iOS 12 Won’t Install, Use These 5 Methods to Fix

Updated Sep 14,2018 | by Cody

Released on September 17, iOS 12 brings many new amazing features and bug fixes. Many users will update to iOS 12 when they have the chance. However, some users meet the problem iOS 12 won’t install on their iPhone or iPad.

There are a few errors that you may encounter during downloading or installing, like insufficient space for download, an error occurred during installing iOS 12, verifying stuck, etc.

If you have problems updating to iOS 12, don’t worry. Here are 5 methods to fix iOS 12 update issues. No matter what error you get, you should find a solution here. If you are unclear about what caused this error, you may need to try one or more of the methods below to get it right.

iOS 12 is compatible with all the devices that can run iOS 11. Only some new features of iOS 12 will not be available on iPhone 6/Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 5s and equivalent iPad or iPod Touch. If your device is included in the list below, then you surely can update to iOS 12.

If you do not have enough space, iOS 12 won’t download or install. in that case, you can first go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage to check how much free space you have. You need about 2 to 2.5 GB of space to download iOS 12.

There are a few great steps to free up space on iOS device.

1.       Enable App Offload or allow App Deletion.

2.       Enable Optimize iPhone Storage by going to Settings > Photos.

3.       Clear caches and other unwanted files.

To clean your iPhone for unwanted files, you do not need to clear it one file or one app at a time because there is a program IOTransfer to help you do that in one click.

Besides making enough free space, you also need to check your network connection to ensure successful iOS update. If you have network problem, you can change to cellular data to see if it works or reset network settings.

To reset network settings, you can open the Settings app, navigate to “General” and then select “Reset Network Settings”.

In some rare cases, your iPhone will stop responding during iOS 12 update. If you really wait a very long time, you can force restart your iPhone using the steps below to fix it. This applies to stuck on downloading and verifying iOS 12.  

1.     Press and hold the power button on your iPhone or iPad and the lower volume key at the same time. If you have an older version than iPhone 7, press the power button and Home button instead.

2.     Keep both buttons pressed till your iPhone turns off and restarts.

If you are using iPhone 8, iPhone X, or iPhone Xs/Xs/XR, use the steps below to Force restart.

1. Press and release the Volume Up key.

2. Press and release Volume Down key.

3. Press and hold the Power Button until you see the Apple logo

Then your iPhone will restart, and you can enter the password and try install iOS 12 again.

Once iOS 12 is downloaded, Apple will verify it. If it takes too long to verifying update, it is possibly because your WiFi connection has dropped.

In that case, you should check your internet connection or change it to cellular data. If that did not help, then reset network settings.

If you still unable to install iOS 12 on your iPhone, then you can use iTunes to download and update iOS 12. Though it is safe to update iPhone software with iTunes, just in case any issues happen during the process, you are advised to back up your iPhone with iTunes in advance.

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to the PC via lightning cable. Then Open iTunes.

Step 2. Within iTunes, click your iPad or iPhone icon and then click Check for Update.

Step 3. A notification will be displayed request to upgrade your iPhone's iOS to iOS 12, click on Download and Update to proceed.

If iTunes fails to check and download iOS 12 update, you can manually download it from ipsw.me. In order to choose your download iOS 12 update file, hold the Shift key and click the Check for Update button. A new File Explorer widow will pop up and you can select the update file to start update to iOS 12.

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