How to install iOS 9 on iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

by Adnan Ashraf on Sep 16, 2015

In this tutorial, I am going talk about how to install iOS 9 on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch either using iTunes or OTA (Over-the-Air). Just like any other major iOS update, iOS 9 comes loaded with numerous new features including a Proactive Assistant, improved Siri, transit direction in Maps, revamped multitasking for iPad devices and more.

If you need to know the process of installing iOS 9 on your iOS device, simply follow the step-by-step tutorial below.

Check if your device is compatible

Before proceeding with the installation procedure, please note that the iOS 9 is available as a free update for the following compatible iOS devices:

iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s PlusiPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5 and iPhone 4s
iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad 4, iPad 3 and iPad 2
iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2, iPad mini
iPod touch 6g, iPod touch 5g

Prepare for iOS 9 Software update

It’s strongly recommended to make sure that your device is ready for the iOS 9 update before actually installing it on your device. Check out our tips on how to prepare for iOS 9 update that covers how to backup, free up space, options for jailbreakers and more.

Jailbreakers who do not want to loose their favorite jailbreak apps and tweaks should avoid updating to iOS 9. Hopefully, a team of hackers such as TaiG or Pangu will release a jailbreak for this major iOS update.

How to install iOS 9

You can update to iOS 9 firmware update either Over-the-Air (OTA) or through iTunes by connecting the device to your computer. I have covered both methods below.

Install iOS 9 update Over the Air (OTA) wirelessly

NOTE: Over-the-Air update does not work on jailbroken device as it will end up in problems. So jailbreakers should use iTunes to update to iOS 9.

Plug you device to a power source so it may not run out of juice during the update process.
Connect your device to a WiFi network
Go to Settings > General > Software Update. iOS will automatically check for the available update and inform you that iOs 9 update is available
Tap on Download and wait for the download process to complete. You can do anything on your device and the update will be downloaded in the background. Once downloaded, you will see a notification
Then tap on Install to begin the iOS 9 installation process

How to install iOS 9 update using iTunes

If the iOS 9 update is not yet available as an Over-the-Air update, or you device is jailbroken, or you want to fresh restore/clean install iOS 9 on your device, then you can manually download the iOS 9 IPSW file for your device and restore it using iTunes.

Download iOS 9 IPSW
Make sure your iTunes version is the latest one. You can get the latest one from here.
Make sure you have backup your device either using iTunes or on iCloud to avoid any loss of your data on your device. Here are the step-by-step guides for that:
- How to backup using iTunes
- How to backup on iCloud
Follow out detailed guide for all the possible ways to upgrade using iTunes:
- How to install IOS using iTunes

If you encounter any problem during updating to the iOS 9, please let us know in the comments section below.