iOS 16 or iPadOS 16
Ultimate Update Guide

Check out the brilliant new features in iOS 16, and complete the iOS 16 update guide to know how to update your iPhone to iOS 16 successfully and also tips to fix iOS 16 update/downgrade issues.

iOS 16 Awesome New Features

iOS 16 is packed with a bunch of new features that help you connect with others, be more focused, explore the world and do more with on-device intelligence.

Lock screen

Customize your lock screen, including photos, font style, color option and widgets.
Swipe to switch customized lock screens.
Add widgets as you like: calendar events, date, weather, battery levels and more.
View notifications at the bottom in 3 views: expanded list view, stacked view, and hidden view.
Check Live Activities on the lock screen without unlocking your iDevices.

Focus

Allowing or silencing notifications from the selected people and apps in Focus mode.
Each focus mode has a linked lock screen with the corresponding wallpapers, apps and widgets.
Swipe the lock screen to switch focus modes.
Focus filters: filter out distractive contents in Calendar, Mail, Messages, and Safari for each focus mode.

Messages

Edit and recall a recently sent message.
Nine new Memoji stickers, and 40 new outfit choices.
Mark a message as unread.
SharePlay with Messages: share synced movies, songs and playback control when chatting in Messages.
Share and collaborate notes, presentations, reminders and more in Messages.
Check updates in shared contents.
Press a Dictation button to record your voice.

Photos

iCloud Shared Photo Library allows sharing photos from the Camera with up to six members.
Each member can add, edit, delete and favorite photos in the shared library.

Mail

Show more relevant and complete search results.
Schedule and unsend emails.
Add rich links in emails.
Check an email for missing contents such as attachments and recipients.

Maps

Add different stops on your route.
Sync Maps data between Mac and iPhone.
Access historical routes in Recents.

Safari and Passkey

Start FaceTime, share bookmarks and send messages from Safari.
An end-to-end encrypted method to sign in to Passkey

Intelligence

Extract the subject from an image in Photos, Screenshots and Safari and more.
Live Text is available on videos.
Dictation punctuates text intelligently.
Insert an emoji with a voice.

Prepare iPhone and iPad for iOS 16 and iPadOS 16

Before you start the iOS 16 update, you’d better do some preparations like backup iPhone data. Let’s see what we should do before starting downloading the new iOS!

1. Check for Compatibility

iPhone
iPhone 14

iPhone 14 Pro

iPhone 14 Plus

iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 13

iPhone 13 Mini

iPhone 13 Pro (Max)

iPhone 12

iPhone 12 Mini

iPhone 12 Pro (Max)

iPhone 11

iPhone 11 Pro (Max)

iPhone XS (Max)

iPhone XR

iPhone X

iPhone 8

iPhone 8 Plus

iPhone SE (2nd gen or later)
iPad
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th gen)

iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th gen)

iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd gen)

iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd gen)

iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st gen)

iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd gen)

iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd gen)

iPad Pro 11-inch (1st gen)

iPad Pro 10.5-inch

iPad Pro 9.7-inch

iPad (9th gen)

iPad (8th gen)

iPad (7th gen)

iPad (6th gen)

iPad (5th gen)

iPad Mini (6th gen)

iPad Mini (5th gen)

iPad Air (5th gen)

iPad Air (4th gen)

iPad Air (3rd gen)
iPod
No iPod Touches work on iOS 16.

2. Backup Your iOS Device Before iOS 16 Update

Data loss due to iOS upgrade occurs every year. Therefore, before performing iOS 16 upgrade, we recommend that you back up your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch. In this way, you can restore data from the backup if any of your data is lost during or after the upgrade. In addition to the traditional iTunes and iCloud backup choices, there are now many third-party iPhone backup tools. We have compared the three methods for your reference.

free iphone backup software — UltFone Free iPhone Backup Solution

Step 1. Connect your iOS device.
Step 2. Choose the data to backup.
Step 3. Back up data to a computer in one click.

Pros:

Full backup or selective backup.
Saves multiple backup files.
Extracts data from backup file(s).
Restore data to iPhone/iPad selectively.
No network and unlimited storage.
100% free backup feature.

Free Download Free Download

Step 1. Connect your device to a Wi-Fi network.
Step 2. Go to Settings > [your name], and tap iCloud.
Step 3. Tap iCloud Backup.
Step 4. Tap Back Up Now.

Pros:

Automatically back up.
Easy and secure to use.

Cons:

5 GB free storage.
Only back up an iPhone under a Wi-Fi connection.
Can't extract backup data.
Slow and time-consuming.

Step 1. Open iTunes or Finder on the computer.
Step 2. Connect your device to the computer with a USB cable.
Step 3. Select your device under Devices on Mac, or select your device in iTunes.
Step 4. Click Back Up Now

Pros:

No network required.
Provide unlimited storage.

Cons:

Slow backup and restore process.
Can't preview data in the backup file.
iTunes backup or restore errors occur frequently.

How to Update Your Device to iOS 16/iPadOS 16

Learn how to update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS — wirelessly or using your computer.

Update Your Device Wirelessly

Step 1. Plug your device into power and connect to the Internet with Wi-Fi.
Step 2. Go to Settings > General, then tap Software Update.
Step 3. Tap Download and Install.
Step 4. To update now, tap Install.
Step 5. If asked, enter your passcode.

Update Your Device using Your Computer

Step 1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15, open Finder. On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier, or a PC, open iTunes.
Step 2. Connect your device to your computer.
Step 3. Locate your device on your computer.
Step 4. Click General or Settings, then click Check for Update.
Step 5. Click Download and Update.
Step 6. If asked, enter your passcode.

Update to iOS 16 without iTunes

Download a iOS 16/iPadOS 16 firmware file to a computer.
Install iOS 16/iPadOS 16 to iPhone/iPad/iPod touch without iTunes.
Fix 150+ iOS/iPadOS/tvOS System Problems, like update errors, bootloop, Apple logo, recovery mode, etc.

Free Download Free Download Free Download Free Download

4,140,396 people have downloaded it

Learn More

The steps to update to iOS 16

Download and launch iOS System Repair.
Connect your device and click the Start button.
Download the firmware file.
Wait for the program to install the iOS 16 firmware file to your iDevice.

Have an iOS 16 Update Problem?

You may encounter a problem during or after the update, how to solve these problems to get iOS 16 installed successfully? We have listed several upgrade issues that users have encountered most and gave some suggestions on how to solve them.

iOS 16 Downgrade Tips

If you overly excitedly updated to iOS 16 and are now faced with regret, or iOS 16 is causing issues on your iPhone, you still have a chance to downgrade your iPhone to iOS 15.

UltFone iOS Downgrade Tool

Free Download Free Download Free Download Free Download

Downgrade from iOS 16 with UltFone iOS Downgrade Tool

1. Connect your device and click on the Start button on the main interface.
2. Choose Deep Repair.
3. Download the latest official iOS firmware file.
4. Start removing the iOS 16 from your device.
5. After the downgrade, your device is back to the latest official iOS version.

Notice:

Your data are kept intact after downgrading with UltFone iOS Downgrade Tool, though some of the data like messages may get lost.
This iOS downgrade tool only supports downgrading from iOS 16 to the latest official iOS version. It does not support downgrading to a customized iOS version.
The software can fix all issues you face with an iOS 16 update or downgrade.

Downgrade iOS 16 with iTunes

1. Back up your iPhone.
2. Go to ipsw.me and download the firmware that matches your iOS device.
3. Launch iTunes or Finder on your computer and connect your device to a computer.
4. Click Restore iPhone while holding down the Option/Alt key (Mac) or the Shift key (Windows) and locate the IPSW file you downloaded earlier.
5. Wait for the new IPSW file to be installed on your device.

Notice:

Downgrading iOS 16 with iTunes will result in complete data loss, and you can't restore from the previous backup files you created with iTunes or iCloud. So, remember to backup your iPhone with a third-party backup tool.

Pro-tips for iOS 16 Downgrade

1. The Usable iOS Versions Are Limited

To accomplish the downgrade, you should first go to ipsw.me to download your wanted iOS version. You can tap Choose a product > Choose a platform > Choose a version on the website to preview the versions and choose a suitable one to download.
2. Cannot Restore the Backup after the Downgrade

After you uninstall iOS 16, you'll be unable to restore your device with the backup that you created before the downgrade. If you want to get back the files, you should turn to some tools like UltFone iOS Data Recovery.