As you know, Apple has posted iOS 4 for public consumption early Monday. Besides fixing over 60 vulnerabilities, it files as a major brain transplant so don’t rush out and upgrade before you consult our handy guide. Before you begin, familiarize yourself with the iOS 4 features and check out the fine print. Armed with this knowledge, ask yourself these three simple questions:
- Is my device compatible with iOS 4? If you own the original iPhone or iPod touch, don’t bother because iOS 4 doesn’t support obsolete hardware.
- Does my device support all iOS 4 features? Apple says that third-party multitasking, Bluetooth keyboards, and custom wallpapers aren’t supported on the iPhone 3G and second-generation iPod touch. The iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and third-generation iPod touch support all iOS 4 features. FaceTime video calling and the $5 iMovie app are iPhone 4 exclusives.
- Are my favorite apps ready for iOS 4 and do they multitask? iOS 4 doesn’t automagically make third-party apps multitask unless they specifically ask for this via the new APIs. That means the existing apps have to be specifically updated for multitasking in iOS 4. For example, the Pandora app has been updated with radio listening in the background, but the Skype client doesn’t multitask yet. You should go to the App Store in iTunes or on your device and check if your favorite apps have been updated with iOS 4 multitasking (also known as fast switching).
Backing up your device
Connect your device to iTunes, but hit Cancel if it asks to update your firmware. Right-click the device icon in the source list on the left and choose Backup from a drop-down menu. This will copy user and application data from the device to your computer.
Should anything go wrong, or if you simply need to transfer your settings to another device, you can choose Restore from the drop-down menu and iTunes will load default software on your device and populate it with your settings from the backup file.
Among other things, the backup includes your bookmarks, contacts, notes, voice memos, call history, SMS and MMS messages, calendars, wallpapers, call history, network settings, keychain passwords, in addition to the photos, screenshots, and videos taken on the device and application settings, preferences, in-app purchases, and data.
Your downloaded applications, audio, video, e-reading material, photos, and videos are not included in the backup because they are stored in your iTunes library and can be synced anytime. Although iTunes will automatically back up your device prior to installing iOS 4, I still wholeheartedly recommend performing a manual backup just to be safe.
It’s update time
If you believe Apple, updating is as easy as connecting your device to iTunes, selecting it under Devices in the leftmost source list and hitting the Check for Update button in the iPhone Summary pane. Presuming Apple’s activation servers don’t melt, iTunes will download the iOS 4 version for your hardware.It will then create a backup, wipe out everything on the device, and install the new firmware. When the new software boots, iTunes will restore your settings from the backup and transfer the applications, music, and videos you had before from your iTunes library.
Should the updating process go wrong and leave your device inoperable or iTunes no longer recognizes it, don’t panic – just put the device in the recovery mode, denoted by the “connect to iTunes” graphic on your device’s display, and iTunes should be able to recognize it.
By the way. iTunes keeps the backup files in the following places:
- Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
- Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
- Windows Vista and Windows 7: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
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