Okay, so I decided to jump onto the iOS 18.2 beta train today. Always curious about what’s new, you know? Felt like sharing how I got it done.
Getting Started – The Prep Work
First things first, couldn’t just dive in. Learned that lesson the hard way before. So, the absolute initial step was backing up my iPhone. Plugged it into my computer, fired up Finder (since iTunes is kinda gone now on Mac), and did a full backup. Took a little while, but peace of mind, right? You could use iCloud too, but I like having a local copy just in case.
After the backup finished, I made sure my phone was charged up pretty good. Didn’t want it dying halfway through the update process. Plugged it in while doing the next steps.
Finding the Beta Option
This part’s actually gotten way easier than it used to be. No need to go hunting for profiles on websites anymore, which is nice.
- I went into Settings on my phone.
- Then tapped on General.
- From there, went into Software Update.
Right there, under the automatic updates stuff, I saw a new option: Beta Updates. Tapped on that.
It gave me a choice. Off, Developer Beta, or Public Beta. Since 18.2 is probably still early, I just went for the Developer Beta option listed there. You need to be enrolled in the developer program, or sometimes Apple makes it available more broadly even if you just sign in with your Apple ID. Anyway, I selected the iOS 18.2 Developer Beta.
The Download and Install
After selecting the beta, I went back one screen to the main Software Update page. And boom, after a few seconds, the iOS 18.2 Beta showed up, ready to download. It was a pretty big file, a few gigabytes as usual.
I tapped Download and Install. Had to put in my passcode, agreed to the terms and conditions (you know, the usual scroll-and-tap). Then the waiting game started. Made sure I was on Wi-Fi, obviously. Took maybe 20-30 minutes to download, my internet was behaving today.
Once downloaded, it prepped the update for a bit. Then it popped up asking to install. Tapped ‘Install Now’. The phone screen went black, showed the Apple logo and the progress bar. This part always makes me a little nervous, haha. Just gotta let it do its thing. It rebooted a couple of times.
All Done
After maybe another 15-20 minutes, the phone booted up to the lock screen. Swiped up, entered my passcode, and that was it. Looked pretty much the same initially, but now I’m running iOS 18.2 beta. Time to poke around and see what’s changed or broken. That’s the fun part, and sometimes the frustrating part, of running betas. But yeah, process was pretty straightforward this time around.