iOS 18 is here. Is your iPhone ready? Use this checklist to make sure

Apple released iOS18 a major iPhone upgrade this week that adds new features like improvements to text messaging, improvements to Apple Maps, and mirroring your iPhone from a Mac in MacOS Sequoia. iOS 18 also changes the way you interact with things like your Home and lock screens, Control Center and how passwords are handled.

That’s a lot! And that doesn’t even include the new features in iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Prothat come preinstalled with iOS 18.

For everyone else, upgrading to iOS 18 can be a multi-step process. I want to make sure your adoption of the latest version of the iPhone system is as smooth and painless as possible — and that in the unlikely event that you need to go back to iOS 17, you can say goodbye with dignity.

If you're ready to take the plunge, follow the steps below to make sure your iPhone is ready for the upgrade. For more, check out 9 hidden iOS 18 features you should know about and why RCS is so important in iOS 18.

First, make sure your iPhone is compatible with iOS 18

Here is the full list of iPhones that support Apple's new software update. And if you are interested in iPhone16Here you can find out how to order it.

Back up your phone before iOS 18, including creating an archive

You are probably used to using iCloud Backup to have a regular fallback for your data. It runs in the background (when you sleep and charge your device) and creates the least amount of backup overhead as long as you have enough iCloud storage space. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and switch Back up this iPhone if it is not already active.

But if you want to upgrade to a full version of iOS, such as from iOS 17 to iOS 18, an iCloud backup brings a problem: If after updating to iOS 18 and running an iCloud backup you decide you need to go back to iOS 17, you won't be able to restore from that iOS 18 backup. And unfortunately, iCloud only stores the most recent backup—you can't choose from previous backup iterations. If you try to use a cloud backup of iOS 18 to restore to iOS 17, you'll get an error message. (Creating an archive is also an important step when installing iOS betas.)

In my experience so far, updating to iOS 18 hasn't been a problem. But there's always the chance that something could go wrong – on the iPad, installing iPadOS 18 actually blocked some iPad Pro models with M4 processors.

For this reason, you need to create a backup copy on your computer.

Do you have the right cable for your iPhone 15 Pro?

Yes, this only applies to the iPhone 15 Pro, but using the right cable can save you a lot of time. The entire iPhone 15 lineup features USB-C ports instead of the old Lightning connector, but the Pro models can additionally support USB 3 data speeds. Since you're backing up gigabytes of information, the greater bandwidth of USB 3 will speed up the process.

However, the cable that comes with the iPhone is actually for charging and has a much slower USB 2.0 speed, so I recommend buying a USB-C cable with USB 3.1 (10Gbps) or USB4 (40Gbps, which is overkill for this circumstance but still affordable).

Should you encrypt the local backup?

Before you create this archived backup, decide whether you want to enable any of the options, Encrypt local backup. For security reasons, this feature encrypts the data to prevent anyone with access to your computer from accessing it. This option also keeps sensitive information such as saved passwords and personal data in the health and fitness apps in the backup.

The downside is that you have to create a separate password for the backup. If you forget or lose that password, the whole backup is useless. And you should write down that password or save it somewhere where you can easily retrieve it. In the context of creating an iOS 17 backup as a fallback for installing the iOS 18 beta, you have to decide if this is an acceptable compromise.

How to create a local iPhone archive on your Mac

This type of backup only requires storage space and a little patience:

1. Connect the iPhone to your Mac.
2. Open a new Finder window (select File > New Finder Windowor press Command-N).
3. In the sidebar on the left, select your iPhone under Locations.
4. If you want to encrypt the data, click on the Encrypt local backup check box and set a password.
5. On the General tab, click Secure now.
6. Click Manage backups.
7. Right-click (or Ctrl-click) on the backup copy you created and select Archive.

Marking the backup as an archive prevents it from being overwritten during the next local backup or automatically deleted when your Mac is running low on storage space.

Create a local iPhone archive on Windows

The iTunes app remains the most important tool for working with a connected iPhone on Windows. Open iTunes and follow these steps:

1. Connect the iPhone to your Windows computer.
2. In iTunes, click the iPhone Button top left.
3. Click Summary.
4. If you want to encrypt the data, click on the Encrypt local backup and set a password.
5. Click Secure now.
6. Click Manage backups.
7. Right-click on the created backup and select ArchiveThis extra step prevents the backup from being overwritten during the next local backup or automatically deleted if the computer runs out of space.

With an archive in place, you can safely use the iOS 18 beta and rest assured that you can quickly get your iPhone back up and running if for any reason you need to revert to iOS 17.

Make sure your iPhone is otherwise up to date

Before updating to iOS 18, make sure your device has the latest version of iOS 17 installed. To check for an update, launch Settingsknock Generally and then select Software update. Apple released iOS 17.7 shortly before iOS 18, so this may be the first update available.

In general, it's a good idea to keep your iPhone up to date anyway, as new software versions usually bring important security fixes and other improvements.

Now that your phone is up to date and backed up, you can download iOS 18. Scroll down and you will see Upgrade to iOS 18. Once it is installed, check some of our favorite hidden iOS 18 features and settings.

For more, check out what you can do with the iPhone 16's new camera button and your monthly reminder to clear your iPhone cache.