I updated my iPad 2 to iOS5 last night. After hearing about some failed updates, I was a little leery of the procedure, but the overall process went well for me. If you are planning to do the upgrade, here are a few things to consider.
iOS5 Upgrade: Update iPad 2
1. You’ll need to upgrade to the latest version (10.5) of iTunes on the host computer. This is true for the PC or Mac. Both of my computers (PC desktop and Macbook Pro) prompted me to upgrade when I opened iTunes and the process went smoothly as usual.
2. Update, charge, and reboot your iPad before proceeding. This will ensure that your apps are all up to date and that your iPad has a full charge and free memory for the process.
3. Sync your iPad to your host computer before upgrading. This will ensure that your apps are backed up and can be retrieved. Unlike previous incremental updates, the IOS5 update completely deletes everything from your iPad when updating. If your apps are not backed up, you will not be able to retrieve them. When running the upgrade, make sure you do the upgrade on the same computer you synced with or you won’t be able to retrieve your apps.
4. Make sure your host computer is plugged in and not running on batteries. It’s also a good idea to connect it to the network via cat-5 cable and not rely on a wireless connection. These two things will ensure a problem free data transfer. You don’t want your laptop to die during the relatively long procedure.
5. Allow two to three hours for the process to complete. Once this is started you don’t want to interrupt it or you may end up with a dead iPad. Unless you get an error message, have patience. The iPad may go through multiple reboots.
6. Overall the process went pretty well for me on an iPad 1 and an iPad 2. When you get done with the upgrade the new software will take you through a number of prompts to sign up with iCloud, setup your location settings, as well as a default e-mail account. This will take about 5 minutes. Once you are done, you’ll find a few new icons on the screen and a whole new world of IOS5 to explore. Both of my machines seemed faster after the upgrade.
Be sure to check out the Top 10 reasons to upgrade from Mashable to see some of the cool features you’ll have after the process.
Question: What is your favorite feature of iOS5?