Has anyone noticed that for the most part, your iPhone or iPad will not download automatically any iOS app updates unless it is plugged into power. This has been occurring on my devices nice 9.0.1 i believe. And it's not just into the Mac that has iTunes and the devices, but when i plug it into a power bank device [external power supply for devices].
Thanks.
iPad Air Wi-Fi, iOS 9.1, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s Plus
After updating to 10.3 the behavior of iOS definitely has changed in this respect for me: I used to see my apps update automatically after opening my iPhone or iPad, but now this does not happen anymore. My apps will only start updating when the device is plugged in. That gets to be annoying when you don't plug in your iPhone or iPad every day. It can happen that I end up with dozens of apps waiting to be updated. This combines with what appears to be another issue, where only a few of the apps update automatically, and then the process stops, forcing me to update the rest manually.
For the record, I have automatic updates as well as "Use cellular data" enabled. In my opinion the new behavior is highly undesirable. With cellular data enabled, this should be straightforward: Just update the darn apps in the background while I'm not using the device. The new behavior makes no sense at all.
No, it's because wifi is not active when the iPhone is in sleep mode and unplugged, whereas when plugged in wifi remains active. The iPhone has always been this way to conserve power when running on the battery. Anything that should occur over wifi in the background, while in sleep mode, will require that the iPhone be plugged in. Automatic iCloud backups are the same way - they ONLY occur when the device is within range of a known wifi network, is in sleep mode, and is plugged in to an external power source.
Sorry, but i beg to differ. Prior to iOS 9, all my devices would auto download and install apps that 1) i purchased on another device 2) update existing apps in the background. I know this because 1) i've seen it happen when i check the app store app and watched the apps update, and at other times, notice apps now sport the blue update dot on the screens.
I recently had a debate regarding an iPhone needing to be plugged in to power for it to install and upgrade. It has been my experience this is required. 2 other people were able to update their phones without plugging it into power. Why the difference? Is there a benefit for doing it one way versus the other?
Hi KingBowler,
I'm sorry to hear you are having this issue with your iPhone. If your automatic downloads are only working when plugged in to power, you may want to see if you've turned on Low Power Mode; as noted in the following article, one thing Low Power Mode does is temporarily disable automatic downloads:
About iPhone Low Power Mode - Apple Support
You may also want to double check to see if you have cellular data enabled in the automatic download settings:
Turn on Automatic Downloads - Apple Support
Regards
Thanks for the suggestions but I don't use low power mode so it's not even turned on and i do have the App Store permitted to use Cellular, but this also happen on my non-cellular iPad Air and it too will download all the pending updates to apps if plugged into a power source (battery or AC). It's almost as if the auto-download won't occur until the lightning port is "activated" 🙂.
YEs, and it still does just that - as long as it is plugged in to an external power source. When plugged in, the wifi radio remains on in sleep mode and backups, updates, etc readily occur. However, in sleep mode when running on the battery, the wifi radio is powered off to save power. If you then have cellular data disabled, nothing will happen in the backgroud.
Believe what you will, but the iPhone has always functioned that way. If you want things to happen in the background over wifi, when the device is asleep, then it must be plugged in or the wifi radio will be off.
If you keep the device awake and the screen active during the download, once downloaded yes you can install the downloaded update without having it plugged in. You cannot complete the download of an iOS update if unplugged the screen asleep as the wifi radio goes off when the screen blanks and the devixe sleeps.
Once downloaded, running the installer without being plugged in will be fine, as long as your battery charge is sufficient to complete the process. If your battery dies mid-installation, you may have to restore the device and then use your backup to get back up and running.
This thread was initially about downloading over wifi without being plugged in, and that has never been possible as when running on battery, the wifi radio switches off when the device enters sleep mode. But there is a distinction between the downloading of an iOS update, and then running that download to install the update. The former requires wifi, the latter does not.
Thank you for the clarification Michael.
So, as long as you keep your phone awake throughout the download and install process you do not need to have it plugged in to power, correct?
Correct. As long as you keep the screen on and the device active, wifi stays on and you can download. Once you start the install of the download, it will run to completion whether plugged in or not.
device needs to be plugged in to auto download
