Author: Chris Hoffman / Source: howtogeek.com
The public beta of iOS 12 is now available for iPhones and iPads. Anyone who wants to play with iOS 12’s new features can install it today. However, we recommend backing up your device first so you can easily restore the stable version of iOS 11 afterwards.
When to Update to the Beta (And When You Shouldn’t)
Before we proceed to even single step into this tutorial, let’s be perfectly clear: you’re signing up for a beta release. This means you’re getting unstable software. There will be crashes, frozen apps, quirks, and other hiccups. This stuff isn’t ready for prime time.
With that in mind, if you only have one iOS device and you rely on it for critical things like work-related apps, keeping in touch with hospitalized family, or any number of stability-is-key scenarios, you should wait for the public release of iOS 12 proper later in 2018.
Seriously, we mean it: don’t install this on your primary device. If you have an iPhone you use for everything, don’t install it on that iPhone!
But, if you have an old iPhone or iPad you don’t use much and you’re ready for some bugs and crashes, then by all means proceed. You’ll get to try out all the features (and provide feedback on them) before the general public.
Ready to volunteer for unpaid beta testing? Let’s jump right in.
RELATED: What’s New in iOS 12, Coming to Your iPhone and iPad This Fall
What You Need
Here’s the good news: If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch runs iOS 11, you can upgrade to iOS 12.
Every single device that ran iOS 11 will run iOS 12, too. Apple even claims iOS 12 will speed your old iPhone or iPad up.Every iPhone from the iPhone 5s going forward is compatible with iOS 11 and iOS 12, including the following devices:
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 5s
The list gets a little harder to parse when we start talking about iPads, because of different naming conventions. But, basically, you’re eligible if you have an iPad Air, iPad Mini 2, or newer:
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2nd generation
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch 1st generation
- iPad Pro 10.5-inch
- iPad Pro 9.7-inch
- iPad Air 2
- iPad Air
- iPad 5th generation
- iPad mini 4
- iPad mini 3
- iPad mini 2
Finally, the latest iPod touch supports both iOS 11 and iOS 12:
- iPod touch 6th generation
We strongly suggest you have a Windows PC or Mac running the most current version of iTunes in order to do a complete backup of your device in its iOS 11 state. This will allow you to downgrade back to your current iOS 11 state without losing any of your data.
Step One: Make a Backup of Your iPhone or iPad With iTunes
Why back up to a local machine? Even with a fast connection, pulling down a full iCloud backup can take a very long time for a phone with a lot of apps and storage. Further, you never have to worry about running out of space or your backup being overwritten when you have the extra space of a hard drive (compared to the very limited amount of space allocated to the free iCloud account). If you want to wipe your phone and go back to iOS 11, the process will take a few minutes if you have a local backup and, potentially, hours and hours if you have to do it over the internet.
In case we haven’t made it very clear by this point: back up your device to iTunes before proceeding.
Don’t remember how? Don’t worry. These days, many iOS users never even look at iTunes, so you’re probably not alone. To back up, run iTunes and plug in your iOS device with the sync cable—that’s the USB cable you use to charge your device. You may need to click “Allow” in iTunes and then tap “Trust” on the iPhone or iPad if you’ve never connected it to iTunes on your computer before. Look for the device icon near the upper left corner of the iTunes interface and click on it.
RELATED: How to Back Up Your iPhone With iTunes (and When You Should)
In…
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