Power Mode’ or ‘Personal Hotspot’, it may fail to connect to a Wi-Fi network, thus blocking any inbound or outbound communications. Therefore, you must check and bring your phone out of ‘Low Power Mode’, and make sure that it is not connected to a personal hotspot but to a stable wireless network instead.
· Power and Battery
Check if your iPhone battery is at least 50% charged. Also, check and confirm if the phone is plugged into a power outlet.
· Network Connectivity
Ensure that your iPhone is connected to a stable and fast wireless network. This is because the phone will not download and install the update when on cellular data unless the carrier has a 5G service.
· VPN Activity
Check and confirm that your iPhone is not connected to the network via a VPN as it will confuse the Apple server about your current location and the region from where your phone was previously activated.
Now that you know the reasons and possible solutions, you are likely to fix the problem on your won if your iPhone won’t update.
Alternative Ways to Update iPhone to iOS 18
If the issue persists and your iPhone won’t update even after following the above solutions, 2 alternatives that you can try are introduced below.
1. Update iPhone Using iTunes
When you connect your iPhone to a PC that has iTunes installed and attempt to update the iPhone to iOS 18 via iTunes, in the background, iTunes contacts the Apple server and requests an update file according to the model of your device. Once iTunes finds a compatible update, it downloads the file to the computer and installs it on your iPhone. Nevertheless, the entire procedure remains seamless to you, and all you see is that iTunes is downloading the update and installing it on your smartphone. This can avoid the issues that prevent you from updating your iPhone over the air.
If your iPhone can be detected by iTunes when you connect it to the computer with iTunes launched, you will see the phone icon at the top left corner. Click on the icon, and then find the Update or Check for Update button. iTunes will start to update your iPhone once you click the Update or Check for Update button.
If your iPhone cannot be detected by iTunes, try to put your device into Recovery mode by following this guide. If it is in recovery mode, you just need to wait for iTunes to detect it. Once it is detected by iTunes, you will see 2 options: Update or Restore iPhone. Choose the Update option and then your device will be updated without losing any data.
2. Restore iPhone and Then Restore the Latest Backup
If iTunes fails to update your iPhone to iOS 18, the second alternative you can try is restoring the phone via iTunes. When you do so, iTunes downloads a fresh and error-free copy of the latest version of iOS on your PC and performs a clean installation on your iPhone. Because this process erases all data from your device and reverts all its settings to factory defaults, the next thing that you must do after successful completion is to set up your iPhone as a fresh device, connect it to the PC with iTunes, and restore your phone from the latest iPhone backup via iTunes to get everything back to normal.
If your iPhone can be detected by iTunes, you will see the phone icon at the top left corner of the interface of iTunes. Click the icon and then you will see the option “Restore iPhone”. Click it, and then iTunes will restore your iPhone to factory settings.
If your iPhone cannot be detected by iTunes, same as the instruction in the above section, put your iPhone in recovery mode and choose “Restore” when you are offered the Update and Restore options. Just connect it to the computer if your iPhone is stuck in recovery mode. You can also put your iPhone in DFU mode if recovery mode doesn’t work.
After the restore, when you are setting up the iPhone, you can restore an iTunes backup or iCloud backup to the device.
Conclusion
If iPhone won’t update to iOS 18, your first step should be to perform some diagnostics to isolate the root cause of the problem, and then try the precise solution accordingly. Almost all the issues can be easily fixed by following the methods that are listed above. If nothing helps and iPhone fails to update even after that, you can try the iTunes method where you can first attempt to update the iOS via the application, and if it doesn’t work either, restore the iOS of the device and then restore the settings from the latest iPhone backup.
