How to Enable or Disable Automatic Software Updates on iOS

One of the new features of iOS 12 is the ability to install operating system updates automatically. This can be a bit risky at times, if there's a crippling bug in iOS, but in most cases it improves the experience a lot via security and performance updates. One of the biggest selling points of Apple hardware is long-term support via software updates and updating iOS automatically is one way to ensure that you don't have to manually install the latest software version.

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iOS 12 will prompt you to enable automatic updates when you first boot into the new OS. Unless your iOS device is really short on storage space, it's best to enable automatic software updates.

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Before — or right after you do that on first boot — you might want to enable automatic iCloud backup on your iOS device at all times. You can do this by going to Settings > tap your name > iCloud > iCloud Backup > flip the switch to the green “on” position. When your iOS device is locked, connected to Wi-Fi, and charging, it'll perform tasks such as iCloud backups. It's crucial to take a complete backup of your iPhone or iPad to avoid risk of losing data, and automatic iCloud backup is a way of ensuring you are never too far away from being backed up.

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Back to iOS 12, which ships with a cool app that can replace measuring tapes, enabling or disabling automatic software updates is actually quite simple if you follow these steps.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to General > Software Update.
3. Now tap Automatic Updates.
4. On the next screen, tap the switch. If it's green, it's on. To turn this off, tap the same switch again to ensure that it is not green.

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This will enable automatic updates on iOS 12. Software updates will be downloaded in the background and these will be installed at night, as long as your iPhone or iPad is connected to Wi-Fi and charging. Don't worry though, you'll get a notification about the update before it is installed.

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For more tutorials, visit the How To section.

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