Earlier today, Apple released the eagerly awaited iOS 8 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
The surge in traffic seems to have overloaded Apple’s servers as users started reporting problems while trying to update their device.
iOS 8 is available as an OTA update, but while trying to check for an update from iTunes, users are getting a server couldn’t be reached error.
The error says:
The iPad software update server could not be contacted.
Make sure your network settings are correct and your network connection is active, or try again later.
Users have also reported problems when trying to download the OTA update on their iPhones and iPads. The error says:
Software Update Failed.
An error occurred downloading iOS 8.0.
As we reported earlier, to handle the surge in traffic, Apple seems to have enabled a new feature to handle the surge in traffic. When users tap on the Download button, they are informed that the update has been requested. My experience was quite good, iOS 8 update started downloading almost immediately. But readers are reporting that the download doesn’t start even after an hour, and in few cases as much as 2 hours.
It is good to see Apple taking steps to address the surge in traffic. With over 500 million devices, managing the surge in traffic for such major iOS upgrades is always going to be difficult. However, it seems to be annoying users as they’ve been used to instant downloads. Apple should inform users how much time it would take to manage their expectations, especially after they’ve been spoilt with instant downloads, and the wait time should not be so long. If it is too long then Apple should inform users to try again after a few hours. Not ideal, but better than looking at your iOS device waiting or checking frequently to see if the download has started.
Possible solutions
- If you’re stuck at “Update Requested”, then try to hard reset the device by holding the Home and Power button simultaneously till you see the screen goes blank and the Apple logo appears again, and try to download the update again via the Settings app.
- If you’re still having problems then you can download the iOS firmware file directly from Apple’s servers and update your device manually using iTunes. If you need help, follow our guide:
What has been your experience? Did you get the ‘Update Requested’ message? How long did it take for the update to start downloading? Let me know in the comments below.
