How to Update to iOS 27: The Complete Day-One Guide

As of today, iOS 27 is still in beta — beta 8, build 24A5430a, went out to developers on Monday, August 31, 2026, and the version shipping to everyone else is iOS 26.6.1, build 23G83. This guide is for the day iOS 27 actually becomes a public release: the ordinary software update that lands in Settings for every supported iPhone, with none of the beta-program steps.

Apple hasn't announced a release date from a stage, but its pattern has been consistent for years: an early-September iPhone event, then the new iOS a few days later. On that pattern, expect an event around September 9, 2026 and iOS 27.0 to start rolling out around Monday, September 14, 2026. Treat both as expected, not confirmed.

Below: what to do before you tap the button, the two real ways to install it, why it sometimes doesn't show up right away, how long it takes, what the first hour looks like, and how to confirm you made it to iOS 27.

Before you tap Update

Five short checks, each one the direct fix for a common update complaint.

Make an archived backup

Public-release updates almost never lose data, but a backup costs ten minutes against a small, real risk. Use iCloud (Settings → your name → iCloud Backup → Back Up Now) or, better, an encrypted computer backup through Finder or the Apple Devices app. Confirm it finished before you start.

Free up storage space

A full iOS point-release download runs several gigabytes, and your iPhone needs extra room beyond that to unpack it. If storage is tight, go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage and offload apps or large videos first — this is the single most common reason an update stalls partway through.

Charge past 50% or plug in

iOS won't start a major update below roughly 50% battery unless you're on power. Plug in before you tap the button and leave it plugged in through the restart.

Get on a real Wi-Fi network

Full system updates require Wi-Fi; cellular is blocked for downloads this size. Use a network you trust — a weak connection is what turns a 15-minute update into an hour of "Verifying Update."

Confirm your iPhone actually supports iOS 27

iOS 27 is expected to run on iPhone 11 and later, plus the iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later — every iPhone 11 through 17 model, the iPhone Air, and both SE (2nd gen) and SE (3rd gen). Notably, no iPhone loses support this year: everything that ran iOS 26 is expected to run iOS 27 too. The iPhone XS, XS Max, XR, and older are not on the list. Apple Intelligence is narrower — it needs an iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 or later, and the most advanced features are limited further to the iPhone 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, or iPhone Air. The full breakdown lives on our iOS 27 supported devices page.

How to update over the air, in Settings

This is the path almost everyone should use. It's the same flow Apple has shipped for a decade, applied to iOS 27:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap General, then Software Update.
3. Wait for your phone to check in with Apple's servers. Once iOS 27 is available for your device, you'll see it listed with a short description of what's new.
4. Tap Download and Install. If prompted, enter your passcode and agree to the terms.
5. Keep the phone on Wi-Fi and, ideally, on the charger. You can keep using it while the download finishes in the background.
6. When it's ready to install, your phone will ask to restart. Let it — this is the part that actually takes most of the time, and interrupting it is the one thing that can genuinely cause problems.

Some phones also offer "Install Tonight" — download now, install automatically overnight while charging. It's a reasonable choice if you don't want to babysit the process.

How to update using a Mac or Windows PC

This is the reliable fallback when the on-device update won't cooperate, or when it's simply faster for your setup:

On a Mac (macOS Catalina or later)

1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac with a cable.
2. Open a Finder window and select your iPhone in the sidebar.
3. If it's the first time connecting, tap Trust This Computer on the iPhone and enter your passcode.
4. In the General tab, click Check for Update, then Update once iOS 27 appears.

On a Mac running an older macOS, or on Windows

1. Connect your iPhone by cable.
2. Open iTunes (older macOS) or the Apple Devices app (current Windows, which replaced iTunes for this purpose).
3. Select your iPhone, then choose Check for Update followed by Update.

Reasons to reach for a cable instead of waiting: your home Wi-Fi is slow and a wired Mac isn't, your iPhone's storage is too tight to unpack the update on-device, or the on-device version simply hasn't shown up yet.

iOS 27 update not showing yet? Here's why

This is normal, and it happens every year on release day. Apple rolls a new public release out in stages over the first day or two rather than to every device at once, to avoid overwhelming its own servers — which stage your phone lands in has nothing to do with anything you did wrong. The most reliable fix is simply to check again later; a restart before checking also clears a surprising number of stuck states. If it still hasn't appeared after a day or two, updating through a computer (above) checks against a different part of Apple's infrastructure and often succeeds immediately.

For anything that doesn't fit neatly into that table — a specific app breaking, a Bluetooth accessory misbehaving, or something more unusual — our dedicated iOS 27 problems and fixes guide covers the deeper troubleshooting.

How long the update actually takes

Budget roughly 15 to 40 minutes end to end, in two phases. The download is usually the fast part on decent Wi-Fi — a few minutes for a package that typically runs a few gigabytes. Installation is slower: your iPhone restarts, applies the update, migrates data where needed, and restarts again, normally 10 to 30 minutes. The oldest supported models, like the iPhone 11 and iPhone SE (2nd generation), tend to sit at the slow end compared to an iPhone 16 or 17 doing the same install — that's just older hardware doing more work per second, not a sign anything went wrong.

What the first hour after updating looks like

Don't be alarmed by any of the following — it's all expected, and all temporary:

• The phone runs warm and battery drains faster. iOS is reindexing Spotlight, Photos, and on-device machine-learning databases in the background — CPU-intensive, and the top reason people think something's wrong when nothing is.
• Apps update themselves. Developers often ship a companion update alongside a new iOS release, so the App Store may be busy right after you finish.
• You may be asked to re-enable Face ID or re-enter a setting or two — a one-time step, not a problem.
• Apple Intelligence features can take extra time to appear on eligible iPhones, since some models download separately in the background.
• Notifications can lag briefly while background services restart. Give it an hour before worrying.

This settles within a few hours for most people, a day at the outside. Battery still noticeably worse days later is a separate issue, not update day itself.

How to verify you're actually on iOS 27

Two quick checks:

1. Open Settings → General → About and check Software Version. It should read iOS 27.0 (or a later point release, such as 27.0.1).
2. Open Settings → General → Software Update. Once installed, it should say your iPhone is up to date rather than offering a new download.

If either still shows iOS 26.6.1, the update didn't complete — go back to the beginning of this guide rather than assume it silently succeeded.

Looking ahead to iOS 28

iOS 27's device list is worth remembering for what it implies about next year. This is the rare cycle where nobody's iPhone aged out — every device that ran iOS 26 also runs iOS 27. Apple has typically dropped the oldest supported model or two each year, so if that pattern resumes with iOS 28 in June 2027, the iPhone 11 line is the most likely candidate to be first on the chopping block, simply for having gone the longest without a graduation. We track projections for this on our iOS 28 supported devices page.

The bottom line

Back up first, confirm space, battery, and Wi-Fi, then either tap Download and Install in Settings or plug into a computer and use Finder or Apple Devices. If the update isn't there yet on release day, that's the staggered rollout doing its job — check again in a few hours. Once it's done, give your iPhone an hour to settle before judging battery life, then confirm the version in Settings → General → About. Still deciding whether day one is the right moment? Our should you install iOS 27 on day one guide walks through that call, and the iOS 27 guide and release date tracker cover the rest of this cycle. You can also turn on release-day alerts instead of checking Settings yourself.

Frequently asked questions