How Long Does the iOS 18 Update Take?

Apple officially released the iOS 18 update for compatible iPhones in September 2024. It’s available now on the iPhone XR/XS and later, offering many new features like Contact Poster, Live Voicemail, NameDrop, Check In, Standby mode, interactive widgets, and more.

If you’re willing to try iOS 18 and give its new features a look, you can download and install it. However, according to certain users, including those who own an iPhone 16, downloading or installing the latest firmware can be a challenging task as the iOS 18 update is taking an exceptionally long time.

So, actually, how long does the iOS 18 update take then? Well, that’s what we’ll focus on in this article, and we’ll also show you what you can do in case your iPhone gets stuck during the update. Read on to learn more.

How Long Does an iOS Update Take?

It’s hard to give an exact time of how long an iOS update takes since the duration depends on several factors that vary from device to device. Some new iOS updates would take a long time and others that would take a short time. It can be just a minor update that offers a few improvements, such as bug fixes, font changes, and security improvements, or can be a major update that normally happens once a year.

In other words, the fewer the features, the smaller the OS, and vice versa. As such, a significant update, for instance, from iOS 17 to the latest iOS 18 version, will have more features, thereby taking longer to update.

So, on average, how long does the iOS 18 take to download and install? Well, the complete iOS update can take around 30 minutes on average, and it goes through four stages, each having a waiting time.

• iOS Update Download - takes 5 to 15 minutes.
• Preparing Update - takes 15 to 25 minutes.
• Verifying Update - takes 1 to 6 minutes.
• iOS Installation - takes about 10 minutes, including setting up the iPhone.

If your iOS update continues to run after an hour with no changes, then there’s a problem.

Why Does iPhone Updates Take So Long?

As we mentioned earlier, several factors can slow down iOS updates, and they vary from device to device. Some common ones include:

Preparation Time

Backing up everything on your phone before starting an update is essential, as iOS updates can disrupt or affect your data and applications. Doing the backup plus other preparations can take around 10 to 30 minutes, which in turn extends the update time.

iOS Update File Size

iOS update files vary in size depending on the number of features and upgrades they carry. If you’re switching from iOS 17 to iOS 18, then you’re looking at around several GBs of iOS update files. That’s a large update carrying many features, so downloading and installing it and then configuring the apps will take a pretty long time.

Available Storage Space

Every update comes with something new that needs space to be accommodated. Therefore, if your iPhone storage is not sufficient, then any iOS update you start is likely to freeze halfway or even terminate after running for a long time. Before initiating the update process, always check how much space is available on your phone in contrast to the size of the update file.

Apple Servers

Apple servers can affect an iOS update, too. Lots of iPhone users worldwide tend to update their iOS immediately after Apple releases it. As such, the servers can easily get overloaded by this enormous traffic and thereby slow down. Delays can happen, too, when you update your iPhone while Apple servers are undergoing maintenance.

Network Connection

When the network connection is slow, so is the download and installation process. It’s not just the strength of the network connection. The consistency does matter, too. If it fails or slows down halfway through the update, the update duration extends.

Other Running Apps

A lot of resources are used when updating iOS, so if there are other running apps in the background, the resources available get split, which ends up slowing down the update process.

Your iPhone’s Age

The age of your iPhone can also influence the duration of the iOS update. Older models are usually sluggish because each newer update has features that need better hardware. So, consider the model and age of your iPhone before you try an update.

What To Do to Make iPhone Update Faster?

We’ve tackled the question, “how long does a software update take?” and give you an idea of the factors likely to lengthen an iOS update duration; now is the time for solutions. Here is what you can do to guarantee a faster update.

1. Prepare early for the update. Back up your iPhone and make all other preparations before you move to perform the update. You can do this a day before time, especially if you know the exact release date of the new iOS.

2. Ensure you have a stable internet connection. You can do a speed test on your iPhone to confirm your network strength before you proceed to do the update. Try opening YouTube or Safari as well, just to confirm that the internet is working fine.

3. Stop other running background apps, then initiate the update. Closing the active background apps means more available resources for iOS updates, hence shorter update duration.

4. Create more storage space. Considering that certain updates can be large, you can delete some apps and files to create room for the update to offload its goodies.

5. Wait a couple of days after the new iOS release before updating your iPhone. Apple’s servers won’t be overloaded and slow by this time as the traffic of users trying to update would have decreased.

6. Try to cancel the update if it’s not moving or if it’s taking longer than expected, and then reboot your phone. This will give the update a clean slate to start afresh. You may need to delete the downloaded update file too, before restarting your phone and beginning the entire process again.

7. Ensure your phone has enough battery power before updating. Updates can’t happen when the battery power is less than 50%, so plug your phone into a wall outlet. The update will resume as it charges or once the power is above 50%.

8. Try resetting the network settings if the issue persists. This will remove any glitches or errors that could be interfering with the network connections. To reset the network, launch Settings, go to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone, tap Reset, then Reset Network Settings. Put your passcode and confirm the rest.

iPhone is Taking Forever to Update? Try Alternative Way

A great alternative way to solve iPhone is taking forever to update issues is to use FoneGeek iOS System Recovery software. This effective, professional tool can thoroughly fix your iOS errors to enable a smooth update process.

• It is very easy to use. You only need several clicks to fix the issue of a slow or frozen iOS update.
• Help to resolve many other iOS-related problems, such as iPhone stuck on Apple logo, Recovery/DFU mode, iPhone is disabled, etc.
• Fully compatible with all iOS devices and versions, including the latest iPhone 16 and iOS 18.
• Many media sites worldwide, such as Mobile Mall, GetDroidTips, Inspirationfeed, Techjury, and Pakainfo, have confirmed its reliability.

If all the solutions above have failed, we highly recommend you use the FoneGeek iOS System Recovery software to fix the iOS issues and update your iPhone to the latest iOS 18. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Launch FoneGeek iOS System Recovery on your computer and choose “Standard Repair”.
2. Connect your iPhone to the computer via a USB cable. Once it is detected, click on “Download” to get the firmware.
3. When the firmware is downloaded, click on “Fix Now”. Once the repair is completed, your iPhone will reboot and upgrade to iOS 18.

The Bottom Line

Now you know how long does iOS 18 update takes to install on your iPhone. If you encounter any issues, one of the factors highlighted above could be the cause, and you should be able to remedy it using the solutions we’ve provided.

In case you still have problems, use the FoneGeek iOS System Recovery to fix the iOS issues. It’s very effective and simple to use to update your iPhone to the latest iOS 18.