This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this folio. Terms of utilise.

iOS 8 features

iOS 8 has been released by Apple. While the upgrade went smoothly for many people, no major update is e'er completely flawless — and iOS 8 is no exception. In this case, many users with a 16GB iPhone or iPad are having problems installing iOS eight considering they don't have enough free space — information technology tin can require upwards to 5.7GB! For others, the download of iOS 8 is merely going very slowly.

If you're running into the gratuitous space issue while trying to download iOS viii, or you're looking for an culling, faster route of downloading iOS 8, read on!

iOS 8 logo

Backup and making enough gratuitous space

The update to iOS 8 is bachelor for almost iDevices released in the last three years, including the iPhone 4S and afterward, the iPad 2 and after, and all permutations of the iPad Mini.

Before you update whatever iPhone or iPad, you should update your version of iTunes to the latest version and then support your device. For Mac users, open iTunes, so click iTunes > Check for Updates. Windows users, open iTunes, then click Aid > Check for Updates. To back up your iPhone or iPad, click File > Devices > Back Upward.

If you want to perform an over-the-air update directly to your iPhone or iPad, you will need upwardly to v.7GB of free space on your device to install iOS 8. Needless to say, if you have a 16GB iPhone or iPad, you may non have enough free infinite. Yous can either try to clear some gratis space by deleting photos and apps — or, alternatively, just plug the device into your Mac or PC and perform the update through iTunes. Upgrading to iOS 8 through iTunes removes the 5.7GB free space requirement.

How to officially update to iOS 8

The official update process is very simple. If yous wish, you can update to iOS viii straight from your iPhone or iPad past visiting Settings > General > Software Update. Alternatively, plug your iPhone or iPad into your computer, open up iTunes, navigate to the Summary tab for your device, and so click Update. It will either tell you that no updates are available (in which case, try again afterwards), or the download will brainstorm.

The download might exist quite dull initially as Apple tree's servers go hammered. (This can be a skillful reason to download an unofficial version using the links beneath, rather than wait for the real thing, which may have hours to download.)

One time you accept iOS viii installed, skip ahead to the end of the story to find more about your new operating system.

iPhone 5, iTunes, update to iOS 8

Download iOS viii unofficially

An culling route, if you're struggling with the official iOS viii download, is to download the advisable Gilded Master (GM) of iOS viii for your device. These files are legitimate versions of iOS 8 that were released over the terminal few weeks to developers and beta testers — and were and then redistributed unofficially to the public.

  • iPhone 4S (Models A1431 & A1387)
  • iPhone 5 (GSM, Model A1428)
  • iPhone 5 (CDMA, Model A1429)
  • iPhone 5S (GSM)
  • iPhone 5S (CDMA)
  • iPhone 5C (GSM)
  • iPhone 5C (CDMA)
  • iPad ii (WiFi)
  • iPad 2 (Rev. A)
  • iPad two (WiFi + GSM, Model A1396) – no download bachelor currently
  • iPad two (WiFi + CDMA, Model A1397)
  • iPad iii (WiFi, Model A1416)
  • iPad 3 (WiFi + GSM, Model A1430)
  • iPad 3 (WiFi + CDMA, Model A1403)
  • iPad 4 (WiFi, Model A1458)
  • iPad iv (WiFi + GSM, Model A1459)
  • iPad four (WiFi + CDMA, Model A1460)
  • iPad Mini (WiFi, Model A1432)
  • iPad Mini (WiFi + GSM, Model A1454)
  • iPad Mini (WiFi + CDMA, Model A1455)
  • iPad Air (Wi-Fi, Model A1474)
  • iPad Air (Wi-Fi + GSM)
  • iPad Air (Wi-Fi + CDMA)
  • iPad Mini with Retina (Wi-Fi, Model A1489)
  • iPad Mini with Retina (Wi-Fi + GSM)
  • iPad Mini with Retina (Wi-Fi + CDMA)
  • iPod Touch (Fifth-generation)

If the link for your device doesn't work, Lifehacker is doing a good job of locating new links that still work. Bear in listen that these links aren't official, and I haven't personally tested all of them. They should be completely fine, simply if you're at all concerned simply use the official iOS 8 upgrade process. Once you accept your iOS 8 GM, follow these steps:

  • Excerpt the downloaded file and make certain you have a file that ends in .ispw — something like:iPad2,1_7.0.4_11B554a_Restore.ipsw. Windows users might need to use a utility like 7zip to extract the file.
  • Open up up iTunes and connect your iPhone or iPad. Go to the Summary tab.
  • Hold downwardly the Option fundamental (Bone 10) or Shift (Windows) and click the Restore button. Locate the .ipsw file that y'all extracted.
  • Sit back and pray that the update completes.

Bear in heed that if the upgrade process fails, you may accept to enter DFU mode and restore your device from a fill-in. Most modern iDevices (iPhone 5, 5S, 5C, the iPad Air, iPad Mini) should take no bug at all, though.

iPhone: iOS 8

iPhone: iOS 8

Relish iOS 8

If everything goes to program, you lot should now be looking at iOS viii on your iPhone or iPad! Hooray! For the most part, iOS eight looks a lot like iOS vii — simply there are plenty of tweaks and new features that you'll discover after a petty poking around. To get yous started, read our featured story about some of the improve new features, and some of the hidden gems in iOS 8. Afterward that, it'southward a expert idea to check out how iOS 8 compares to Google'due south upcoming Android Fifty.