The first public betas for iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 are rolling out now, and if you can’t wait until the official release to get your hands on those sweet lockscreen customization options, you can download them today — at your own risk, naturally. Here’s how to install the beta software on your iPhone or iPad once it’s available for your device.
What devices support iOS 16
The iOS 16 beta should work on the following devices:
iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max
iPhone X, iPhone XR
iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone SE (second generation or later)
What devices support iPadOS 16
iPad Pro (all models)
iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
iPad (5th generation and later)
iPad mini (5th generation and later)
How to install the iOS 16 beta
To start the installation of the iOS 16 beta on your iPhone, you must continue with the following steps that we indicate:
- Head to Apple’s beta software portal on your phone’s Safari browser and sign up or sign in with your Apple ID.
- Enroll your iOS device if you haven’t enrolled it already. This involves agreeing to a lengthy set of Terms and Conditions.
- Once you’ve enrolled, scroll down to a reminder to make sure that you’ve created a backup of your phone’s content in case you need to revert to a previous state.
- Continue to scroll down until you find a button that says Download profile, then tap on it. This will bring up a warning that says the website is trying to download a configuration profile. Select Allow. You will get a pop-up window that says you can set the new profile from the Settings app.
- Open the Settings app. A new section called Profile Downloaded should be added near the top. Select it, and you’ll have access to the beta software download.
- Select Install on the top right corner. You’ll have to re-enter your password and agree to the usual very long consent statement by tapping Install one more time.
- You may need to restart your phone for the profile to activate.
- Once all that is done, you can update your software just as you would normally: by going to Settings > General > Software Update. You should see the iOS 16 update there; select Download and Install and follow the instructions from there.
Keep in mind that this is a beta version, so it might still contain some bugs.
How to install the iPadOS 16 beta
To start the installation of the iPadOS 16 beta on your iPad, you must continue with the following steps that we indicate:
- Head to Apple’s beta software portal from your iPad’s Safari browser. Sign up or sign in with your Apple ID.
- Click the text that reads iPadOS. Doing so will reveal a reminder to first make a backup in case you need to revert your OS to a previous state.
- Scroll down until you find a button that says Download profile, then select it. This may bring up a warning that says the website is trying to download a configuration profile. Select Allow. You’ll get a pop-up window that says you can set the new profile from the Settings app.
- Open the Settings app, and a new section called Profile Downloaded should be added near the top. Select it, and you should have access to the beta software download. You might need to restart your iPad first.
- Lastly, if nothing prompts you to get started with the download, open the Settings app, head to General, then find Software Update to install the beta software.
