In addition to announcing a new iPad at its event in San Francisco today, Apple has also released a new version of its mobile software called iOS 5.1. While the update isn’t exactly as big of an update as we thought it would be, it brings quite a few features to the table for iDevice owners, including Siri in Japanese, a redesigned Camera app for iPad, battery life improvements, and more.
The update is available for iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch 3rd generation and iPod touch fourth generation.
Fortunately, the upgrade process has been made easy with iOS 5.
iDevice owners can now choose to update, manually install, or install the update over Wi-Fi while connected to a computer or laptop using iTunes.
The update process is free for iDevice owners, you don’t need to pay a dime, and the installation process should be pretty painless.
Prepare for iOS 5.1
Before updating to iOS 5.1, you may want to back up your device in case something goes wrong. This is unlikely to happen, but for those of you who keep important items (photos, videos, etc.) on your device, it might be worth the extra time.
To do this, plug it in with a USB cable and let the device make a backup. If it’s not backing up automatically, you can right-click the device name on the left side of iTunes and choose to backup. If you are migrating to a new computer, be sure to transfer purchases to the computer for easy synchronization.
You can also back up your device wirelessly if iCloud is enabled. To ensure your data is safe in case something goes wrong, you’ll want to go to your iCloud settings to see when your last backup was made.
How to Update to iOS 5.1?
Go to your device, .
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Your device will then check for new software and if you haven’t installed iOS 5.1 yet, you will be prompted to install it.
Go to iTunes and select your device name in the sidebar below it.
You should now see an overview of your iDevice. Make sure the tab at the top is selected and click it.
The update will now start downloading. Do not unplug your device while doing the update job.
The update is around 110MB for iPhone and about 200MB for iPad. Since it is quite large, it will take a few minutes for the update to download and install on your device.
For those who are impatient or get errors while trying to pull the update, there is another way to install iOS 5.1.
go to: this link and download the appropriate iOS 5.1 version.
Open iTunes and click the Option button (Mac) or Shift button (PC) button. When you do this, you will be prompted to select the file you just downloaded.
3) You will now go through the update process.
