Q: tried to update phone and the grey bar now says "searching"

Hello kylieadams,

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

From your post, it sounds like your iPhone is not able to obtain a signal and is you see Searching where you would normally see your carrier and signal strength. If this is correct, I suggest reading over and working through the steps from the If you see No Service or Searching section in the following article. 

If you can't connect to a cellular network or cellular data - Apple Support

Cheers!