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What To Do If Your iOS 11 Public Beta 7 Installation Is Stuck

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Just when you thought it was safe to Public Beta… Some testers are running into an issue where the Software Update status bar hangs at Preparing Update and never progresses. Restarting the Settings app doesn't do anything, neither does rebooting the iOS device (both of which are always my first troubleshooting steps when it comes to iPhone or iPad problems). Luckily, there's an easy way to save your device from its update purgatory.

Anthony Karcz

In the Settings app, go to General > iPhone Storage. Give it a couple of seconds to update the list (and read the Recommendations while you're there - don't go into them though! We'll dive into those a future article).

Once the list is populated, start scrolling till you see iOS OTA. Select it and press the Delete option.

When you return to Software Update, it should recognize that it no longer has the necessary files for download and has to grab them again. Press Download & Install to restart the process. This time, it should install without issue.

Why does this happen? Most likely the file was corrupted. You can take a few precautions to ensure the new iOS OTA file doesn't meet the same fate as the one you just deleted:

1. Plug In.

As with all things involving system updates, you need to make sure that your device has enough power to download the file uninterrupted. Plug in your device before you restart the download.

2. Use Reliable WiFi

While you can download a minor update like Public Beta 7 over cellular data, you probably shouldn't. For system updates, it's recommended that you always use a reliable and trusted WiFi network (that sketchy public WiFi you found at a highway rest stop is neither). If your home WiFi isn't robust enough, try using the network at someplace like a public library or at your work, where the signal will be more robust.

3. Don't Use Your Device

It's tempting to click away from the Software Update status to go check social media or play a quick game of Marvel Puzzle Quest (I'm guilty of it); but it can slow down your download and ultimately corrupt the data if you start trying to pull down too much additional information at the same time. Your best move is to put the device down and walk away until it's done.

Once you have your new update downloaded, you should be able to install iOS 11 Public Beta 7 without any problem. Be sure to check out my guide for what's new in this update.

If you're looking to hop on to Apple's iOS 11 Public Beta program, now is a great time. Check out my Installation Guide to get started. If instead, this was the last straw and you want to go back to iOS 10, I've got you covered there too.

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