Why is Update request taking too long?

Make sure that your iPhone is setup to meet the following requirements before you attempt to update the iOS version over a Wi-Fi Network. Open Settings ➡️ General ➡️ Software Update: If there is an update available for your iPhone then it will be listed here. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and update your iPhone. 

• Your iPhone must have a fast Wi-Fi connection; you cannot update over cellular data or a cellular hotspot
• The iPhone can not be in Low Power mode
• The battery state of charge must be above 50%
• Your iPhone must have at least 8GB or more free storage space
• Your iPhone cannot be connected through VPN
• You should leave the phone plugged in until it finishes updating, both to assure that it remains above 50% and to keep Wi-Fi enabled (Wi-Fi turns off when the phone sleeps if not connected to power).

Axel F.

I think my new iPhone SE said "Update Requested" while I had it running as part of the setup while trying to transfer apps and data from my old iPhone 8, but today after I gave up, couldn't find another way to do it without paying $40 or $50 for a dedicated transfer app, erased the new phone and started over, it says "Resume Download" in gray. What we want, obviously, is "Update Completed" rather than "Update Requesting", "Update Requested" or "Resume Download", but that's not what we're getting. Apparently there are a LOT of owners of new iPhones that aren't getting it either, as I remember seeing that over 4 million people had downloaded one of the third-party transfer utilities. My condolences for your lost week. I don't know how long I'm going to give this second try. It's very annoying that you don't know whether it's hung or downloading. There should be a timeout and/or a helpful alert. I bet there would be if Steve Jobs were still around. And maybe it would simply work.