iPad Update Stuck? Here's How to Speed Up or Cancel It

If you've been using your iPad for a while now, you might be familiar with various iPadOS updates, including the latest iPadOS 17. Similar to other Apple devices, a software update will contain several upgrades to improve your user experience.

As long as you bought your iPad within the last four to five years, it will still receive the latest iPadOS updates. However, problems can also occur when updating your iPad. It can be quite tricky to solve since faulty or incomplete updates can lead to more device issues.

In this guide, we'll show you the common reasons why your iPadOS updates can take a long time than expected and what you can do when the iPad update gets stuck.

How Long Should an iPadOS Update Take

The time it takes to update your iPad's software varies depending on the file size. Larger software updates can take more time than smaller and more minor updates.

For example, if you are updating the device to a new version, such as from iPadOOS 16 to iPadOOS 17, then you can expect the update to take longer than if you were updating to a point release, like iPadOOS 17 to iPadOOS 17.1.

In general, the total update time takes between 16 to 60 minutes (average 30 minutes). When your iPad undergoes an update, your device displays the Apple logo and a progress bar underneath.

Although the entire update process is designed to run smoothly and take as little time as possible, sometimes, for various reasons, an iOS update can take longer than expected.

To check if the update is stuck or unresponsive, press any of the device's buttons. An update message will appear, indicating that the update is still in progress.

Common Causes of the iPad Update Stuck Issue

If you are experiencing an iPadOS update stuck, some of the common causes can include any of the following:

1. The firmware update was not downloaded properly.
2. Your device is running on corrupted Apple firmware.
3. The update may be on its beta version, which can take a longer time to install.
4. Your device does not have enough free storage for the update.
5. The update can be incompatible with your Apple device.
6. The update was downloaded from a suspicious site.
7. If your device has undergone a jailbreak, it can have problems accommodating a new software update.
8. Your device suffered from hardware or software-related issues before the update.

How to Speed Up an iPadOS Update

Try to be patient for a while and give it time

Keep in mind that your device has to download the update files from Apple servers and then install them, a process that can take quite a while.

Apple states that the update process, depending on factors such as the Wi-Fi connection, can take up to an hour or sometimes even longer.

It's important to be patient during this step and give your device some time to complete the process. Once it is ready, you can proceed to install the software update on your iPad.

Charge your iPad

Your iPad will also need to have at least 50% battery life to ensure that the update process will not stall if the battery dies.

Large updates can consume a significant amount of your iPad's stored power, potentially causing the update to get stuck. Therefore, keeping your iPad charged during a software update is a great solution.

To check if the iPadOS update is still ongoing, press one of the buttons on your iPad—it should display an updating message.

Check your internet connection

You can also assist the update process by ensuring that the device is connected to a strong and reliable Wi-Fi network.

Keep in mind that you can only update your device using Wi-Fi; cellular data connections will not work. This limitation is in place to prevent your device from downloading and installing a corrupt update file, which could lead to a stuck issue.

When downloading iPadOS updates, we strongly recommend using a robust Wi-Fi connection. If the network becomes stuck, try switching to another Wi-Fi network.

How to Cancel a Stuck iPad Update

Force restart your iPad and update it again

If you're tired of waiting, you can try force restarting your iPad to cancel the stuck iPadOS update.

To force restart your iPad with home button:

1. Press and hold its Home button and Sleep or Wake button simultaneously until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

To force restart your iPad without home button:

1. Press the volume button located nearest to the top button and quickly release it.
2. Press the volume button located farthest from the top button and quickly release it.
3. Then, press and hold the Sleep or Wake button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.

After the iPad reboots, remove the current update file and redownload a new one to update your iPad once again. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > General > iPad Storage.
2. Scroll down and tap the iPadOS Update File.
3. Next, select Update File and choose Delete Update.
4. Once it is removed, go back to General and tap Software Update.
5. Tap Download and Install. Your iPad will now be forced to download a new update.
6. Once the new update file is downloaded, continue to install the update and see if this solves the update stuck issue.

Update iPad using iTunes or Finder

After force restarting your iPad, if it successfully restarts, to prevent the iPad update from getting stuck again, you can also use iTunes or Finder to update your iPad instead.

To update your iPad using iTunes, follow these steps:

1. Open the iTunes app on your computer and connect your iPad to the computer using a USB cable.
2. On the top-left corner of the screen, click the iPad icon.
3. Click the Check for Update button and select Download and Install to start the update process.

To update the iPad in Finder, proceed to the steps below:

1. From your Mac, open the Finder app and connect your iPad to your Mac using a Lightning cable.
2. Under the Locations menu, find and select your iPad.
3. Choose Check for Update and click Download and Install if a new update is available.

Fix iPad update stuck issue without data loss

If the methods above didn't work, one solution that you should try is installing an iPhone and iPad system recovery tool like AceFixto fix the stuck issue on your iPad.

Besides a high success rate in fixing most issues on Apple devices, here are more advantages when using AceFix to solve the update stuck issue:

• It is compatible with all iPad models and iPadOS versions, including the latest iPadOS 17.
• The app is easy to use and only requires a few clicks to solve most iPad issues.
• The app uses safe repair processes and won't lose your device data.

To use AceFix on your device, follow the steps below:

1. Download AceFix and install it on your computer.
2. On the Main Menu, click iOS System Repair and connect your iPad to your computer via a Lightning cable.
3. Click Standard Mode. Wait for the app to detect your external device. If it can't be detected, follow the on-screen instructions to put your iPad to Recovery Mode.
4. Then, confirm the Device Model of the connected device and the Firmware Version that you want to install.
5. Click Download.
6. Once the firmware is downloaded, click the Start button to begin the update process.
7. The app will notify you when the process is finished.
8. The update should now be installed on your iPad without getting stuck.

iPad Update Still Gets Stuck? Contact Apple

If none of the solutions worked, we strongly advise reach out to Apple Support and seek assistance from Apple experts, who can provide more extensive support.

Final Thoughts

One of the best features of all Apple devices is continuous software updates. It integrates new features and fixes most problems from the previous updates.

When you run into some issues, such as getting stuck at a screen or an error when installing new iPadOS updates, there are simple troubleshooting steps that you can do yourself.