iPhone 18PM Stuck on "Downloading Software Update - Paused"

iPhone 14 PM to iPhone 18 PM

Just got my new 18PM and currently in the midst of, well, attempted data transfer and ios27 update. The very first boot up of the 18PM, I said 'yes' to both and the screen was stuck on "Downloading Software Update - Paused" for literally a whole hour. I scavenged the internet and tried different fixes; restarting, using a pc, starting at a clean slate (data transfer after set-up). However, every time I attempted a fix, the screen ends up stuck at the same thing and I can't for the love of me get to the option of updating at a later time. I got to that screen once but it was greyed out and it continued on to try and download again and still, until now, stuck at the same exact end game screen. My last attempt I managed to say no to the data transfer but still, it gets stuck on the same screen.

It's been 3 hours since I left it, the line of status bar is not even moving. What am I supposed to do? Wait for the update no matter how long? There are instances where the status bar changes from 'Paused' to 'About 1 hour remaining' then unto 2 hours, 3 hours, 12 hours, then pauses again. Am I being too impatient, anyone else having problems or is this user error? Yes, the phone is plugged and connected to wifi.