How to update your phone on a computer, and keep the computer updated

Update an iPhone or iPad from a computer

Apple's first choice is the wireless update on the device. It points you to a computer when the update does not appear on the device (some updates are not offered wirelessly at all), when the device cannot reach Apple's update servers (a VPN or proxy can block them), or when a wireless install keeps failing on several networks. On a computer, you start the update in the desktop app; the computer downloads it over its own connection and installs it through the cable. The phone has to trust the computer first: unlock it, and when it asks Trust This Computer?, tap Trust and enter your passcode.

Back up the device before you start, to iCloud or to the same computer (see the section on updating safely below).

On a Mac: Finder

Apple's instructions for updating with the Finder apply to any Mac running macOS Catalina or later:

1. If the Mac is online through the iPhone's Personal Hotspot, move the Mac to another Wi-Fi or Ethernet network first.
2. Connect the iPhone or iPad with a cable and open a Finder window. If the Mac asks Allow accessory to connect?, click Allow.
3. Select the device in the Finder sidebar, then click General and Check for Update.
4. Click Download and Update, follow the prompts and enter the device's passcode if asked.
5. Leave the cable connected until the device has restarted on the new version.

On Windows: the Apple Devices app, or iTunes

On a Windows PC, Apple's app for this job is Apple Devices. To install it, open the Microsoft Store, search for "Apple Devices" and select Get. Then update the device:

1. Connect the iPhone or iPad with a USB or USB-C cable, unlock it and tap Trust if asked. (Apple Devices can also reach a device over Wi-Fi once Wi-Fi syncing is set up.)
2. Select the device in the sidebar, then General.
3. Select Check for Update if no update is shown yet, then Update.

iTunes still does the same job on a Windows PC without Apple Devices and on Macs running macOS Mojave or earlier: click the device button in the toolbar, then Summary, Check for Update and Download and Update.

If the computer does not see the phone

Apple's checklist for a device that does not appear comes down to four things:

• The phone is unlocked, showing the Home Screen, and you tapped Trust. If you tapped Don't Trust by mistake, resetting location and privacy settings brings the prompt back.
• The cable supports data as well as charging. A charge-only cable will not work.
• Another USB port, or another computer, works. Check the phone's charging port for debris too.
• The computer is up to date: the latest macOS on a Mac, the latest Windows and Apple Devices app on a PC. On a Mac, VPN and third-party security software can also get in the way.

When the update fails: recovery mode

If the screen shows the Apple logo for several minutes with no progress bar, or the phone shows a Connect to computer screen, use recovery mode. On an iPhone 8 or later, connect the phone, open Finder or Apple Devices, then press and quickly release volume up, press and quickly release volume down, and hold the side button until the Connect to computer screen appears. The computer then offers Update or Restore.

Update an Android phone from a computer

Android updates are built to arrive over the air, and there is no single desktop tool for every Android phone. Google's own help sends owners of phones other than Pixel to their manufacturer or carrier for update information. Use a computer only where the maker documents it.

Samsung Galaxy: Smart Switch on a PC or Mac

Samsung's Smart Switch desktop app runs on Windows 10 or later and Mac OS X 10.13 or later. It backs up a Galaxy to the computer and offers newer software when you connect the phone. Samsung's update instructions:

1. Install Smart Switch on the computer: from the Microsoft Store on Windows, or Samsung's download on a Mac.
2. Connect the phone with a USB cable. Some PCs need a USB adapter.
3. Open Smart Switch and let it detect the phone. If an update is available, select Update and follow the prompts.
4. Do not disconnect the cable or use the phone until the update is complete. The phone reboots as part of the process.

If an update through the computer is interrupted and the phone no longer works normally, Smart Switch has an Emergency Software Recovery and Reset option. It includes a factory data reset, so treat it as a last resort that depends on having a backup.

Google Pixel: full OTA images and Android Flash Tool

Pixel phones update themselves over the air, but Google publishes two fallbacks that run from a computer:

• Full OTA images are for a Pixel that has failed to take an over-the-air update. Installing one has the same effect as flashing a factory image, but without wiping the phone or unlocking the bootloader. Google's own advice is that sideloading the full OTA image is typically easier and safer than a factory image, which erases all data and should be followed by relocking the bootloader.
• Android Flash Tool, at flash.android.com, flashes a complete build over USB from a browser with WebUSB, such as Chrome or Edge. It supports the Pixel 2 and newer and is built for development and testing: you must turn on OEM unlocking and USB debugging in Developer options, and it can wipe the phone. For an ordinary owner, its useful feature is the back-to-public option, which returns a Pixel to a public build.

Other Android phones

For other brands, look on the manufacturer's own support site. If it documents no desktop tool, the phone updates over the air only. Avoid third-party programs that promise to update any phone: stay with what the maker publishes.

When an over-the-air update is simpler

For routine updates, the phone's own updater is the better route. There is nothing to install on a computer, it can run overnight, and the maker controls the rollout: Google notes that Pixel updates roll out gradually and can take a few weeks to reach a given phone.

On an Android phone, Settings > About phone > Android version shows the Android version, the Android security update level and the Google Play system update, so you can see how current the phone is.

Why some phones stay usable during an update and others do not comes down to design. A Pixel installs a downloaded update in the background, and the update becomes active the next time the phone restarts. Behind that is Android's A/B (seamless) update scheme: the phone keeps two sets of system partitions, writes the update to the set it is not running, and switches at restart. If the update fails to apply, the phone carries on with the old system; if the new system fails to boot, the phone falls back to the old one and stays usable. Many other Android phones restart and install the update in one go, and Samsung warns that a Galaxy cannot be used during the install, not even for emergency calls.

Switch to a computer when the over-the-air route runs out: the update does not appear, fails repeatedly, cannot reach the update server, or the phone is stuck and needs recovery.

Update a Windows PC

Windows updates itself through Windows Update. Microsoft's steps:

1. Select Start > Settings > Windows Update and check for updates.
2. If updates are available, select Download & install.
3. Restart when prompted. Set active hours so update restarts do not land while you are working.

Windows 11 gets security updates on the second Tuesday of each month, and each one is cumulative: it contains all the earlier fixes, so a PC that missed a few months catches up with one install. Feature updates arrive once a year, and each version gets 24 months of updates on Home and Pro. That makes the version number matter. As of September 2026, version 24H2 stops receiving updates on October 13, 2026, while version 25H2 is updated until October 12, 2027. Check yours under Settings > System > About, in the Windows specifications section. If a newer version is not offered through Windows Update, Microsoft points to the Windows Update Assistant.

Drivers, activation and first-time setup are covered in the Windows setup guide. Windows 10 is a separate case, covered under end of support below.

Update a Mac

On a Mac, Software Update handles macOS and Apple's built-in apps:

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General, then Software Update.
2. Install what it offers with the update, upgrade or restart button, and enter the administrator password (the one you log in with).
3. Keep the Mac awake and the lid open until installation finishes. It may restart and show a progress bar or a blank screen several times.

Software Update only offers releases that are compatible with your Mac. It separates a minor update within the same version (macOS 26 to 26.4) from a major upgrade (macOS 26 to macOS 27), and its settings control whether each downloads or installs automatically. Apple also keeps patching older versions for a while: on September 14, 2026, the day macOS 27 was released, its security releases page lists security updates for macOS Tahoe 26 and macOS Sequoia 15 as well.

Between full updates, Apple now ships Background Security Improvements: small security releases for Safari, the WebKit framework and other system libraries, starting with iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1 and macOS 26.1. On a Mac, iPhone or iPad, check Settings > Privacy & Security > Background Security Improvements (System Settings on a Mac) and make sure Automatically Install is on.

Update Linux

On Linux, the package manager updates the operating system and the software installed from the distribution's repositories in one pass. On Ubuntu, two commands do it:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

The first refreshes the package index from the repositories; the second installs the newer versions. Ubuntu also applies security updates automatically through the unattended-upgrades package, which is installed by default. Moving to a new Ubuntu release is a separate upgrade with its own procedure.

On RPM-based distributions, the package manager is DNF; with DNF5, sudo dnf5 upgrade upgrades the installed packages. Installing Linux in the first place is covered in how to install Linux on your computer.

Why updates matter

Canada's Cyber Centre draws a useful distinction in its guidance on how updates secure your device: every patch is an update, but not every update is a patch. Some updates fix bugs or add features; a security patch closes a vulnerability that malware or an attacker could use, and that is the part that cannot wait. Apple's update page says as much, describing keeping software up to date as one of the most important things you can do for a device's security.

A real case shows the timing. On December 12, 2025, Apple released iOS 26.2, and iOS 18.7.3 for iPhones that had stayed on iOS 18. Both fixed a flaw in WebKit, tracked as CVE-2025-43529, through which maliciously crafted web content could run arbitrary code on the phone. Apple's notes say it was aware of a report that the flaw may have been exploited in an "extremely sophisticated attack" against specific targeted individuals. Apple does not disclose security issues until a fix is available, so by the time a flaw is public, the patch already exists. The gap that remains is between the release and your install.

Updates carry some risk of their own, and the Cyber Centre names it: a patch can interfere with other applications, and a restart can interrupt work. Its answer is not to skip updates. It is to back up first and, for personal devices, to turn on automatic updates.

What end of support means

End of support is the date after which the vendor stops shipping fixes for a product. The device keeps working, but the Cyber Centre's point is blunt: unsupported devices are exposed to vulnerabilities that will never be patched, and it recommends replacing them when the manufacturer stops providing software support.

Windows 10

Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. Since then Microsoft provides no security updates, feature updates or technical support for it, and support for Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10 ended the same day. The PC still runs, so the choice is yours:

• Upgrade to Windows 11, free, if the PC runs Windows 10 version 22H2 and meets the hardware requirements. Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates shows whether it is eligible.
• Enrol in consumer Extended Security Updates, which deliver critical and important security fixes, and nothing else, until October 12, 2027. Enrolment needs a Microsoft account and Windows 10 version 22H2, and is free if you sync your PC settings; otherwise it costs 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points or a one-time US$30.
• Replace the PC with one that runs Windows 11, moving your files with Windows Backup.

Phones

Phone makers publish support periods in different forms. As of September 2026:

In the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2023/1670 has applied to smartphones since June 20, 2025: a maker that provides operating system updates must keep making them available free of charge for at least 5 years after the model is last placed on the EU market.

Once a phone passes its support date, the next flaw like CVE-2025-43529 will not be fixed on it. Plan the replacement before that date rather than after an incident.

Update safely: back up, charge, stay connected, do not interrupt

Four habits cover the risks the vendors themselves warn about.

1. Back up first. On phones, updates are one-way. Apple does not allow iOS or iPadOS to be downgraded after an update, and Google notes that a backup made on a newer Android version cannot be restored to a phone running an older one.
   • iPhone or iPad: use iCloud, or back up to the computer with Finder, Apple Devices or iTunes and Back Up Now. Select Encrypt local backup if you want Health and Activity data kept (keychain data needs it too), and store the password safely: an encrypted backup cannot be recovered without it.
   • Android: turn on backup to your Google Account (15 GB of storage at no charge), or back up a Galaxy to a PC or Mac with Smart Switch.
   • Mac: use Time Machine with an external drive.
   • Windows: use Windows Backup for files, settings and apps.
2. Charge. Google asks for at least 75% battery before an Android update. Apple asks you to plug the iPhone into power for a wireless update; if it runs out of power mid-update, connect it and turn it on so the update can complete. Keep a laptop on its charger.
3. Use a stable connection. Prefer Wi-Fi to mobile data. For an update through a computer, use a reliable network on the computer and a cable that carries data.
4. Do not interrupt. Do not unplug the cable, close the Mac's lid or force a restart while an install is running. Plan a phone update for a time when you will not need to make calls.

Common update problems and fixes

If an iPhone still refuses after all of this, Apple's page on an iPhone that won't update explains how to delete a stuck update from storage and download it again.

Keeping a team's phones and computers updated

At home, automatic updates and an occasional check are enough. In a business, the risk is the one device nobody checks: the laptop that never restarts, the phone on a version that stopped getting fixes, the PC still on Windows 10. Keeping a fleet current is a device management job. Our IT support service enrols laptops and phones in one management console (Microsoft Intune, or Jamf or Apple Business for Macs), patches operating systems and apps on a schedule, and keeps an asset register with advice on what to replace and when. More guides like this one are in IT support.