Finally, The Easiest Way To Bypass The “Slide To Upgrade” Issue
When I first published the Slide To Upgrade fix (and yes, I was the first to do it), I was just lucky my devices weren’t bricked.
Then, after posting the solution, I updated the article with other solutions because, clearly, there were many issues with the iOS 9 installation process.
So you could start by locking the device, performing a hard reset, do a clean install, or downgrade to iOS 8 firmware and so on – all these solutions were designed to fix the “Slide To Upgrade” issue.
Many users decided to pick one solution and follow it to unbrick their frozen iPhone / iPad.
Sure, you can follow any one of the procedure (and downgrading is the popular one), but it is going to be time-consuming and you risk losing all your photos, apps, etc (if you haven’t backed up the data – which many won’t).
Which is why I am writing this article to show you the most easiest and quickest way to fix the Slide To Upgrade issue:
Summary: We are going to connect the iPhone / iPad – that is stuck at the Slide to Upgrade message – to our computer or laptop. Then, we will update it to iOS 9.0.1. Why? Because iOS 9.0.1 update fixes this problem, doesn’t erase your content, and is an improvement over iOS 9.0.
Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes player installed on your computer or laptop. For Macs and Windows (Windows 7, 8, and 10) – you need to get iTunes 12.3. [Link here]
For older Windows (XP and Vista), you need to get iTunes 12.1.3. [Link here]
Step 2: Connect your iPhone / iPad to your computer via USB cable. Now, if you have already connected, then disconnect and reconnect your device again.
iTunes will recognize the device and show you a message to enter the passcode (if you have any). Enter the passcode on your iPhone / iPad. Then, on iTunes, click Try Again.
Step 3: iTunes will immediately start looking for a new software update:
Then it will pop up another window saying a new software version (9.0.1) is available for your device. Select Download and Update.
At this point of time, your device is connected to your computer and still shows the “Slide to Upgrade” screen. Next two steps are important:
Step 4: iTunes will pop up another window showing you the features of iOS 9.0.1, then asking you to read the terms and conditions. Once you are done with this, iTunes will start downloading the update. This update is over 1 GB.
Step 5: Now it’s a waiting game. Note that iTunes will download the complete IPSW file of iOS 9.0.1 from the Apple’s server. Once the download is complete, it will automatically install the update on your device. This should take you at least 10-20 minutes.
That’s it – Only 5 steps to follow – and by doing this, not only are you bypassing the “slide to upgrade” screen, but you are also updating to iOS 9.0.1 that fixes many major problems.
Credit goes to Allen and Raj for sharing this.
Update September 25th, 6:48 PM: As pointed out in the comment section, this “fix” only works when your device is stuck with the Slide To Upgrade message. In case, you see a red/blue iTunes icon on your iPhone / iPad, it means the device is in recovery mode.