You’re not alone. 

I’m a Machead, which means the moment iOS drops I’m trying to get it onto my phone and hoping that all the Beta users worked out the bugs. For the past few years, it has been a seamless process until, well, September 20 when iOS 15 dropped. Getting it downloaded was easy, but getting it installed? Impossible. Without fail, I’d get the error message that doomed me to another five minutes of ‘attempting to install’ that would keep me from answering texts or watching Netflix.  

I was disheartened and frustrated like many other iPhone users and every tech site I could find gave me multi-step processes including manually installing the software. I haven’t plugged my phone into my Mac since Apple Music went completely digital, so there’s no way they were getting me to do that. If you’re impatient like me and wanting to try out some of the cool features iOS has to offer, here’s how we got it to work.  

Note: this is only if you have already downloaded the update and been unable to install iOS 15. If you haven’t downloaded the update yet, make sure you’re connected to WiFi and follow the instructions on this page.

The workaround no one’s written about:

-Disconnect from WiFi.  

Connecting to WiFi and your charger is necessary for any iOS update because it requires a lot of data. However, to install iOS, there’s little to no data used.  

-Make sure you’re plugged into your charger. While this process typically takes less than 20 minutes, it can use a lot of power. 

-Click ‘Install’.  

-It might take a few minutes for your iPhone to verify the update with Apple, but with so many people downloading iOS 15, it makes for loaded servers. Be patient! 

-If your screen goes black and shows the Apple logo, you’re in!  

-Let the phone sit until it powers back up to your lock screen. 

Start exploring!  

Still having trouble? It might be time to go down the list every other tech giant is putting out there. We won’t bore you with the details, but you can view them here: https://wccftech.com/how-to/how-to-easily-fix-ios-15-software-update-failed-error-on-iphone/

Good luck, Machead!