In this article, we explain how you can troubleshoot the problem if your iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max won’t update iOS. We will mainly focus on resolving the wireless (over-the-air) update problems.
It is important to keep your iPhone 18 Pro up to date. It is very easy to get the latest updates to keep your iPhone 18 Pro running with the latest features smoothly and securely. However, you may run into problems. For example, sometimes you may see error messages or the download may take too much time. So when your iPhone 18 Pro just can’t seem to install an update, there are a number of things you can try to ensure that you can update your device to the latest version of iOS.
You may see various error messages when an update fails, for example, you may see popup messages saying things like:
- Unable to Check for Update
- Unable to Verify Update
- An Error Occurred Installing…
- Unable to Download
How to Fix iPhone 18 Pro Not Updating Issue
Try the following troubleshooting steps in order. After trying each one below, test to see if you can update your device.
Before you do anything, try to restart your iPhone 18 Pro to see if this helps.
- Press and hold either volume button and the side button until the power-off slider appears.
- Drag the slider, then wait 30 seconds for your device to turn off.
- To turn your device back on, press and hold the side button (on the right side of your iPhone) until you see the Apple logo.
1. Update servers
Is there anything preventing your iPhone 18 Pro from contacting Apple update servers? There are four things you should check:
- Make sure that your device is connected to the Internet. On your iPhone 18 Pro, try to visit a website to check if you can access the Internet. Try using a fast Wi-Fi or cellular connection. If your connection is bad, the download may not complete or take too long. If possible, try to use a different Wi-Fi network. Avoid downloading other content while updating your device.
- Visit Apple’s System Status page to see if there’s an outage for the update service.
- If you are using a VPN or a proxy service, they may cause issues. Temporarily try disabling them. Use the app to turn off its features, then see if the issue continues.
- Update your device again using the same network. If you still see an alert, try updating using another network, or update using your computer (see #4 below).
2. Not enough space
It is possible that your iPhone 18 Pro doesn’t have enough storage space to complete an update. If this is the case, there are two things you can try:
- Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage to see how much storage you have. You can make room by removing apps, music, photos, or videos you do not need.
- Or, alternatively, you can update your iPhone 18 Pro via the Finder, the Apple Devices app or iTunes. If you want to do this, see that section (#4) below.
3. Manually delete the update and try again
Try removing the downloaded update content and retry again. This will simply restart the update process. Here is how:
- On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
- You will see your list of apps. In the list, you should see the iOS update. (If you do not see the update, use your computer to update your device, see below).
- Tap the update. Then tap Delete Update.
- After deleting the update, go to, again, Settings > General > Software Update and update your device.
4. Update with the Finder, the Apple Devices app or iTunes
If you cannot update your iPhone 18 Pro, you can use your computer (PC or Mac). This is very simple. Follow the steps below:
- Open the Finder on your Mac, or open the Apple Devices app on your PC. If your PC doesn’t have the Apple Devices app, or your Mac is using macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes instead.
- Plug your device into your computer.
- Locate your device on your computer. You may need to trust your device to continue.
- Click Check for Update.
- Click Download and Update.
