With all the excitement around iOS 11, it is no surprise that many users eagerly anticipate their next iPhone software download. We all want to upgrade our iPhones and iPads to the latest iOS. And this time around, Apple’s iOS 11 offers many new and innovative features, in particular for the iPad. Upgrading an iPhone or iPad to the latest Apple’s iOS version is typically quick, easy, and trouble-free. But there are times when this initial excitement leads to immediate annoyance, especially if your device shows the message error occurred installing iOS 11, iOS unable to verify update or other iOS 11 install problems. So if you are experiencing iPhone update problems, here are some tips and tricks to help you download and install iOS 11.
Contents
- 1 Common Tips to Consider Before Upgrading Your iPhone or iPad to iOS 11
- 2 Cannot Find the iOS 11 Update?
- 3 Seeing iOS 11 failed verification because you are no longer connected to the internet?
- 4 Switching over from iOS 11 Beta to General Release?
- 5 iOS 11 Not Installing? Stuck? Or Seeing Message Unable to Install Update?
- 6 No Space? Use iTunes!
- 7 iPhone Stuck with Apple Logo during iOS 11 Update
- 8 iPhone Will Not Unlock after iOS 11 update
- 9 Installed iOS 11 via OTA But Still Having Issues with the Update
- 10 Is it a Widespread Carrier Problem?
- 11 Done Updating But Now iOS has Problems with Your iPhone or iPad?
- 12 Reader Tips
- 13 Summary
Related Articles
- Common iOS 11 Problems and How To Fix Them
- Where’s AirDrop in iOS11? We’ve Found it and More!
- How-To Use Your iPad Dock in iOS11
- iTunes 12.7–Things to Know
- How-To Fix iMessage Problems in iOS 11
Common Tips to Consider Before Upgrading Your iPhone or iPad to iOS 11
Tip 1 Backup!
If you have not yet updated your iPhone or iPad with the latest iOS update, do yourself a favor and make sure that you back up your device. We recommend that you back your device into iTunes and well as iCloud. Better Safe than Sorry. Check out our comprehensive guide that walks you through all the various aspects of backing up your device. 
Tip 2 Check Available Storage
The second important tip for those of you who have not installed the latest iOS 11 and are planning to update soon is to make sure that your iPhone has enough storage. If you have been getting “iPhone out of Storage” notifications for a while, please make sure to optimize and free some storage before proceeding with the iOS 11 install.
Tip 3 Connect to Power or Charge UP
Please make sure that your iPhone or iPad is connected to power (preferred) or has sufficient charge to make it through the upgrade. If you’re unsure, charge your device before attempting to upgrade or just plug it in and then update.
Tip 4 Opt to Update iPhone via iTunes Instead of Over the Air
We know that OTA (Over the Air) updates are the most convenient and easy to perform and most users try to upgrade their device using OTA. Unfortunately, we have found that when major iOS updates are concerned, OTA installation process often causes a lot more hiccups. Sometimes, these are not Apple related. You could be on a weak Wi-Fi network during the install or access the Apple Servers when they are too busy with many users trying to upgrade at the same time. For that reason, we recommend that you update iPhone software manually, using iTunes. 
If you have experienced iOS install issues during the past with OTA updates on your iPhone or iPad, consider updating your iDevice via iTunes. It is easy and very convenient to do an update via iTunes as well.
Tip 5 Add the SHIFT KEY when updating with iTunes
If you experience updating issues or other problems/errors after an OTA update, connect to iTunes and press and hold the SHIFT KEY and click on UPDATE. This method installs iOS 11 via iTunes without any data loss.
In the next few sections, we address some of the most common issues associated with the upgrade process.
Cannot Find the iOS 11 Update?
This scene is a common problem that happens during most upgrades. When you tap on Settings > General > Software Update, you cannot find the new update. The familiar red icon that shows up next to General when you are in Settings is not there.
iOS 11 is For 64-Bit iDevices ONLY
If your device is a 32-bit device, it is not compatible with iOS 11. Sorry folks!
Seeing iOS 11 failed verification because you are no longer connected to the internet?
Check Signal Strength
Sometimes this happens when your wi-fi signal or cellular strength is weak. Disconnecting and reconnecting your device with your Wi-fi often solves this issue.
- Tap on Settings > Enable Airplane Mode. Switch Off your iPhone. After 10 seconds or so, turn it back on and toggle Airplane mode OFF
- Next, try to update your iPhone as you would normally do by using Settings> General >Software Update
Remember, in the first few days/weeks following an iOS release, requests for iOS swamp the Apple servers, and it often takes some time for your iPhone or iPad to show the required update.
Switching over from iOS 11 Beta to General Release?
Some of you may have been running the iOS 11 Beta on your iPhone or iPad before the general iOS 11 release showed up. If you are unable to find the general iOS 11 update patch on your iPhone or iPad, you may want to uninstall the Beta from your device and restore it to the regular iOS version.
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer running the latest version of iTunes.
- Next, put your device into Recovery mode.
- For iPhone 6s and earlier, iPad, or iPod touch: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time. Don’t release the buttons when you see the Apple logo. Continue to hold both buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.
- For iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Don’t release the buttons when you see the Apple logo. Continue to hold both buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.
- For iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo. Continue to hold both buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.
- Once you are in the recovery mode screen, click on “Restore.” This action deletes the iOS beta from your iPhone or iPad and loads it with the latest regular iOS.
- For most users, restoring resets the device to iOS 11 via iTunes, as this is available via iTunes.
iOS 11 Not Installing? Stuck? Or Seeing Message Unable to Install Update?
This section provides you with tips that will help you when you have a stuck iOS 11 update or when the install simply doesn’t finish, and your iPhone appears bricked.
It is a good idea at this point to check your Wi-Fi strength. If you think your ISP is slow for some reason, try switching it to the free Google DNS or OpenDNS.
RELATED: How To Speed up Your Slow Wi-Fi
Delete the Stuck or Partial iOS 11 Update First!
Before attempting to rerun the iOS Update on your iPhone or iPad, we strongly recommend that you check for a partial update on your device and delete it. If you or Apple do not remove this partial update from storage, it can cause significant problems during the iOS re-install process. 
To check this issue, check your settings.
To check for a failed iOS update file
- Tap on Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage
- Tap on ‘Manage Storage’ under Storage section at the top. (Not under iCloud). On the next screen, scroll down
- On the next screen, scroll down to the list of apps and check if you have the new iOS 11 update listed. If so, tap on it and delete it. This action removes the unpacked OTA from your iDevice
Once you have removed the unpacked OTA, try again to update your iDevice to iOS 11. A safer bet here is to switch to iTunes and not do the update via OTA.
No Space? Use iTunes!
If you encounter “Out of Space” errors while updating to iOS 11 wirelessly (OTA), follow the iTunes update method.
Connect your iPhone or iPad to a computer running the latest iTunes
- Open iTunes and select your device from the left panel
- Click on Summary, then click Check for Update
- Click Download and Update
- When asked, enter your passcode
This downloads the latest iOS 11 updates onto your iPhone or iPad, and you may not have to do anything with trying to recover space on your device for the upgrade.
Need Another Option When There Isn’t Enough Storage to Download iOS 11? 
Delete some apps especially ones you don’t use, dispose of any deleted voicemails, turn on iCloud Photo Library & optimize your Photos, delete some music or videos temporarily, and clean out your recently deleted photos. These are just a few tips to get some storage back for your iOS download and install.
To Delete Apps or App Data
- Tap Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage > Manage Storage
- Select an app and see how much space it uses
- Tap Delete App to remove it
- Some apps, like Music and TV App, let you delete only parts of their documents and data. Tap into the app to get to these options
For more tips on cleaning out all that clutter to make space for your iOS upgrade, check out this article designed especially for those of us with small storage iPhones!
Once you clear out some storage, go back and install the iOS update again. Tap Settings > General > Software Update
iOS 11’s Great Storage News!
iOS 11 includes some amazing storage management tools, so next time around clearing out space won’t be such a nightmare!
Check out these two articles on the great tools iOS 11 gives us to manage our iDevice’s Storage
- Free Up iPhone Storage with iOS 11 Tools, Recommendations, & iCloud
- Quickly Manage Storage Using a few iOS Settings
iPhone Stuck with Apple Logo during iOS 11 Update 
Several users have found that their iPhone or iPad are getting stuck on the Apple Logo Screen while trying to update their device to iOS 11
- If you are experiencing this issue while trying to upgrade your device to the latest iOS 11, please follow the steps below
- When stuck on the Apple Logo, hold down the Power and Home buttons until the iPad shuts off. If it’s your iPhone, try to force it to shut down by force restarting
- On an iPhone 6S or below press Home and Power at the same time until you see the Apple logo
- On an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold both the Side and Volume Down buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo
- On an iPhone X or iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo
- When stuck on the Apple Logo, hold down the Power and Home buttons until the iPad shuts off. If it’s your iPhone, try to force it to shut down by force restarting
- Next, Connect your iPad to your computer using the cable
- Press the power button; after it turns on, a black screen may be displayed, and you will need to confirm the update process
- Finish the installation process
- If you are stuck with the Apple Logo on your iPhone 7/7+, iPhone 8/8+
- Hold the volume buttons + power button and tap the home button a few times to see if your iPhone starts to reboot
iPhone Will Not Unlock after iOS 11 update
Some users find that following the install of iOS, their iPad has gone into an endless loop of asking for the Touch ID or Passcode.
If your iPad/iPhone will boot, but not unlock the only way to get it back was to use “Find iPhone” on another device, and remote wipe the problematic iPhone.
The other common issue along the lines of the passcode is that your iPhone or iPad requests a six-digit passcode and you had never set one up. This can be a little confusing, and we saw many users struggle with this issue during iOS 10 rollout. If you are facing this problem with iOS 11 install, please click on the article below.
RELATED: iOS is Requesting a Passcode after Update, How-To Fix
Installed iOS 11 via OTA But Still Having Issues with the Update
If you are having any issues now on iOS 11 after updating via OTA, use Shift+Update this time. This method reinstalls iOS 11 through iTunes without any data loss
Don’t try another site for iOS ipsw Download Links
It’s not just Apple that offers links to an ios firmware download. You’ll find some third-party sites offering the current (or previous) version of Apple’s iOS Firmware. FYI, an IPSW file is an iOS firmware restore file–usually used to downgrade iOS unofficially. If things really aren’t working, don’t be tempted to give these ipsw download links a try and update to iOS 11 using some third-party sites.
Is NOT okay to use IPSW files downloaded from non-Apple websites and then use these ipsw files to update/restore ANY Apple device. Stick with Apple only! Why? The reason is security, plain and simple.
Is it a Widespread Carrier Problem?
Some users with Vodafone experienced issues when the iOS 11 initially launched at a beta release. This was then later corrected.
If your carrier is having issues with the iOS 11 update, your best bet is to call your carrier and see if the problem is more widespread than your iPhone. Sometimes in these cases, Apple releases a new update immediately within the next day or so.
Done Updating But Now iOS has Problems with Your iPhone or iPad?
So you finally updated your iDevice to iOS 11, whew! But then things fall apart–you can’t find AirDrop, Safari Bookmarks have disappeared, your Mail or Messages app isn’t working, photos and videos are missing, or maybe you can’t connect to the App Store. These are all common problems following a major iOS update. But when you experience these problems, they certainly make your device less handy. So if you are unfortunate with these types of post-update problems, take a look at our article on how to fix the top iOS problems AFTER an update.
Reader Tips 
- My boss recently asked me how to update iPhone without iTunes or wifi mainly because our company’s iPhones cannot connect to wifi or a connected instance of iTunes. We need to update iOS using a standalone iTunes client that doesn’t communicate with Apple’s Servers. After a lot of research, it looks like the answer is no, you cannot update any iOS device without connecting directly to an Apple server. Wanted to share, just in case others have similar problems at the office.
- In some countries, you must use a VPN to update.
Summary
Updating iPhones and iPads are usually very easy–it just works! But sometimes, things fall apart–our internet goes down, iOS updates get stuck, an error occurred installing iOS, and other problems. These tips should help most of us get through the process, with only a little inconvenience. If you discovered other methods that worked, please share them with us so we can share with other readers stuck in the same boat when trying to update iPhones and iPads. And don’t forget to share the article with your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors who might be struggling with the iOS 11 update issues.