WHEN IT WAS revealed last month at Apple’s developer conference, iOS 10 was described as one of the biggest updates the software has received, bringing a number of changes to the familiar design.
If you’re feeling impatient and want to try out the new features now, the first public beta is now available.
You don’t need to download it – and for the majority of people, it’s probably better that you don’t – but if you want to try out some of the new features like the redesigned widgets and notifications, iMessage updates and changes to Photos (a list of the most noticeable features can be found here) you can.
Before you do anything…
Since it’s a beta, there are a few things you need to be aware of. For one, there are going to be bugs, lots of bugs. Part of the reason for opening the beta out to everyone is to discover as many issues as possible and fix them before it’s released to the public.
It’s not going to be a polished experience and bugs and crashes are a real possibility. If it’s possible, it’s better to download it on a secondary device instead of your main iPhone or iPad in case it ends up freezing your device.
Also, certain features promised by Apple during WWDC won’t be functional just yet. Things like apps for iMessage and Siri are going to be very limited as developers haven’t had much time to design apps for them so keep your expectations in check.
The devices that iOS 10 is available for are:
iPhone: 6s, 6s Plus, 6, 6 Plus, SE, 5s, 5c, 5
iPad: Pro (12.9 and 9.7 inch), Air and Air 2, 4th Gen, mini 2 – 4
iPod Touch: 6th Gen
Backup your data
Backing up your data is always a wise decision, but it becomes essential when you download any new, unfinished software. The best way to do this is to connect your iPhone to iTunes via USB and back it up on your computer.
That way, if something goes wrong and you have to revert back to iOS 9, you can get your old data back quickly.
Enroll your device
Once you’ve backed up your iPhone, the next step is to enroll your device with Apple’s Beta Software Program. Visit the site, register your Apple account and follow the instructions here.
You should do this through the browser on your phone as you’ll need to download a file for it to recognise the beta. Download it and reset your device.
Downloading the beta
Now go into Settings > General > Software Update. If you did the above correctly, you will see a screen like this.
The process is the same as any other time you upgraded iOS versions. How fast it will download will depend on how fast your connection is – you can still use your phone as normal in the meantime – but once you let it install, you should give it a few minutes to set up.
If you want to revert back to iOS 9
Although you might want to give yourself an hour for it to reset properly. To do this, turn off your iPhone or iPad, plug your Lightning USB into your computer and hold down the Home button.
This should bring up recovery mode on your iPhone – you’ll know this as the connect to iTunes alert will appear – and open up iTunes (if it hasn’t opened already).
Here, it will detect that you’re in recovery mode so select Restore from the popup window and then click Restore and Update. Follow the instructions and it will restore your phone to iOS 9.
If you backed up your phone like mentioned earlier, you will be able to restore all your settings by connecting it to iTunes again and selecting Restore from this Backup.
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