How To Install iOS 5 Firmware On iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

With Apple due to release iOS 5 firmware to the public in less than two hours, here’s a tutorial that will help you get ready to install iOS 5 firmware on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Step 1: Download iTunes 10.5 final for Windows and Mac. You need this version of iTunes that Apple released yesterday, else you want be able to install iOS 5 firmware on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Download iTunes 10.5 final using the aforementioned link, if you haven’t already, then follow the procedure mentioned in this guide.

Step 2: Back up your device. If you have been running iOS 5 beta versions on your devices below, regardless of you being a registered developer or a non-developer, it is imperative that you back up your device first before upgrading it to iOS 5 firmware. When you plug in your device, iTunes will prompt you that iOS 5 firmware is available for your device, don’t download and install it before you’ve created a back up.

How To Create A Back up:

*Note: Your device will automatically back up if you it configured to sync with iTunes on your computer.

    Launch iTunes
    Plug in your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
    Select your device from the Devices tab on the left
    Right click, then click on Back up

Step 3: There are two ways that you can use to install iOS 5 firmware on your iOS device. If you want a totally automated procedure, and considering your device is already backed up and plugged in to iTunes, simply click on the Update button. Only again, iTunes will prompt you that iOS 5 firmware is available. Click on Download and Install. Since the iOS 5 IPSW is going to be well over 700MB, download it will take some time. So just sit back and let iTunes do its work. Once download finishes, iTunes will automatically upgrade your device to iOS 5.

Manual Procedure:

If you prefer to install iOS 5 firmware manually, you first need to download iOS 5 IPSW. We’ll post links to iOS 5 IPSWs when it goes live, this post will be updated accordingly. So once you have downloaded the IPSW for your particular device, launch iTunes and first back up your device. After that, press and hold the Shift key if you are on Windows or the alt key if you’re on Mac and click on Restore. A new dialog box pops up asking you to navigate to the path where you have saved iOS 5 IPSW. Select the file from there and click on OK. iTunes will begin restoring iOS 5 firmware on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

So that’s how you install iOS 5 firmware on a supported device. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below.

Download iOS 5 Firmware For iPhone, iPad and iPod touch