You’ve probably become fairly accustomed to what your iPhone Home screen looks like, so even minor changes can be pretty noticeable.
For example, if you see a red circle with a white number inside of it on the gray Settings icon, you might be wondering what that is for.
That number, also called a Badge App icon, is letting you know that there is an iOS update available for your iPhone 13.
You can install an iOS update on an iPhone 13 by going to Settings > About > Software Update > then touching the Download & Install button and following the prompts onscreen to complete the installation.
These iOS updates are released periodically and usually contain fixes for problems with the previous version of the operating system, as well as new features that let you do more things on your device.
If you see one of these red circles on your Settings icon and you are able to plug your phone into a charger and wait some time for the update to install, then continue reading below for more information on installing iPhone iOS updates.
How to Install an iOS Update on an iPhone 13
- Tap Settings.
- Choose General.
- Select Software Update.
- Tap Download & Install.
Our guide continues below with more information on installing an update on your iPhone, including pictures of these steps.
Our article on how to get rid of passcode on iPhone 13 will show you how to remove the passcode to make signing in a bit simpler.
How to Find and Install an iPhone 13 iOS Update (Guide with Pictures)
The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 13 in the iOS 15.3.1 operating system.
Note that these iOS updates can sometimes take 30 minutes or an hour for the larger ones, and can be several GB in size. It’s typically best to do this at home when you can connect to a charger and you have some spare time where you won’t need your phone.
You will also want to make sure that you have a recent backup. If you back up through iTunes then it’s a good idea to do a backup there first. If you back up through iCloud then you can go to Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Backup and confirm that there is a recent one there.
Step 1: Open the Settings app.
Step 2: Scroll down and select the General option.
Step 3: Touch the Software Update button at the top of the screen.
Step 4: Tap the Download & Install button at the bottom of the screen.
Note that it might only say “Install Now” if the update has already been downloaded.
If you have a passcode set then you will need to enter that passcode before you are able to complete the update.
Our tutorial continues below with additional discussion on downloading and installing iOS updates on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.
More Information on Downloading and installing an iOS Update on an iPhone 13
As mentioned earlier, these iOS updates can sometimes be several GB in size. If you don’t have unlimited data, then downloading an iOS update over a cellular network can use up a lot of your data. Ideally, you will want to perform this update while connected to your Wi-Fi network.
if you don’t have enough space on your phone to install the update, your iPhone will let you know. There are a number of places to look if you need to free up space, but some faster ones are usually deleting apps that you aren’t using, deleting videos, either in your Photos app or that you have downloaded in video apps, or clearing out some pictures.
At the top of your Updates page is an option for Automatic Updates. If you open that menu you will be able to tell your iPhone to Download iOS Updates and Install iOS Updates automatically.
If you are opening the Settings app for the first time since the red circle appeared, then you will be taken directly to the Software Update screen. After that, you will need to go through General > Software Update to get there.
An iOS update is different than an app update. You can find app updates by going to the App Store, tapping your profile icon at the top-right, then scrolling down and looking for updates there.
You can also choose to let your iPhone install app updates automatically through Settings > App Store > App Updates.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing technology how-to articles and tutorials for over a decade. He has extensive experience in information technology both in small business and as a consultant.
His articles have appeared on dozens of websites and been read millions of times.
He covers many different topics concerning technology, but focuses primarily on smartphones, consumer software, and consumer electronics.
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