How To Turn On Automatic Updates On An iPhone

With iOS updates appearing to be released every other day, it can be difficult to keep up. Sometimes you might not even realize your phone has had multiple updates until you’re in a group chat filled with question marks instead of new emojis. You might be particularly confused since the debut of iOS 16 – which allows people to send and edit iMessages. Even if you see update reminders on your phone, it can be easy to put off installing an update if it means (gasping) that you need to be away from your phone for at least a few minutes. If you often find yourself in iOS purgatory, you may be wondering how to enable automatic updates on an iPhone.

Turning on automatic updates allows your phone to get the latest updates when they’re available while charging overnight. This comes in really handy if you’re someone who needs your phone for work or doesn’t have time to install an update during the day. Besides, who doesn’t like waking up to the surprise of a new operating system on their phone?

When you’re ready to stay up to date with all things iOS, turning on automatic updates is pretty easy. Here’s everything you need to know.

All iPhones have automatic updates turned on by default. However, there’s a chance you accidentally turned them off somewhere along the way. To enable automatic iOS updates for your iPhone, first go to Settings by clicking the gear icon on your home screen. Scroll down to General, which is next to a gear-shaped icon, then tap Software Update, second from the top.

You should see On or Off next to Automatic Updates at the top of your screen. Since automatic updates are the default setting for iPhones, this should already be turned on. However, if for some reason it has been disabled, tap the Automatic Updates button.

Two toggle buttons will be listed: Download iOS Updates and Install iOS Updates. You need to automatically download iOS updates to install them, so make sure both toggles are turned on.

Once you have both switches enabled, your phone will be able to receive automatic updates.

Why won’t my iPhone update automatically?

If you’ve turned on automatic updates but still aren’t receiving them, you may have a different problem.

Although updates download automatically, an update can only install automatically if your iPhone is charging and connected to Wi-Fi overnight. So if you’ve found that your automatic updates aren’t working, make sure your phone is plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi every night so you can wake up to your phone running an up-to-date iOS.

How to turn off automatic updates on iPhone

If you prefer to manually update your iPhone with each new iOS, follow the same steps to get to your phone’s Automatic Updates section. First open your Settings and scroll down to General then Software update and you will see Automatic updates at the top of your screen. Uncheck the “Download iOS updates” and “Install iOS updates” sections to avoid automatic updates for your phone.