How to get the iOS 16 beta on your iPhone. You can test the next version of iOS now by installing the beta version of iOS 16 on your iPhone. After announcing some exciting new iOS 16 features, Apple released the beta for developers at WWDC and promised a public beta, available for free to all, starting in June 2022.
Since most people don’t want to pay $ 99 a year to get early access to the developer beta, we’ll show you how to install the public beta of iOS in July using the Apple Beta Software Program.
These same steps will also work for installing the iPadOS 16 public beta on an iPad.
A word of caution about beta software
By its nature, beta software is unfinished. That means it is more likely to be less reliable, with more software bugs than you are used to. The beta software can even lead to data loss or battery drain on your iPhone.
If you need your iPhone to function flawlessly, be it for work or family reasons, you should not install beta software on it. Instead, find a replacement iPhone to use with the iOS 16 public beta.
With that said, we’ll also show you how to uninstall iOS 16 public beta, in case you change your mind after installing it.
Public and Developer iOS Betas
There are two versions of the iOS 16 beta: public and developer. Apple typically releases the developer beta a couple of weeks before the public beta, allowing developers to tweak their apps in preparation for a public release.
The Apple Developer Beta is only available to members of the iOS Developer Program. This costs $ 99 a year and comes with access to testing and analysis tools, along with the ability to launch apps on the App Store.
If you don’t want to pay for the iOS Developer Program, Apple usually releases the public beta only a couple of weeks later. These releases come from Apple’s Beta Software Program, which allows anyone to install beta software on their devices.
You most likely don’t want to pay $99 a year to join the iOS Developer Program if you are not actually a developer. So we will focus on how to install the iOS 16 public beta.
How to install the public beta version of iOS 16 on your iPhone
There are only three steps you need to take to install the public beta version of iOS 16. The entire process takes a couple of hours, depending on the amount of data on your iPhone and the speed of your Internet connection.
Make sure your iPhone is fully charged and you have plenty of time before starting.
Step 1. Archive a backup of your iPhone
Every time you backup your iPhone, you delete your existing backup to create a new one. Any backup you make using the public beta of iOS 16 may not work if you go back to iOS 15 again. To protect your data, you should archive an iOS 14 backup now, so that you can still use it if you uninstall the iOS 16 public beta in the future.
When you archive a backup, it means that your iPhone won’t delete it during future backups. If you don’t create an archived backup with iOS 14, you may lose all your iPhone data if the iOS 16 public beta doesn’t work properly.
Use a computer with macOS Catalina or later, or iTunes, to create an archived backup:
- Open Finder or iTunes on your computer and select your iPhone in the sidebar. If prompted, unlock your iPhone and agree to Trust this computer.
- Go to the General tab in Finder or Summary tab in iTunes and choose Back up all your iPhone data to this Mac. If you also want to keep passwords and confidential data, enable the Encrypt local backup option and create a memorable password.
- Click Backup Now and wait for the backup to complete.
- When the backup is complete, click Manage Backups, then Control-click or right-click the backup you just made and select Archive. A lock should appear next to the backup to show that it is archived.
Step 2. Enroll your iPhone in Apple’s beta software program
To install the public beta version of iOS 16, you must enroll your iPhone in the Apple Beta software program. To do this, install an iOS 16 Beta software profile on your iPhone, which allows you to download iOS 16 beta as a software update.
First, you need to sign up for the Apple Beta Software Program with your Apple ID. This is completely free, unlike the iOS Developer Program, which grants access to beta software even earlier.
To register and enroll your iPhone in the Apple Beta Software Program:
- Visit beta.apple.com and enroll in the Apple Beta Software Program using your Apple ID. Accept the terms and conditions to complete the registration process.
- Now open Safari on your iPhone and go to beta.apple.com/profile. Tap Download profile and Allow Safari to download a configuration profile.
- When the download is complete, open Settings and tap Downloaded profile to install the profile. Alternatively, go to Settings> General> Profile to see all your downloaded profiles and install it from there.
- Follow the prompts to enter your password and restart your iPhone to finish installing the iOS 16 beta profile.
Step 3. Check for software updates to install iOS 16 Beta
All you need to do now is check for new software updates on your iPhone as usual. With the iOS 16 Beta software profile installed, your iPhone should download iOS 16 as a software update.
Depending on your internet connection, it could take a couple of hours for your iPhone to download and install the update.
Make sure your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network with a lot of battery life (or keep it plugged in), then:
- Go to Settings> General> Software Update.
- Wait for your iPhone to check for new updates.
- Tap Download and install to install the beta version of iOS 16 on your iPhone.
How to uninstall iOS 16 Beta from your iPhone
You may not want to keep the iOS 16 beta software installed on your iPhone if it has too many bugs or is unreliable. After all, many third-party apps still need to release updates to make them work perfectly on the new software, plus Apple is still working to fix its own software bugs.
If you want to uninstall the beta version of iOS 16 from your iPhone, you have two possible options.
Option 1. Remove the beta profile from iOS 16 and wait for an update
The easiest way to uninstall iOS 16 beta from your iPhone is to remove the beta profile from your settings. After doing this, your iPhone will stop searching for iOS16 beta software to install and will instead install Apple’s next versions of the iOS 14 update.
To remove the iOS 16 Beta software profile:
- Go to Settings> General> Profile and tap on the iOS 14 Beta software profile.
- Touch Delete profile, then enter your password and confirm that you want to delete it.
- Go to Settings> General> Software Update and check for new updates.
- You may need to wait for Apple to release a new iOS 14 update for you to install if one isn’t available now. Apple normally releases new updates every two weeks, so you shouldn’t have to wait long.
Option 2. Erase your iPhone using recovery mode
If you want to uninstall iOS16 beta immediately without waiting for Apple to release a new software update, your only option is to erase your iPhone using recovery mode.
When you erase your iPhone, all its content is erased: photos, messages, applications and more. If you followed the steps above, you should be able to restore an archived backup after erasing your iPhone to get your lost data back.
Unfortunately, this backup will not contain any data that you added to your iPhone after creating the backup. The only way to keep that data is to follow the first uninstall option above.
The steps to enter recovery mode vary depending on your particular iPhone, but they all involve connecting your iPhone to a computer running macOS Catalina or later, or iTunes. Follow our instructions to enter recovery mode on your iPhone. Then choose Restore your iPhone when prompted in Finder or iTunes.
After restoring your iPhone, choose to restore your archived backup in Finder or iTunes.