iOS 18 Is Here. Is Your iPhone Ready? Use This Checklist to Make Sure

Apple released iOS 18 this week, a major iPhone upgrade that adds new features such as text message improvements, enhancements in Apple Maps and mirroring your iPhone from a Mac in MacOS Sequoia. iOS 18 also changes the way you interact with things like your home and lock screens, Control Center and how passwords are handled.

That's a lot! And that's not even including what's new in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, which come preloaded with iOS 18. 

For everyone else, upgrading to iOS 18 can be a multistep process. I want to make sure your adoption of the latest version of the iPhone's system is as smooth and painless as possible -- and that you can bow out gracefully in the unlikely event you need to go back to iOS 17.

If you're ready to make the leap, follow the steps below to make sure your iPhone is ready for the upgrade. For more, here are 9 hidden iOS 18 features you'll want to know about and why RCS in iOS 18 is such a big deal.

First, make sure your iPhone is compatible with iOS 18

Here's the full list of the iPhones that will support Apple's new software update. And if you're interested in buying the iPhone 16, here's how to order it. 

iPhone 16 at Apple's event announcing new models.

Amy Kim / CNET

Back up your phone before iOS 18, including making an archive

You're probably accustomed to using iCloud Backup to maintain a regular fallback for your data. It works in the background (when you're asleep and charging your device) and involves the least amount of backup friction, as long as you have sufficient iCloud disk space available. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and turn on Back Up This iPhone if it's not already active.

However, when it comes to moving to a full release version of iOS, such as from iOS 17 to iOS 18, an iCloud Backup introduces a problem: After updating to iOS 18 and letting it perform an iCloud Backup, if you then decide you need to revert back to iOS 17, you cannot restore from that iOS 18 backup. And unfortunately, iCloud keeps just the most recent backup -- you can't pick and choose from previous backup iterations. If you try to use an iOS 18 cloud backup to restore back to iOS 17, you'll get an error. (Making an archive is also an important step when you install iOS betas.)

In my experience so far, updating to iOS 18 has not been a problem. But there's always the possibility that something could go sideways -- on the iPad, in fact, the iPadOS 18 installation has bricked some iPad Pro models with M4 processors.

This is why you need to archive a backup on your computer.

iOS warns you if you try to restore from an iCloud backup made under the iOS beta.

Jeff Carlson/CNET

Do you have the right cable for your iPhone 15 Pro?

Yes, this applies only to the iPhone 15 Pro, but using the right cable can save you a lot of time. The entire iPhone 15 line includes USB-C ports instead of the old Lightning port, but the Pro models can additionally support USB 3 data speeds. Because you'll be backing up gigabytes of information, the larger bandwidth of USB 3 will make the process go faster.

The cable that came in the iPhone box, though, is really meant for charging and has a much slower USB 2.0 speed. So I recommend picking up a USB-C cable rated for USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) or USB4 (40 Gbps, which is overkill for this circumstance, but still affordable). 

Should you encrypt the local backup?

Before you create this archived backup, decide if you want to enable one of the options, Encrypt local backup. For security, this feature scrambles the data to prevent someone with access to your computer from accessing it. This option also preserves sensitive information in the backup such as saved passwords and personal data in the Health and Fitness apps.

The downside is that it requires you to create a separate password for the backup. If you forget or lose that password, the entire backup is useless. And you should write this password down or save it somewhere you can easily retrieve it. In the context of creating an iOS 17 backup as a fallback for installing the iOS 18 beta, you'll have to decide if that's an acceptable trade-off. 

How to create a local iPhone archive on your Mac

Making this type of backup requires only disk space and some patience:

Plug the iPhone into your Mac. Open a new Finder window (choose File > New Finder Window, or press Command-N). In the sidebar at left, select your iPhone under Locations. If you want to encrypt the data, click the Encrypt local backup checkbox and set a password.  In the General tab, click Back Up Now. Click Manage Backups. Right-click (or Control-click) the backup you made and choose Archive. 

Create an archive backup of a connected iPhone on the computer (MacOS shown here).

Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET

Taking the extra step of marking the backup as an archive protects it from being overwritten by the next local backup or automatically deleted if the Mac is low on space.

Set the backup as an archive.

Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET

Create a local iPhone archive on Windows

The iTunes app is still the main conduit for working with a connected iPhone under Windows. Open iTunes and do the following:

Plug the iPhone into your Windows computer. In iTunes, click the iPhone button at the top left.
Click Summary.
If you want to encrypt the data, click the Encrypt local backup option and set a password.
Click Back Up Now.
Click Manage Backups. Right-click the backup you made and choose Archive. Taking this extra step protects the backup from being overwritten by the next local backup or automatically deleted if the computer is low on space.

With an archive in place, you can start using the iOS 18 beta secure in the knowledge that should anything warrant a retreat to iOS 17, you can quickly get your iPhone back into service.

Make sure your iPhone is otherwise up to date

Before updating to iOS 18, make sure your device is running on the latest version of iOS 17. To check for an update, launch Settings, tap General and then choose Software Update. Apple released iOS 17.7 just before iOS 18, so you may see that as the first available update. 

It's generally a good idea to keep your iPhone up to date anyway, since new software versions usually introduce important security bug fixes and other improvements.

Now that your phone is up to date and backed up, you're ready to download iOS 18. Scroll down and you will see Upgrade to iOS 18. Once it's installed, check out a few of our favorite hidden iOS 18 features and settings.

For more, here is what you can do with the new iPhone 16 camera button and your monthly reminder to clear your iPhone cache.