Auto-update is enabled. Why aren’t my devices updating?

A question I am getting more often than ever, now that updates are more important than ever: "Why isn't my iPhone or Mac updating automatically even though I have Auto-Update turned on?"

There are many possible reasons for this. The biggest reason is that Auto-Update does not mean update immediately. This is by design. If it worked that way, it would mean a billion devices connecting to Apple's servers all at once, and because no software ever is or ever was bug-free, it would mean a huge influx of customer service calls. The more major the update, the bigger the update window. Major annual updates have a window of two to three months. Updates with just highly important security fixes might get pushed out within a day or two.

Another problem is that the conditions might not be met for the update to be installed safely. A Macintosh computer must be left powered on and no apps open that will request confirmation before closing such as to save a file. Portable Macs must be left connected to power with the lid open. For these reasons, it's usually best to initiate the update yourself so that you can close any unsaved documents.

iPhone and iPad are more forgiving. They simply need to be plugged into power and left on overnight. If you have a habit of shutting down your device completely or not leaving it plugged into power overnight, many maintenance tasks such as updates, backups, and optimization never have a chance to run. If you turn your iPhone off at night to avoid distractions, you may want to consider using the Sleep Focus Mode or charging in another room at night.

There may be technical reasons it can't update. You could be low on storage (updates need a lot of extra scratch space to put in the new version before removing the old version), you could have a lousy internet connection, or there may be a strange glitch that needs to be worked around.

I'm seeing this less and less with more recent updates, but it is my experience that if you decline to install an update because you are busy and in the middle of something, after several tries your computer will stop nagging you.

If your device is too old to get new updates, you will not be alerted to this fact. Checking for updates simply tells you "Your device is up to date."

If you ever question whether there are updates available, here is how to check: