'Weird' reason why your iPhone won’t let you update software

Updating your iPhone is always an event.

An update can give you fun new features and better security - you just have to make sure it successfully loads onto your device.

Most of us have updates automatically install while we're asleep, but it doesn't always work like that.

One Redditor posted a query on the subreddit r/iphone with the simple question: 'Why am I unable to install?'.

The user shesfreespirited said they had 'more than enough storage' and posted a screengrab of their iPhone - which shows the iOS 17.3 Beta update, with an alert at the bottom reading: 'Unable to install at this time.'

The post soon took off, with Redditors becoming amateur tech sleuths to try deduce what was preventing the update from being downloaded.

"Are you playing audio? It won’t install while playing audio," one Redditor noted, while another was a little less helpful (but a bit funnier) when saying: "Have you done the installation dance before trying to install, that could be the issue."

The new feature could be a gamechanger for your wardrobe.

Other suggestions included: "Could be low battery, a glitch that can be fixed by restarting, phone is currently too hot to update safely, etc," while a few others said it could be worth waiting until the update was out of Beta mode.

But one smart Redditor managed to solve the mystery.

They wrote: "Needs to be connected to a WiFi network. It used to only work when also charging, not anymore, but it’s worth a shot."

And this would seem to be the winner, as the original poster shesfreespirited replied: "You are correct!"

If you're an iPhone user who hasn't yet managed to download the new update, it could be worth doing it ASAP. Apple recommends we keep our phones up to date at all times to maintain security.

Plus, there tends to be a whole lot of fun new features hidden within updates - with one recently going viral on X.

@caspararemi / X

"On iOS 17 you can take a photo of laundry care labels, then swipe up in the photos app to tap on laundry care and get told what the icons mean. I’m suddenly a lot less scared of ruining expensive clothes," X user @caspararemi posted - and people couldn't get over what a gamechanger that is.