By now you should have learned that iOS 5 is officially released. Without further ado, let's go over the steps to upgrade your iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch to the latest operating system:
- Make sure you remember your Apple account
The account you use to purchase items from iTunes and the App Store will be your iCloud account. You will need that for iOS 5. Have it ready and it will come in handy later. - Back up your device
Connect your device to iTunes via USB and allow iTunes to make backups automatically.
- Install iTunes 10.5
If you haven't already, download and install iTunes 10.5. - *Important* Make some space on your device
You should have copies of your music, movies and apps in your computer already. Make sure that's the case, and proceed to remove some content and make space available on your device, for reasons I'll explain later. - Upgrade to iOS 5
Click the "Check for Update" button in iTunes, which can be found on the device page when the device is connected. Follow the prompts, and let iTunes handle the rest.
- Set up iOS 5
Once your device comes back to life, you will see some unfamiliar screens. No worries, they are simple steps for iOS 5 to set you up with iCloud services. All you need is your Apple account ID and password, and deciding on what services on iCloud you'd be using. These services are FREE! - Refill your device
If you followed my advice on the 4th step, now is the time for you to refill your device with content.
