Charmed by several eye-catching features, you decided to install iOS 17 on your iPhone. But an annoying error called “Unable to check for update” hits your path out of nowhere, throwing cold water on your excitement. And that has led you to look for ways to fix unable to check for update issues on your iPhone or iPad. If my guesswork is right on the money, you have arrived at the right post. Keep reading to…
Fix “Unable to Check for Update” Error on iPhone and iPad
To get going, it makes sense to briefly discuss some of the usual suspects.
What causes the Unable to check for update “ Error to Occur?
More often than not, it’s the poor internet connection that tends to come in the way of a software update. When it happens to be the case, the software update either fails to show up or gets stuck mid-way. So, you can get rid of the issues related to software updates by taking control of your internet connection – in most cases.
However, if the issue still persists, culprits like the clogged-up storage and random software glitches could be in the play. Not to mention, the ill-functioning Apple server could also be equally responsible.
1. Force Quit the Settings App and Launch It Again
Probably, the quickest way to fix this issue is to just force quit the Settings App and relaunch it.
- On your iPhone or iPad without the Home Button: Gently swipe up from the Home Bar to reveal the App switcher. After that, swipe up the app card of the Settings app to kill it.
- On your iPhone or iPad with the Home Button: To bring up the app switcher, you need to double-press the Home Button and then swipe up the Settings app card to force kill the app.
- Now, launch the Settings app and go to the General -> Software Update section to check if the issue is gone.
2. Turn ON/OFF Airplane Mode
If your iPhone is faced with a sluggish Wi-Fi or cellular connection, turning on/off the airplane mode can let you reset the connection and bring it in full swing.
- Swipe down from the upper right corner of the screen (without the home button) or swipe up from the bottom of the display (with the home button) to access the Control Center.
- Now, tap on the airplane mode icon to turn it on/off.
3. Reboot Your iPhone or iPad
If the airplane mode trick has not yielded the desired result and the error still pops up while you are trying to update the iPhone, reboot your device.
- On iPhone and iPad without the Home Button: Press and hold the volume up/down button and the power button at once. When the power off slider appears, drag it to shut down your device. Now, make sure to wait for a few seconds and then press and hold the power button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- On iPhone and iPad with the Home Button: hold down the power button -> drag the power off slider to turn it off. Then, press and hold the power button again to turn in your device.
Note:
- If the soft reset doesn’t fix the software update issue on your iPhone, it would be apt to give a chance to the hard reset as well.
- To do so, press and release the volume up button on your iPhone/iPad -> press and release the volume down button. Then, press and hold the top/side/power button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
4. Disable the Low Power Mode
Designed to extend the battery life by pausing/disabling power-hungry features, the Low Power might be hindering the software update from working properly.
- Go to the Settings app on your iPhone -> Battery -> Low Power Mode and turn it off.
5. Connect Your iPhone/iPad to a Power Source
It’s worth pointing out that the iPhone needs around 50% battery for software updates. When your iPhone is connected to power, it needs at least 20% battery to kickstart the software update. Be sure to tick off this important requirement before getting started.
6. Reset Network Settings
If you find your internet connection below par, resetting the network settings could help you troubleshoot the struggling connection.
- Dive into the Settings app on your iPhone -> General -> Transfer or Reset iPhone -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings and confirm the action.
Side note: If your Wi-Fi remains problematic, reboot your Wi-Fi router.
7. Factory Reset Your iPhone/iPad
When faced with a weird issue or a common one, you can trust the factory reset to let you get over the line. Keep in mind that it will remove all the custom settings such as the Wi-Fi password and Home Screen layouts, putting everything back to the default state.
- Navigate to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad -> General -> Transfer or Reset iPhone/iPad -> Reset -> Reset All Settings.
8. Declutter your iPhone or iPad
If your iPhone’s storage is clogged up with very little extra space to breathe, updating software would be an issue. Hence, try cleaning up your device to ensure redundant files are no longer lurking around.
- To begin on the right note, visit the Settings app -> General -> iPhone/iPad Storage -> check the amount of used/available storage. Also, have a look at the space each app has taken up.
- After that, wipe out the clutter, deleting everything that’s no longer needed.
- Once you have removed the redundant files, go back to the Settings app -> General -> Software Update and try updating the software.
- Most probably, the issue would be gone now.
Fixed Software Update Issues in iOS 17 and iPadOS17
There you have it! I hope the software update issues have gone and you’ve successfully upgraded to the latest iteration of iOS. Feel free to share your feedback and the tips that have worked for you.
Read more: 110+ Best iOS 17 Hidden Features: Time to Dig Deeper!
