Check out these quick fixes if you see the “Unable to Check for Update” or “Unable to Verify Update” errors when trying to get the latest version of iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 on your iPhone or iPad.
Checking for new updates or downloading them can sometimes fail and may display error messages saying:
- Unable to Check for Update. An error occurred while checking for a software update or
- Unable to Verify Update
Here are solutions to help you fix this and check for new iOS updates.
Force quit and reopen the Settings app
First, close the Settings app and reopen it. If the update failed because of an issue in Settings, this quick fix should do the trick.
Restart or force restart your iPhone
Minor glitches may be why your iPhone can’t check for new software updates and shows the ‘Unable to Check for Update’ pop-up. Turning your iPhone off and back on should make this error go away. If a simple restart doesn’t work, force-restart your device.
Turn off VPN
Your iPhone and iPad may fail to check for new updates because of network issues caused by the VPN connection. So, if a VPN is active on your device or Wi-Fi router, turn it off, restart your device, and go to Settings > General > Software Update. After this, you should see the available update.
Try a different Wi-Fi network
In some cases, switching Wi-Fi networks or restarting your Wi-Fi router can do the trick. If the above solutions don’t help, switch to a different Wi-Fi network and try checking for the new iOS update again. You can also connect to an available Personal Hotspot.
Use cellular data
If you don’t have access to another Wi-Fi network, use 5G, 4G, or LTE on your iPhone to check for and download the update.
Check Apple system status
In some cases, the issue may be on Apple’s end. Quickly check their server status, and if App Store or iCloud Account & Sign In are experiencing an outage, you’ll have to wait until a fix is implemented.
Make sure the date & time on your iPhone are correct
Your iPhone may not be able to check for new updates if the date and time settings are incorrect. The best way to fix this is by letting your phone set the time automatically. You can do this by going to Settings > General > Date & Time and turning on Set Automatically.
Wait for a while
If a new update was just released, people worldwide are likely flocking to update. As a result, overburdened Apple servers may have issues for a small portion of users in a few regions. So, wait for a few hours and then try again.
Reset network settings
Still no luck? Go ahead and reset all iPhone network settings. It’s an important solution that often works wonders in fixing these issues.
Update your iPhone using a Mac or PC
Finally, if nothing helps, connect your iPhone to a Mac or Windows PC using a cable. After that, locate your phone in Finder on Mac or the Apple Devices app on Windows PC and check for new updates. If one is available, you can download and install it using your computer.
Which of the above solutions worked for you? For me, it’s usually restarting or retrying after a while.