It’s exciting to install a new firmware on your iOS device but you may sometimes come across a problem that will leave you disappointed. An example is the “Software Update Failed” error that might pop up when installing iOS 10 over-the-air (OTA).

This is one of the most common issues that users face when updating to a new iOS firmware. The error has occurred in iOS 8 and iOS 9 and may occur in the latest firmware as well. A “Software Update Failed” popup will appear followed by a message that says “An error occurred downloading iOS 10”. If you face this problem, luckily we have a couple of solutions to fix it.

Solution 1: Try again

When the error popup appears, you will be prompted with two options namely “Close” and “Settings”. Press the close button to exit the error message, wait for a couple of minutes and then proceed with installing iOS 10 again from Settings.

Solution 2: Wait for a few hours before trying again

When a new iOS firmware is released to the public, millions of iOS users are trying to download and install it right away. The huge amount of traffic on Apple servers means that it will sometimes fail to keep up with some of the requests. Therefore, it is best to wait for a few hours or days before trying again, as the load on their servers will be reduced.

Solution 3: Update to iOS 10 using 3uTools

If none of the above solutions work for you, consider updating to iOS 10 via iTunes on your computer. All you have to do is to plug in your device to your computer, launch 3uTools and then click Easy Flash, choose the available firmware and clik flash. 

Solution 4: Use iOS 10 IPSW File to Update

As a last resort, you can manually download the iOS 10 IPSW file and use it to update your device. This usually fixes the issue as you no longer depend on Apple’s servers to download the firmware file.

This method is recommended for advanced users as it requires you to update to iOS 10 manually. If you’re an average user then you’ll be better off waiting for a few hours before trying the update again. Otherwise, follow the steps below to download and install iOS 10 using IPSW:

Step 1: Go to iOS 10 download page to download the iOS 10 IPSW file for your device. Make sure that you download the correct IPSW file that corresponds to your device model.

Step 2: Connect your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to your computer and launch iTunes.

Step 3: Go to the Summary tab of iTunes.

Step 4: Hold the Shift key in Windows or Alt/Option key on Mac and click the “Restore iPhone” button.

Step 5: Browse and select the iOS 10 IPSW file downloaded earlier.