Installing the iOS 12 beta may take 30 minutes or longer, depending on your skill level and device.
This guide is for iOS 12 beta. For information on how long it takes to download and install the official version of iOS 12, please see our new guide.
The iOS 12 beta is now available to those in Apple’s developer program and those who sign up for the company’s free Beta Software Program. The Beta Software Program requires a working Apple ID and some time.
The first three iOS 12 betas come with many features planned for the final release this fall, including upgrades to Do Not Disturb, Photos, and Notifications. With the final release just weeks away, this is a tempting download, but it’s not for everyone.
Apple’s iOS 12 beta is a pretty big download, over 1GB for compatible iPhones and iPads, and will take longer (in some cases much longer) to download than an official version of iOS.
If you decide to try the iOS 12 beta on your device, be prepared to spend time downloading, installing, and testing the software for issues. If you haven’t signed up for the Developer program or the Beta Software Program, you’ll also need to spend time doing so.
We can’t tell you exactly how long the iOS 12 beta will run on your device. Mileage will vary from person to person and device to device depending on your skill level and current iOS version.
| Task | Time |
|---|---|
| Synchronization (Optional) | 5-45 Minutes |
| Backup and Transfer (Optional) | 1-30 Minutes |
| iOS 12 Beta Download | 3 Minutes to 10 Minutes |
| iOS 12 Beta Installation | 10-20 Minutes |
| Total iOS 12 Beta Update Time | 30 Minutes – 1 Hour+ |
However, we can help you estimate approximately how long it will take to install iOS 12 on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
If you’ve prepared yourself and your device for the download, it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to complete. If you’re starting from scratch, it may take an hour or more.
Pre-Installation
Assuming you’ve already signed up for the appropriate beta (developer or public), you’ll now want to spend some time preparing yourself and your device for download.
It may take some of you as little as 10 minutes to prepare for the iOS 12 beta. For others, especially those who want to be as mindful as possible, it may take 30 minutes or longer.
You may need to sync your device and/or back up important files before downloading iOS 12 beta. This may take some time if you store tons of data on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
You can also talk to your IT department, review feedback from iOS 12 beta users, or spend some time flagging fixes for potential iOS 12 beta issues.
We’ve prepared an iOS 12 beta pre-installation guide that will walk you through the steps you need to take before starting the download on your primary or secondary device.
You don’t need to follow every step, but we recommend at least backing up your data. Data loss issues are rare, but you’ll want some peace of mind going into the download process.
iOS 12 Beta Download Time
If you’re migrating your device from iOS 11.4 to iOS 12 beta, your iOS 12 beta download may be over 1GB. In some cases, the cold can be over 2GB.
Our iPhone 7 running iOS 11.4 had a download size of 2GB+. If you’re upgrading from an older version of iOS 11, you’ll also be looking at 2GB+ downloads.
If you have a high-speed Wi-Fi connection at home, your download may take up to three minutes (less depending on the connection) to complete.
For us it took a little over three to download the developer beta on an iPhone 8 Plus. It took six minutes to download the first public beta on the iPhone 7.
If you are moving from the second public beta to the third public beta, you can expect a smaller download and a shorter download time. It took about five minutes to download and prepare our iPhone 7.
iOS 12 Beta Installation Time
If you’ve gone through the beta installation process before, you should be able to get the software up and running in about 10-20 minutes. It took 15 minutes to install the first public beta on our iPhone 7.
If you are installing beta for the first time, it may take a little longer. Note that the public beta is a little easier to install than the developer beta.
When you’re an Apple developer or have installed an iOS 12 beta profile on your device, you can find the firmware waiting for you in the Software Update section of your Settings.
Tap Install and the beta will automatically start installing on your device if you’ve cleared enough space for the installation to happen.
Note that your device may reboot once or twice during the installation process. This is completely normal and should not have any effect on your setup.
If you’re moving from the second public beta to the third public beta, you can expect it to take about five to six minutes to install. This is what we encountered on our iPhone 7.
For more information on installing iOS 12, take a look at our step-by-step instructions. It will guide you step by step through the correct path for the installation process.
Post install
After you have iOS 12 beta up and running, you may need to spend a little more time logging back into iCloud and/or your various apps and services. There is a possibility that the installation will log you out.
You will also want to check all your important files and make sure everything is still there. We also recommend using your core apps to make sure they’re working properly with the iOS 12 beta.
Apps, especially third-party apps, tend to run poorly on beta software, so you’ll want to make sure your most important services are available before proceeding.
This shouldn’t take you longer than 10 minutes. If you feel comfortable, start checking out the iOS 12 beta for new features and issues. If you come across a bug, be sure to report it to Apple so it can work.
