At 6pm today, Apple will release iOS7 for those devices that are capable of supporting it. Whilst many people will be eager to download and install it, please read the following before going ahead.

Leave it at least one more day

Typically when major releases become available, the world and his dog will be attempting to download it immediately. Apple’s servers will be incredibly busy, and it’s likely the process will take a couple of hours per device during this initial mad rush. For previous releases, I’ve always been eagerly checking repeatedly on the big day desperate to see the improvements Apple have made. But, after several years of experience, this year I will be waiting till tomorrow. The thinking is that, by tomorrow morning in the UK, the initial rush will be over, and the majority of the US will be asleep, so I’m expecting the servers to be starting to respond normally. In the past, this has reduced the upgrade time (including downloading the new software) to around 30 minutes, a much more realistic period.

That said, I’d be tempted to suggest leaving it a week or more for many end users. iOS7 has been in testing for a few months now, but it’s inevitable that bugs will be found in the coming days that hadn’t been seen in the limited testing the developer community is able to do. Unless you really need to upgrade (and I’d question whether anyone ‘needs to’), it might be prudent to wait until the first updates are released, probably in a week or two, dependent on what bugs or issues are found.

Prepare your device now

When it does come to upgrading, whether its today or in a week or two, one common frustration is that people often don’t have sufficient room on their device to download the new software. At this stage, I don’t know the requirements for storage, but while you are waiting for the update to be released it would make good sense to do some tidying up on your device. Clear out any photos that you don’t need, and remove any other unnecessary data or apps until you have at least 4GB of free storage (you can check this by going into Settings/General/Usage – the figure you’re looking for is how much storage is “Available”). This will make the upgrade process simpler when you come to do it.

Secondly, make sure all your existing apps (that you are keeping on the device) are upgraded to the latest version before you perform the iOS update (go to App Store, click updates and then “Update All”).

Prepare your computer now

For those that are connecting their iOS device to a computer, make sure you have done a software update (on Mac) or Apple Software Update (on PC) to get the latest versions of all the software as they may be a requirement for iOS7. iTunes updates are almost always required for major iOS releases, and they normally become available at or around the same time as the iOS release. Do this immediately, but wait (as above) to upgrade iOS if you can.

Also, if you have an Apple TV, check for updates on that before upgrading your mobile devices.

Check that you really want to upgrade

Depending on what device you have, you may not be able to upgrade at all. Or you may find that certain features aren’t supported on your device – these are generally hardware limitations. But if you’re upgrading because you think you’ll get Siri on your iPad 2……..you won’t! Apple list the compatibility and feature availability in full at the bottom of this page.

And if you’re scared by the whole process

Don’t be! It’s fairly simple. But to make it that bit easier on you, we are currently offering an upgrade service for just £30 per device. Just call us on 01923 555048 to arrange this.