IPAD update STUCK on "Preparing Update"

[kyphysics]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/26/tech/iphone-ipad-ios-14-4-update/index.html
Apple warned iphone and ipad users to updddate their systems today.

I tried to on my iPad, but it's "stuck" on "Preparing Update."

I tried shutting it down after 30-40 minutes (not sure if that messed up anything, as it was in the middle of "Preparing Update") and turning it back on. Then, I went to the update section again in Settings and it automatically resumed that "Preparing Update" part...

40 minutes later...no change...any idea what to do?

 

[jedishrfu]

This question is better suited to google lookup as we are likely to have no idea.

Having said that, I found this article via google of things to try:

https://www.ikream.com/ipad-pro-thats-stuck-on-bootloop-keeps-restarting-on-its-own-34226

 

[Wrichik Basu]

I found this article via google of things to try:

https://www.ikream.com/ipad-pro-thats-stuck-on-bootloop-keeps-restarting-on-its-own-34226

That article is for devices that are stuck in a bootloop. Probably not very helpful in this case.

I found another article, which instructs you to go to Settings and delete the downloaded update file, and then re-download it. Let us know if that helps:
https://osxdaily.com/2020/07/16/how-to-fix-ios-14-stuck-on-preparing-update/

 

[jedishrfu]

I once got caught in this kind of Hades conundrum. My wife was away on a trip and I took the time to backup and update her iPad even after she told me not to. Big mistake! No good deed goes unpunished.

First the iPad connected with iTunes and with the photos app. She has a lot of photos on the iPad. Next iTunes says there's an update for the iPad, and then says itunes itself needs to be updated. So somehow iTunes started updating while photos were being downloaded and while the iPad was being backed up and then nothing.

Everything seemed to hang, I waited a long time and then decided to pull the iPad cable. Big mistake it apparently wasn’t hung but the backup didn’t finish, the photos didn’t update all the way and I had to reset the device back to factory settings and use an older backup to recover. Everything was fine except for the stories my wife was writing, I lost the edits that were done.

I always felt that Apple owned this problem and needed to insure that backups, updates, upgrades and photo storage happened in a measured and orderly way.

Don't make my mistake! You must be the order to your world or chaos will rule!

 

[pbuk]

I've had some very long updates too, 40 minutes is nothing. Leave it updating plugged in overnight and if it still isn't working, then start looking for alternatives.

 

[kyphysics]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I left it for a while and it finally worked. This just took a lot longer than I expected for some reason.

Hopefully YOU TOO have updated, as the article says there could be major security issues!

 

[jtbell]

I recently updated my iPhone XR and 7th generation iPad from iOS 14.3 to 14.4, and my wife's iPhone SE (new generation) from 14.2 to 14.4. All without issues. My impression is that the "preparing update" stage has taken longer in recent updates, so you just have to be patient.