Apple
How Long the iOS 7 Update Will Take to Complete
After a much-anticipated wait the iOS 7 release nearly here. With iOS 7, iPhone and iPad users will have access to a totally revamped home screen, new features like control center, and a lot of other neat improvements. Besides the obvious new additions there are also a lot of under the hood security improvements that make upgrading a good idea.
If you have the iPhone 4 or newer or iPad 2 and up, your device is capable of running iOS 7. The upgrade process is a fairly simple one to complete but the amount of time that it takes depends on several things. One of the biggest factors is the internet connection you use to download iOS 7. If you have a good internet connection it will help the upgrade process go at least a bit easier.
Read: 7 Things to Do Before Installing iOS 7
One thing that will depend on the day itself is how Apple’s servers hold up as soon as the download goes live. In the past the upgrade has went well overall, but depending on how many people are trying to update at the same time this might vary. If you have issues while trying to download the update either try at a later time or wait a day or so for Apple to iron out some of the issues that occasionally happen with these upgrades.
Update: Some users are reporting iOS 7 download estimates of two to four hours.
Here’s how long you can expect the iOS 7 upgrade to take.
The iOS 7 update time is typically around 10AM Pacific or 1PM Eastern but this could change. Broken down below is an approximation as to how long the upgrade process will take for you to upgrade to iOS 7. Each step has a time allocation associated with it and is close to what will happen on upgrade day. As a side note it is best not to use the iPhone while upgrading so you do not lose any data that was not backed up in a previous step.
Sync and Backup: 1-60 Minutes (Optional)
Connect the iPhone to the computer that you sync iTunes with and make a backup of your iPhone. This backup is useful if anything goes wrong with the upgrade. Even if you typically use iCloud to back up the iPhone, it is still a good idea to have a backup in iTunes on your computer. Depending on how often you back up the iPhone will reflect the time that this step takes.
Backup and Transfer Purchases: 1-30 Minutes (Optional)
Once your initial sync completes, it is also a good idea to back up purchases made on the iPhone. To do this step choose File —> Transfer Purchases in iTunes.
iOS 7 Download: 20 Minutes to Hours
After fully backing up the iPhone start to download the iOS 7 software. This step will take up to a half an hour (and a long as 3-4 hours during the peak download time) and is depending on your internet connection. If a lot of people are trying to download the software at the same time this could also decrease the speed of the download.
iOS 7 Update Time: 15-30 Minutes
After the iOS 7 software finishes downloading, it will begin to install on the device. This step should take about 15 minutes but could be a bit longer. After the firmware update completes iOS 7 will successfully be installed on the iPhone.
For users who are already backed up and don’t feel the need to plug into a computer, the process could be as fast as 30 minutes, but plan for longer.
How Long Does it Take to Upgrade to iOS 7?
Here is a chart that combines all the above steps for a minimum total time of 40 minutes but expect about an hour for full process completion.
| Initial Sync | 1-60 Min |
| Backup and Transfer of Purchases | 1-30 Min (longer depending on last backup) |
| iOS 7 Download | 20 Min to Hours |
| Device Firmware Update | 15-30 Min |
| Total | 40-335 Min |
Check out this video for a walk through of the new features that iOS 7 will bring to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Ross
09/17/2013 at 2:01 pm
Informative! Thank you!
Simon
09/17/2013 at 7:18 pm
I have several iPhones that need the update and in the past I have had to download each separately. Is there a way to make one download and use that for all iPhone 5?
ksavai
09/17/2013 at 11:04 pm
from iTune download update file and update it via itune. Never tired but that should work. No harm trying.
Tom
09/18/2013 at 6:01 am
Go to settings>general>software update… Update it using this.. Hit them all at once they should be done at the same time… No computer needed but u need wifi… Works on iPad but idk about iPhone
RICARDO RAMNATH
09/18/2013 at 2:55 am
thanks this was very helpful.!!! cant wait to update my ipad
Spoofy
09/18/2013 at 11:48 am
6 hours remaining. . .
Pissedkitty
09/18/2013 at 12:28 pm
12 hrs remaining?
Punchappleintheface
09/18/2013 at 12:32 pm
Been stuck on 4 hours remaining for 2 hours. :/
Em
09/18/2013 at 12:33 pm
20 hours remaining……….
kicks
09/18/2013 at 12:39 pm
I had 11 minutes then it canceled out saying an error :/ Now an hour remaining
Rimsky
09/18/2013 at 1:09 pm
At first it was 3 hours then after an hour its 2 hours then it became 17 hours…
rebecca
09/18/2013 at 1:10 pm
55 hours remaining
fbdshauif
09/18/2013 at 1:21 pm
trolls
domingo
09/18/2013 at 2:48 pm
when in preparing update do i need to stay in wifi or since the software is downloaded can i walk away and know it will update without wifi?
taylor
09/18/2013 at 3:49 pm
4 hours into it…
Sif
09/18/2013 at 4:04 pm
2 Days 14 hours remaining. Wtf?!!!!
livelaughloveforeverandever
09/18/2013 at 4:29 pm
Mine was 4 hours, and then it only took about 1. Now I’m actually updating. LOVE IT!
kris
09/18/2013 at 5:24 pm
I am currently updating my ipad3 to iOS7.Downloaded the update for about 3o minutes and now its installing.But its been installing the update for 2 hours now.Theres the black screen with the apple logo and the download bar that doesnt seem to be moving.Should I wait? What do I do please help!
Mallory
10/16/2013 at 6:36 pm
ive been on that screen for over a day now, what did you do?
cassandra
09/18/2013 at 6:25 pm
mines is 53 hoursss
brandie
09/18/2013 at 6:42 pm
mines 95 hours
Jason
09/18/2013 at 7:15 pm
guys, once downloaded and ready to install, do you still require WIFI?
Jenna
09/18/2013 at 8:30 pm
If I go somewhere without wifi, will the update cancel?
Prantha
09/19/2013 at 2:28 pm
I have the same question.
Tony McDowell
09/19/2013 at 12:31 am
I had to leave the house after an hour downloading
When I returned, it picked back up from wher it had left off
Yuki
09/19/2013 at 4:09 am
Tsk!first,10hours time remAining then 33hours time remaining ,huh?better update ios7 next year it would 1sec take time to update
gahn
09/19/2013 at 5:35 am
You photo is 4 hours but i’m 20 hours!!!!!
Goh
09/19/2013 at 7:51 am
2 hours later, still 3 hours remaining…..estimate total 6 hours needed to completet the update!
Antonio Perez
09/19/2013 at 11:04 am
I been stuck on 7 hours then 9 hours then 13 hours then 6 hours then now 4 hours. Yes I literally kept track
Valerie Kawasaki
05/07/2014 at 1:58 am
I agree. I’ve been stuck at 8 hours started at 13 went down to 9. This is ridiculous.
Prantha
09/19/2013 at 2:26 pm
It said it would take 40 minutes on my 4S (via WiFi, right next to the router). Two hours later. . . The blue bar is about 5/6ths of the way over to the right and it no longer says how much more time it will take.
It has been saying “Preparing Update” for quite a while. I gotta leave my wifi connection. What happens if I leave it?
Frank
09/19/2013 at 8:34 pm
34 hours and counting…
Mallory
10/16/2013 at 6:38 pm
how long did your’s take? ive been waiting for a day and a half now and it hasn’t moved.. what should I do?
kristin
09/20/2013 at 1:29 pm
mine started earlier I waited and waited it failed!!! I was so mad but I restarted it and it started at an hr remaining and is finally at 47 mins remaining lol hopefully to goodness it wont fail again I will be so mad!!
Anton
09/21/2013 at 7:12 pm
guys, f your having trouble read this. I was waiting about 7 hours and couldn’t be stuffed. Tur of your phone and back and and it’ll be fixed. iOS 7 will be complete
john
09/22/2013 at 3:17 am
Will hopefully be slightly faster now that a good portion of people have already upgraded!
Joyce McDuff
09/23/2013 at 6:59 pm
I’m over this already. My ipad took an hour but this damn phone just doesn’t want to upgrade – 3 days and the little cogs are still going round with no estimate of remaining download time. Think I’ll just leave the phone the way it is.
Jeffperez
09/28/2013 at 6:48 pm
My iPod started to update automatically. That’s was weird
iOS 7 download links
10/08/2013 at 2:18 am
It totally depends on the network. For me, it took 5 minutes, but for general users it was asking 1 hour to 2 hours. OTA updates are very slow as compared to full software firmware file.
Mallory
10/16/2013 at 6:40 pm
I have been on the black screen with the loading bar and the apple for over a day and a half now, and I just am wondering what I should do..
Joe
10/30/2013 at 6:01 pm
well, still waiting. Taking forever. started about 10 minutes ago and the black screen with the apple logo is nearly halfway done. I think its going fast, compared to the hours it took me to download iOS6
Eyosi
12/01/2013 at 4:36 am
Mine is keep saying 22 hrs and it would probably canceled since I have weird wifi network. What if I don’t updated?