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This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon. Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals.
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iOS/iPadOS 26 might not be for everyone due to Liquid Glass user interface, multiple bugs, and noticeably slowdowns, especially on older devices. Before iOS/iPadOS 18.7.7, iOS/iPadOS 18 updates were limited to devices that don't support iOS/iPadOS 26 (iPhone XR, XS and XS Max, and iPad 7th generation), but fortunately, given the recent DarkSword exploit, iOS/iPadOS 18.7.7 and subsequent versions of iOS/iPadOS 18 were now released for all devices that haven't upgraded to iOS/iPadOS 26 yet, all the way up to iPhone 16 Pro Max and M4 iPad Pro. Thankfully, updating your device to iOS/iPadOS 18 is as simple as a few taps. In this article we'll go over how to get iOS/iPadOS 18.
Note: iOS/iPadOS 18.7.9 was recently released exclusively for devices that doesn't support iOS/iPadOS 26, meaning for devices that do support iOS/iPadOS 26 but haven't updated yet might no longer show iOS/iPadOS 18 security updates in Software Update.
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This article has been marked as historical. iOS/iPadOS 18.7.9 was recently released exclusively for devices that don't support iOS/iPadOS 26, meaning for devices that do support iOS/iPadOS 26 but haven't updated yet might no longer show iOS/iPadOS 18 security updates in Software Update. (Posted 2026-05-11). |
Ways to Get iOS/iPadOS 18
- To get iOS/iPadOS 18, go to the Software Update menu and install the latest version of iOS/iPadOS 18.
Steps
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Make sure your device is compatible. Only certain devices are compatible with iOS/iPadOS 18. If your device is not one of the models below, you won't be able to update to iOS/iPadOS 18.[1]- iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS and XS Max
- iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16e, 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max
- iPad (7th generation through A16)
- iPad mini (5th generation through A17 Pro)
- iPad Air (3rd generation through M3)
- iPad Pro 13" (M4)
- iPad Pro 12.9" (3rd generation through M2)
- iPad Pro 11" (1st generation through M4)
- Note that iPhone 17 series, iPhone Air, M5 iPad Pro and M4 iPad Air aren't compatible with iOS/iPadOS 18 because they shipped with iOS/iPadOS 26 or later.
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Tap the Settings app on your device. This app is in your app dock by default, in the bottom part of your screen. Its icon has gray gears on it.Advertisement -
Tap General. This menu option also has an icon of gray gears. -
Tap Software Update. This option has an icon of a gray gear with a notification circle in the upper-right corner. -
5Tap Upgrade to iOS 18 (iPhone) or Upgrade to iPadOS 18 (iPad). It's at the bottom of this page, below the iOS/iPadOS 26 update.
- If your device is running iOS/iPadOS 18, you will see iOS 18.x or iPadOS 18.x at the bottom instead.
- If you are using iPhone XR, XS or XS Max, or iPad (7th generation), i.e. an device that doesn't support iOS/iPadOS 26, skip this step.
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Tap Update Now under any pending iOS/iPadOS 18 updates. You can also tap Update Tonight if you want your device to update itself later.- After tapping Update Now or Update Later, you may be prompted to enter your passcode.
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Tap Agree to the Terms and Conditions. You'll need to tap Agree a second time to confirm.- The update will begin downloading immediately and then start installing if you chose Update Now. If you chose Update Tonight, you can go back into your device settings and tap Update Now at any time to start the update immediately.
Expert Q&A
Tips
Warnings
- If you have upgraded your device to iOS/iPadOS 26, you will be unable to downgrade back to iOS/iPadOS 18.Thanks
References
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