The launch of iOS 17 brought some great new features to iPhones, but the update process hasn’t been smooth for everyone. Many users have reported getting stuck on the “paused” screen when trying to install iOS 17. Don’t worry, here are some simple steps to get the update successfully installed on your iPhone.
Check: How To Use Live Wallpaper on iPhone on iOS 17
Restart Your iPhone
The first thing to try is restarting your iPhone. A simple reboot can clear out any glitches and get the update process back on track.
How to Restart
- Press and hold the Power button and Volume Down button at the same time.
- Keep holding until you see the “Slide to Power Off” screen.
- Slide to turn off your iPhone.
- After about 20 seconds, press and hold the Power button again to turn your iPhone back on.
Restarting your iPhone resets everything and clears out any temporary bugs that may be interrupting the iOS update.
Adjust Auto-Lock Setting
Once your iPhone is turned back on, you’ll want to make a quick change to its Auto-Lock setting to prevent it from sleeping during the update process.
Changing Auto-Lock to Never
- Open Settings.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- Scroll down and tap Auto-Lock.
- Select the “Never” option.
This will stop your iPhone display from turning off during the iOS 17 download and installation. The update getting paused seems to happen if your phone auto-locks during the process.
Keep Trying Software Update
With Auto-Lock disabled, go back and retry updating to iOS 17.
Getting Back to Software Update
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Software Update.
This time, when you start the iOS 17 download, don’t leave the Software Update screen. Let the update download and install completely while you’re on the Software Update page.
Tips for Successful Update
- Connect your iPhone to a charger so the battery doesn’t run out.
- Tap “Install Now” immediately after the “Download Complete” popup.
- Let the update install undisturbed until you see the “Your software is up to date” message.
Staying on the Software Update screen forces the process to keep going instead of pausing when your iPhone auto-locks.
Retry Update After Restarting
In some cases, you may still see the update get paused. If that happens, restart your iPhone again and try the Software Update process once more. The restart clears out any glitches, and then adjusting the Auto-Lock setting prevents the phone from sleeping mid-update.
Repeat restarts and Software Update attempts until iOS 17 installs completely. This workaround has helped many users successfully upgrade to the latest iOS version after being stuck on the paused screen.
What Causes the iOS Update to Pause?
The underlying cause of the iOS 17 update getting paused seems to be a bug when updating from a very old iOS version. Users updating from iOS 14 or earlier may run into the issue. Something about the significant update and old iOS version causes the install process to hang.
Restarting and adjusting Auto-Lock avoids the problem, so you can upgrade to iOS 17. Hopefully, Apple will fix this underlying bug with a future iOS update.
Get Your iPhone Running on iOS 17
Being stuck on the Paused screen can be annoying when you want to get all the great features in iOS 17. With a couple of simple steps – restarting, adjusting Auto-Lock, and retrying Software Update – you can install the latest iOS version on your iPhone. Stay persistent and use this guide to update your phone to iOS 17.
