Apple periodically releases updated versions of its iOS operating system. Sometimes it happens that the smartphone gives a notification about the need to install a more modern modification of the OS, and there is no way to connect to Wi-Fi. In such a situation, the owners of "apple" mobile devices have a question: how to update an iPhone through "iTunes"? In the article you can find answers to this and a number of related questions.
What is iTunes?
iTunes is a program developed by Apple. It must be installed on your computer immediately after purchasing an iPhone, iPad or iPod. Indeed, without this application, control of any of the listed devices becomes almost impossible.
You can download iTunes on the official website of the developer. This program is free. After downloading, the application must be installed on the PC.
ITunes is compatible with various operating systems, such as Mac OS and Windows.
Before starting work on updating or restoring a mobile device, you must create a backup copy of your iPhone or iPad on your computer. Thanks to this, it will be possible to restore the data available on the gadget if problems occur during the execution of any of the listed processes.
How to update iPhone via computer? The answer to this question will be given a little later. Now is the time to talk about how to back up your iPhone.
Backup
The best place to store your iPhone backup is your computer’s hard drive. In this situation, access to this file will be open even if there is no PC connection to the Internet. In addition, such a choice of storage location will allow, if necessary, to extract information from the backup copy of the device in case of breakage or theft.
Before updating an iPhone, you must manually create such a duplicate file. To do this, do the following:
- Connect iPhone to computer using a USB cable.
- Launch iTunes and make sure that its latest version is installed.
- Select the “File” menu item in the upper left corner. Click on the “Devices” section and click “Back up”.
There is also another way to create a duplicate file for an iOS device. To do this, go to the synchronization settings in the iTunes application, select the “Backups” item. Next, select the "Automatically create copies" section, select "This computer" and click the "Create copy now" button.
There are two ways to update your iPhone through iTunes. Below is a detailed description of each of them.
Updating iPhone via iTunes: Method One
If the iPhone requires you to download a more modern version of the operating system, and connecting to Wi-Fi is not possible, this process can be carried out using a computer.
How to update iPhone through “iTunes”? To do this, do the following:
- Connect iPhone to computer using a USB cable.
- Launch the iTunes application and make sure that its latest version is installed.
- Click on the phone icon on the top panel and click the "Software Update" button.
The iPhone update via iTunes has a positive point. Indeed, in this case, the installation files are not downloaded directly to the smartphone. Accordingly, they do not need to specifically free up space on the iPhone's memory card.
The negative point of this update method is as follows: if during the installation of a more modern version of iOS the smartphone or computer suddenly turns off, then all the data stored in the iPhone will be lost.
Now you know an easy way to update your iPhone through your computer using the iTunes app. Below we will describe the second method of installing a more modern version of iOS on the phone using the same program.
So, further we will consider how it is still possible to update iPhone through iTunes.
Second way
How to update iPhone 4s and other models of this device using iTunes and not lose all the necessary information in case of an error? To do this, do the following:
- Download the file of the required version of iOS.
- Disable the Find iPhone feature on your smartphone.
- Launch iTunes and make sure it doesn’t need an update.
- Connect iPhone to computer using a USB cable.
- Go to the synchronization settings by clicking on the phone icon in the top panel of the application.
- Press the "Update" button while holding down Shift (for the Mac operating system, the Alt key).
- Select the required firmware file with the extension .ipsw in the window that appears. Click the "Open" button, then the "Update" button that appears. After that, the process of installing a more modern version of iOS on the smartphone will begin. If during the update some kind of failure occurs, the process can be started again without losing important information from the iPhone.
Below we will describe how to update on an iPhone iPhone by restoring it.
IPhone Recovery via iTunes
After the phone recovery process, all data that is stored on it will be deleted. That is why before starting such a procedure, you must definitely create a backup copy of your mobile device.
How to update an iPhone by restoring it? To do this, do the following:
- Download the file of the required version of iOS.
- Launch iTunes and make sure it doesn’t need an update.
- Connect iPhone to computer using a USB cable.
- Go to the synchronization settings by clicking on the phone icon in the top panel of the program.
- Press the "Restore iPhone ..." button while holding down Shift (for the Mac operating system, the Alt key).
- Select the required firmware file with the extension .ipsw in the window that appears. Click the “Open” button, then the “Restore” button that appears.
Also in iTunes, it is possible to restore an iPhone when you do not need to download the firmware file. The program will independently carry out this process after simply clicking the corresponding button in the synchronization settings window. The danger of this procedure is that if iTunes discovers that you can install a more modern version of the operating system, it will do it. The consequence of this may be a reset of all the settings of the mobile device and the loss of important information for you contained in the iPhone.
Conclusion
From time to time, iPhone owners of any models need to install a more modern version of the iOS operating system using a special application. How to update iPhone through “iTunes”? Several methods can be used to implement this process. A detailed description of each of them is given in the article. This is a simple process, but you should pay attention to the cautions in order to avoid the loss of important information from a mobile device.