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October 13, 2011

iOS 5.0 Software Update Released [iPad 1/iPad 2] – Instructions on How to Update

by Maverick Wil · 39 comments

iOS 5.0

The wait is over! Apple has released the iOS 5 software update for iOS devices. Both iPad 1 and iPad 2 is compatible with this update.

What’s New?

New notification center, iMessage, Twitter integration, multitasking gestures and the list goes on. There are more than 200 new features. This is a HUGE update.

You can read more about iOS 5 from Apple right here but even that is barely scraping the surface.

Should You Update?

Absolutely! iPad 2 owners who want to jailbreak should however stay away as there is currently no jailbreak solution past 4.3.3.

How to Update?

Requirements

You will need the iTunes software to perform this update. You can download a free copy from http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/. If you already have it, please make sure your iTunes is at Version 10.5. To check:

  • [Mac] In the top menu bar select iTunes > About iTunes
  • [Windows] In the top menu bar select Help > About iTunes

***Note: There are two sets of instructions below. Perform the “Manual Update” if there are errors doing the updates through iTunes such as repeated failure to download the update file or if you want to download the update file from a location different from the computer you wish to do the update from (e.g. for faster download elsewhere).

Instructions – Update Through iTunes

  • Step 1: Open up iTunes.
  • Step 2: Connect your iPad to the computer via the provided USB cable.

iOS 5.0 Software Update Prompt

  • Step 3: The above prompt should pop-up (if it does not, select “Check for Update” in the device description box). Select “Download and Update”. And that’s it. The process is automatic from here and might take a while depending on your connection speed as the update file is approximately 700MB. Do not unplug your iPad during this process.

Instructions – Manual Update

  • Step 1: Download the correct 5.0 Firmware/IPSW file for your iPad model from the direct download links below (provided directly from Apple).

    *We recommend you do not use Internet Explorer to download (use Firefox or Chrome instead) or else the file might turn out to be incorrectly saved as a ‘.zip’ file.

  • Step 2: Open up iTunes.
  • Step 3: Connect your iPad to the computer via the provided USB cable.

Cancel iOS 5.0 Prompt

  • Step 4: The above prompt should pop-up (if it does not, select “Check for Update” in the device description box). Select “Cancel”
  • Step 5:
    [Mac] Hold down Option on your keyboard and select “Update”.
    [Windows] Hold down Shift on your keyboard and select “Update”. 

    *Instead of selecting ‘Update’, you can also try selecting ‘Restore’ if you are still getting update errors. This seems to work as pointed out by Shazilah83 in the comments below.

  • Step 6: Browse to where you downloaded the 5.0 Firmware/IPSW file and select it. Select “Choose”. The process is automatic from here and might take a while to complete installation.

Conclusion

Still not crystal clear? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll try to help.

  • Kelvin_beh06

    Hey may i know iPad 2 iOS 5 can jb now??

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Hey Kelvin. There is currently no jailbreak solution for the iPad 2 past 4.3.3. Do NOT update to iOS 5 if you intend to jailbreak. Only 1st gen iPad can be jailbroken all the way up to iOS 5.

      • Kelvin_beh06

        Ok….. so i still need to wait iPad 2 iOS 5 jb come out then just can update my  iOS 5 right?

        • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

          It will be a long wait but if you really want the jailbreak then yea that’s what you’ll have to do.

  • Vincci

    Hi there, I’m new to apple. I have an ipad, before update to iOS5, do I need to do backup? Any there any steps to follow for backup without losing data? are there any special precaution steps I should be aware of to avoid data lost? thanks

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Always do a back up before doing an update. Simply have your device connected to the computer and open up iTunes (on the computer). Your device will auto-detect and be listed on the left side of iTunes. Right click your device and you can select ‘Back Up’. Note that this only backs up certain data. You should also set the appropriate Sync settings also using iTunes for data such as ringtones, photos, etc.

      We should probably write a detailed guide on this but for the meantime, here is more from Apple: (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1414)

  • Fareez

    I already download IOS5 from your website, but when iTunes finish extracting software~~ this message appear on my lappy… this ipad cannot be updated… it also appear numerical code… that is 3002…

    so, I really need your advice for solve my problem… =)

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Try again after a while Fareez. A lot of people are getting that error for some reason. It could be because of high traffic on the servers.

      • Fareez

        Maverick, thanks bro~~~ (^_^)

  • Shazilah83

    successfully upgraded to ios 5 for my ipad 2!hoho..thanks for the tutorial.just want to share,i did getting that 3002 error when i click “update” on itune..then i decided to click “restore” instead of “update” and…tadaa!upgrading successful!maybe u can try…

  • http://www.facebook.com/godsgatecity Kelvin Ang

    HI, when u click restore and download again or what ??

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Kelvin, Shazilah83 is referring to the ‘Manual Update’ instructions where we mention to click on ‘Update’. Instead of doing that, you can also try clicking on ‘Restore’ which seems to work.

      • http://www.facebook.com/godsgatecity Kelvin Ang

        got it successfully by doing Shazilah’s way, Thanks a lot…

  • Kams9652

    Success too but need to follow like what Shazilah said should click on restore not update but don’t forgot to backup first..

  • Katherine C

    Hi, thanks for sharing & now i successfully updated my iPad 2 to iOS 5.0. Just now i tried the new firmware and everything works fine except for the imessage and also face time~~ I can’t even sign in & it keeps on asking me to check my netwook connection but I already turned on my wi-fi? Can someone here help me to fix this problem? Thanks…

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Servers could be too busy right now. Try again in a few days and see whether there is an improvement. You can also try using a different network to see if it is a connection problem on your side.

  • Rozainee Rosdi

    How can we jailbreak Ipad 1?

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Yes you can. redsn0w has an iOS5 tethered jailbreak solution for the 1st gen iPad.

  • Arnohose

    I keep trying to download osi5 yto my ipad 2 and after I read about 200 mb  I get error message 39 does anyone know how to solve this?

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Hi Arnohose. Try this:

      - On your computer, look for the “iPod Photo Cache” folder and delete it. The location of the file on a Mac is Computer Name/Pictures/. On Windows, just open up My Computer and access your device from there.

      After you do that, perform a sync in iTunes and if successful…well..problem solved ;)

  • Dan

    I manually downloaded iOS 5.0 .zip file for iPad 1. It is ~700 MB. But when I extracted its contents, there is no file with a .ipsw suffix. The largest file is 018-7877-729.dmg with a size of almost 700 MB.

    What am I doing wrong ?

    Dan

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Hey Dan. Manually add “.ipsw” to the back of the file name. That should solve your problem.

  • Dhaikal2

    hi maverick,, do u mean i should rename the zip file to ipsw after download? will that corrupt the file? ty in advance.

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Sorry I wasn’t clear enough on my initial reply to Dan.

      Specifically rename the .zip suffix to .ipsw

      The reason why you get a zip file is because you downloaded the file using Internet Explorer which messes up the file extension. (Will add this to the tutorial).

      • Dhaikal2

        ty so much bro

        • Dhaikal2

          maverick icant change the zip file to ipsw.. can u tell me the step, when i put ipsw at the back of the file it still show zip file. ty

  • Perryfred75

    hi maverick, when i want to download itunes 10.5,,there is also another 2 item that is safari 5 and icloud control panel should i download it also on my windows pc

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Safari is an internet browser. It’s not necessary if you’re not going to use it. iCloud Control will be useful though if you plan to use the iCloud features found in iOS5.

  • Gobbi

    When I try to update to ISO 5.0 I get the error stating ‘The network connection timed out.  Make sure your network settings are correct and you network connection is active”? What am I doing wrong?

    • http://www.maverickwil.com Maverick Wil

      Sounds like a connection problem. Nothing more. You can attempt the update using a different connection or temporarily turn off your firewall and antivirus. That might work.

  • Mwangi

    after updating the software… I now have a new problem, when i  move videos files to TV Shows, they dissapear and you cannot playback. However on movie, they show. Basically i dont have the TV show and music video option after updating. what Can I do ?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1043534068 Dark Mars

    I cant update to iOS 5 as it keep saying Error 3194. Anyone can help?

  • junior

    the same is happening here.

  • junior

    can someone please help.

  • jill

    can I use some one else’s computer? I only have an ipad1

  • Simone

    Hi everyone, I am from the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean, and I must say this info was super helpful, the most helpful, relevant info I found on the net”………….thanks soooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!I

  • http://www.facebook.com/belaela.beljicabronsky BeLa Ela Beljica Bronsky

    My iTunes says that i have to install correct iTunes softwer for iPad (the oldest one) cuz it is installe incorrectly… i rlly dont understand what i have to do anymore… ::( i already tried to deinstal and reinstal the iTunes but it wont work woth my iPad :/

  • ugu

    Hey may i ask question, is it the same iOs with iPad 1 (with simcard) and ipad 1 (without simcard/ just wi fi)?

    sorry bad english -,-