How to Get Your iPhone and iPad Ready for iOS 11

[SteveW928]

I for sure don't trust them with my photos.

Your reason is exactly why it's taken me so long to go the iCloud backup route. But I thought it was time to stop manually backing up after 9 years!

Yea, one would think. I use iCloud backup and sync too... but haven't stopped relying on alternate backup methods.

That said, even though I've never had a problem with Dropbox (a leader in cloud reliability, IMO), I still have alternate backups.

The problem with sync, is that it's complex and while it can add that new appointment to all of your devices, it can also efficiently wipe out something, or replicate a mistake, or replicate a glitch. And, Apple's cloud-backup (even if flawless) isn't well designed to restore.

As I said, they are getting better from my experience, but not enough to trust (if that ever is a good idea).

 

[Donoban]

The 'X' won't fix it. You can't throw hardware at a software problem.

You sure brah? I will confirm said lag tomorrow after I've upgraded and will report back.

I have a 6s and 12.9 iPad Pro.

 

[BlueCreek]

How much free storage do you generally need? I have 14GB free at the moment, my iCloud has 1GB! I was hoping Apple would reduce the 200gb storage tier

 

[mabhatter]

I am not saying there isn't a lag on older phones, but on iPhone 7 Plus, there's zero lag.

There's a lag on Cellular settings page, however.

I too, feel that iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra are rushed.

I feel like we could take a year off OS updates and nobody would care. They feel too rushed trying to scramble for whatever flashy hardware gimmick is for this year. We could skip a release and just go with a point patch some years. I mean the macOS release is so minimal they make it share a name. (Like Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion) I'm all for features, but it feels like "make work" for engineers and not really good stuff.

 

[Donoban]

Yea, one would think. I use iCloud backup and sync too... but haven't stopped relying on alternate backup methods.

That said, even though I've never had a problem with Dropbox (a leader in cloud reliability, IMO), I still have alternate backups.

The problem with sync, is that it's complex and while it can add that new appointment to all of your devices, it can also efficiently wipe out something, or replicate a mistake, or replicate a glitch. And, Apple's cloud-backup (even if flawless) isn't well designed to restore.

As I said, they are getting better from my experience, but not enough to trust (if that ever is a good idea).

No offence intended.

You're holding onto old beliefs.

Contacts, calendar, Apple Music, etc work brilliantly.

Messages and health data will also sync as designed with iOS 11.

I like that you are running with secondary backups. I would to but it's just a phone that holds a few crappy food photos and slightly crass animated gifs in iMessages.

Embrace the power and increased productivity of sync my friend.

 

[SteveW928]

No offence intended.
You're holding onto old beliefs.

Trust is an earned thing.

 

[Donoban]

I feel like we could take a year off OS updates and nobody would care. They feel too rushed trying to scramble for whatever flashy hardware gimmick is for this year. We could skip a release and just go with a point patch some years. I mean the macOS release is so minimal they make it share a name. (Like Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion) I'm all for features, but it feels like "make work" for engineers and not really good stuff.

I would care man. Hahaha...

I don't know why everyone feels everything is rushed. Like we've learnt. The a11 was 3 years in the making, iOS 11, iPhone x, etc were also probably years in the making.

Do any of you have jobs'?

At some point you have to ship. You have to put your work out there for people to experience it. It's scarey because many will critisise what you've done. But there will be those that appreciate it.

I imagine the milestone of shipping a new phone and iOS version must be a very satisfying moment for the Apple teams.
[doublepost=1505773526][/doublepost]

Trust is an earned thing.

Fair enough champ. Just be aware of your own biases and don't be closed to change.

 

[jdillings]

Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Disable "Enable Key Flicks"...you'll thank me later

 

[nwcs]

iOS 11, the bane for OCD people...

 

[SteveW928]

I don't know why everyone feels everything is rushed. Like we've learnt. The a11 was 3 years in the making, iOS 11, iPhone x, etc were also probably years in the making.
Do any of you have jobs'?
At some point you have to ship. You have to put your work out there for people to experience it. It's scarey because many will critisise what you've done. But there will be those that appreciate it.

Because things used to not be this way for people who've been around Apple for a while. Quality-control was much better. Features, typically, were more meaningful than dancing emojis. (Ok, yea, there have been some big, more 'behind the scenes' advances like the file-system move.)

I used to be really excited about new OS launches and couldn't wait for the features. So-much-so, that I'd often risk updating right away (it's always a risk). But, the last few OS updates have been so 'yawn' in terms of features that mean anything to my workflows, and so risky, that I've waited as long as a year to install them.

Fair enough champ. Just be aware of your own biases and don't be closed to change.

Hey, I actually use my iOS devices for my work and business, not just playing around with. I've been burnt too many times (& as recently as about 4 months ago), where I lost data. When you lose important appointments in your calendar or something like that, Apple's lackadaisical approach to such things becomes kind of a big deal.

 

[BondFancy]

Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Disable "Enable Key Flicks"...you'll thank me later

What does that do?

 

[npmacuser5]

What the heck!! So what's the point of backing up to iCloud if it doesn't save health data? That's a huge let down for me.

Agreed, lost all my Health Data when I got a new iPhone. Clearly say's in the iTunes backup that Health Data and others are only backup on iTunes. I also ran into the disk limitation on my MacBook, why I actually lost my Health Data.

 

[Septembersrain]

Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Disable "Enable Key Flicks"...you'll thank me later

What? Either I'm missing it or you just trolled me hard. LOL

 

[nutmac]

You mean you don't see any lagg. There certainly lagg on my 7 Plus as well as others.

I already said there's a lag on Cellular settings page, just not on App Store.

 

[SteveW928]

Agreed, lost all my Health Data when I got a new iPhone. Clearly say's in the iTunes backup that Health Data and others are only backup on iTunes. I also ran into the disk limitation on my MacBook, why I actually lost my Health Data.

Many of these new features are solutions for Apple, not us. Too little storage? Allows us to delete some of your data for you.
No thanks, Apple!

 

[saern]

To answer a previous poster's question, iOS 10.x is compatible with an iPhone 5. On iOS 11 the iPhone 5 got dropped because it's deemed too slow to run it. IOS 11 is a more demanding OS because it does more. Older phones (ip6) will feel it.

The iPhone 5 is not compatible because IOS 11 is the first OS to not support 32-bit processors. The A6 was the last 32-bit chip.

 

[v3rlon]

You mean you don't see any lagg. There certainly lagg on my 7 Plus as well as others.

Or maybe they mean there isn't any lag - which is what many people are saying.

You seem to think that because you and a few other people you know HAVE seen lag, that everyone has it or is blind not to see it.

On the other hand, maybe there is something different from the phones that have it to the ones that do not - even something that is not obvious to you.

Clearly some people are not seeing the lag you do. This isn't because "TehY R Stoopid and blind" as you seem to want to assume. You can walk through troubleshooting.
Which iphone is showing the issue? Size? Network?
Do you have any phones NOT showing the issue?
How to recreate the lag?
Is it every time or just the first time (or every time after the first?
Does your phone have any other issues (dropped in molten lava, but just the once?)

You're using a beta OS, so beta - not just blamestorming.

 

[Dan4VT]

Am I the only one that doesn't have any updates available? When I go to the software update section of the settings on my iPhone 7, iOS 11 doesn't display as an option. Tells me that 10.3.3 is the most up-to-date. The same thing happens when I plug it into my MacBook Pro in the iPhone section of iTunes, when I check for an update, it says none available.

I rebooted my computer and my iPhone and my iPad, none of them are showing iOS 11 as available. What's up?

 

[gettingnewphone]

Apple officially releases iOS 11 on Tuesday, September 19, and a host of new iPhone and iPad features are coming with it, such as a revamped Control Center, a new Files app, Drag and Drop gestures, and several other updated design elements.

This article covers some of the things you can do to prepare your devices for Apple's latest mobile operating system, including storage maintenance tips, backup advice, and a few other useful tidbits to consider before upgrading. First though, it's worth finding out if your mobile devices are compatible with iOS 11.

iOS 11 Compatibility Check

If you own an iPhone 5s or later, or an iPad Air or later, your device will run the latest operating system. Still unsure? Here's Apple's official compatibility list for iOS 11.
[*]iPhones: iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone SE.
[*]iPads: 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generations), 10.5-inch iPad Pro, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, iPad Air 1, iPad 5th generation (2017 model), iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3, and iPad mini 2.
[*]iPods: iPod touch 6th generation.

Reclaim Device Storage Space

iOS 11 includes new features to help you free up space on your iOS device, such as personalized recommendations about actions you can take to increase the available storage. But before you can benefit from those, you'll want to make sure your device has adequate space to download and install the new operating system.

With that in mind, it's worth reconsidering what apps you currently have installed on your devices and whether you really need them. Swipe through your home screen and check inside your folders to root out any long-forgotten apps (including legacy 32-bit apps that won't work on iOS 11) that are taking up precious storage space.

You can delete apps by holding a finger on them and tapping the X that appears at the corner of their icon. Alternatively, go to Settings -> General -> Storage & iCloud Usage -> Manage Storage, tap any apps you don't use, and select Delete App. Be ruthless - you can always re-install removed apps at a later date if you change your mind.

Check on the size of any social media apps you have installed, such as Facebook and Snapchat. These apps can often balloon in size after long periods of activity because of media caching and the like, so you might want to delete and then re-install them to start afresh.

If you're a WhatsApp user, open the app, go to Settings -> Data and Storage Usage -> Storage Usage, take a look at how many megabytes your chat history is consuming, and take appropriate action using the "Manage" option. You might be surprised at the savings this simple step can make.

If you use iCloud Photo Library, it's also worth checking that it's set up to use as little local storage on your device as possible. Tap through to Settings -> Photos and Camera, and make sure the option "Optimize iPhone Storage" is ticked. Lastly, open the App Store app and install any updates that are available to ensure maximum compatibility with iOS 11.

Create an Archived iTunes Backup

It's best practice to have an iTunes backup of your device stored on your computer in case something goes awry, or the worst happens and installation of iOS 11 fails. If you need to downgrade shortly after installing a new iOS update, making an archived iTunes backup beforehand is necessary.

An archived iTunes backup saves the current state of your iOS device and prevents it from being accidentally overwritten by subsequent backups. Here's how to do it on a Mac. (Note that if you're a Windows user, the iTunes procedure varies slightly and you will need to rename your iTunes backup folder or move it to another location to prevent it from being overwritten).

1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to a Mac with the latest version of iTunes installed (click iTunes -> Check For Updates from the menu bar to make sure) and click on the device's icon in iTunes' interface.
   
2. Under backups, select "This computer", choose "Encrypt iPhone backup" and then set a password. An encrypted backup retains all your account passwords as well as your Health and HomeKit data, whereas a non-encrypted backup doesn't.
   
3. Click "Back Up Now" and wait for the backup process to finish. It should take between 5 to 15 minutes to complete depending on how much data is stored on your device.

Archive the Backup

1. To archive the backup, select "Preferences" from the iTunes menu and click on the "Devices" tab. Right-click the new backup and choose the "Archive" option.
   
2. After the archival process is complete, a backup is labeled with the date and the time that it was archived.

Archived backups can be viewed at any time in iTunes' Preferences section. You can also delete an archived backup from here - simply select the backup in question and click the "Delete Backup" button.

Installing iOS 11

When iOS 11 becomes available (likely around 10 AM PST/1 PM EST on Tuesday, going on past releases) it will be delivered to your device either via iTunes when you plug it into your computer, or as an over-the-air update. Make sure your device is fully charged before you start the process over Wi-Fi, as it may take some time to complete.

Article Link: How to Get Your iPhone and iPad Ready for iOS 11

[doublepost=1505776467][/doublepost]I have a iPhone 5 ordered an 8+. the 5 is not compatible with iOS 11...does anyone know how or if you can set up the phone from a Iphone 5 back up?

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Clean install vs upgrade thoughts? I'd be interested.

Upgrade is faster and easier.
Clean install (restore) tends to be less buggy.

 

[sracer]

A single anecdotal experience--yours--does not mean that iOS has suddenly become a buggy, defective system. Let's compare: I've experienced *none* of the problems you've had (I've had virtually no serious problems on any of the betas, and the GM candidate has been a delight). Thus, extrapolating from my one anecdotal experience, Apple's attention to detail is unmatched and iOS is perfect. There's therefore no reason for these "tech reviewers" to call Apple out.

and yet in spite of your flawless experience with the ios 11 beta, Apple will release at least one update within the first week to address bugs. That seems to indicate that your experience is not typical.

 

[McScooby]

My only issue with a complete reset is that I don’t want to lose my messages. Any way around this?

No doubt someone wiser than me may offer a different solution, but as iOS11 stores SMS & iMessages in the cloud, why not upgrade to 11 as a normal update, make sure it's all backed up, then do a full reset & reinstall?

 

[DolsJ]

What the heck!! So what's the point of backing up to iCloud if it doesn't save health data? That's a huge let down for me.

According to Apples documentation iCloud backups include Health Data
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/ht207428
[doublepost=1505777952][/doublepost]

Agreed, lost all my Health Data when I got a new iPhone. Clearly say's in the iTunes backup that Health Data and others are only backup on iTunes. I also ran into the disk limitation on my MacBook, why I actually lost my Health Data.

They are only backed up in iTunes if you encrypt the backup. If you backup to iTunes without encryption no health data is included. It is always included in iCloud since there is no other option than encrypted backups to I iCloud

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/ht207428

 

[Weaselboy]

I just updated today to iCloud backup and this thread is making me jittery about how good its going to be...

iCloud backup works just fine, but it won't save all your app passwords. I have a lot of apps that require passwords, so it would be a lot of work for me to reenter them all.

 

[hollersoft]

Am I the only one that doesn't have any updates available? When I go to the software update section of the settings on my iPhone 7, iOS 11 doesn't display as an option. Tells me that 10.3.3 is the most up-to-date. The same thing happens when I plug it into my MacBook Pro in the iPhone section of iTunes, when I check for an update, it says none available.

I rebooted my computer and my iPhone and my iPad, none of them are showing iOS 11 as available. What's up?

The public release is tomorrow. Those discussing iOS 11 have been running beta versions and/or the GM, which you have to download/install separately. At some point tomorrow once they make it public, you will see iOS 11 as a software update on your devices.