How to Upgrade your iPhone to iOS 8

iOS 8 was announced by Apple at its developer conference in June and after a few months of waiting we can finally download the latest update and enjoy all the great features that the new operating system brings. iOS 8 is compatible with the iPhone 4S and higher models, the iPad 2 and later variants, the iPad mini, iPad Mini with Retina display and the 5th gen iPod Touch. If you are looking forward to the latest OS, here’s what you need to do to before you hit that Install button on your device and make the move to Apple iOS 8.

How to Upgrade Your iPhone to iOS 8

Checklist for Upgrading to iOS 8

Before you get started with the download, make sure you have done the following.

1. Checked if your iPhone is compatible with the latest OS.

2. Made a backup of your phone.You can use iCloud or iTunes for this. Backup will include stuff you purchased… TV shows, music, books, as well as your photos and videos and device settings. Items synced from your PC will not be backed up, so you will have to resync them again.

3. Make sure you have enough space for the upgrade. You’ll need a little over 5 GB space, so this would be a good time to remove unwanted stuff from your phone. One unpleasant factor in upgrading to iOS 8 is that due to the size of the update, you may have to delete certain apps or content from your device to free up space.

4. Keep your iTunes and iCloud versions up to date.

5. Keep you iPhone fully charged. You don’t want to run out of battery power mid-way during the upgrade.

Done? Good. Now you can do the update in one of two ways, over the air (OTA), or via iTunes.

The easiest way to update your device is obviously over the air. If you don’t already see a notification on your device’s Home screen, just head over to Settings->General->Software Update and tap Install. Apple’s over the air updates have just gotten bigger over time, so make sure you are using a Wi-Fi connection to download the update. And if you are having trouble with the download or if it is super slow, remember that there are probably millions of people who are attempting to download it, so it may take a while or repeated attempts to complete the process. You could always wait a day or two for the hullabulla to die down and then do the upgrade.

If OTA updates are not your thing, you can do it via iTunes on your Windows PC or Mac. Ensure you have the latest version of iTunes, then open it up and select the Check for upgrade button in the summary window.

With iOS 8 Apple has finally fixed over 53 vulnerabilities, many of which are extremely serious and dated. However, users must keep in mind certain factors when making the upgrade. For instance, there may be instances where some apps will not work with the latest update. In spite of being given enough time to make their apps compatible with the latest OS, all developers may not have completed the developmental work or the app approval process may not be completed leaving some or many apps incompatible with your upgraded device.

If you have a jailbroken device, the latest upgrade may kill the jailbreak. Since this is a first rollout, there may be some unresolved bugs and quirks, typical of most upgrades. Finally although older devices are compatible, they may not work as flawlessly with iOS 8 as a new device does. That’s because older devices don’t have high end processors, storage or memory needed for a flawless performance.

If you have a work phone, check with your boss before making that upgrade. You may most likely break some apps and he won’t take to0 kindly to that. Also avoid doing an upgrade when you’re not at home, just in case you run into problems.

So before you jump into upgrading your iPhone with iOS 8, weigh the pros and cons and make an informed decision. Once you install the new OS there’s no going back!