How to get the 5.7GB iOS 8 without erasing anything

With the rollout of the iOS 8, we’ve seen a lot of people in our news feed complaining about the large storage requirement to get the new OS. The system imposes that your iDevice should have at least 4.6GB up to 5.7GB free to successfully download the update. Now before you delete anything to free up space, here’s an alternate way of getting your iPhones up to date.

For this approach we’ll be using a computer so the update will rely on the PC’s internal storage rather than your iPhone’s – thus eliminating the need to delete photos, videos, or apps. Also, be sure to back up your devices before updating just so we’re on the safe side of things.

1. Make sure your iTunes is running on its latest version so it can offer the iOS 8 update
2. Plug in your iDevice to your computer (see list below for compatible devices).
3. Be sure to tick “Check for updates” when it detects your device.
4. Download and install the update

Note: Download time and file size depends on what your current device and OS version is, so be patient! Our iPhone 5 is currently doing this update and we’re already at 20 minutes and counting at the time of writing.

iOS 8 is compatible with:
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus
iPod touch 5th generation
iPad 2
iPad 3rd generation
iPad 4th generation
iPad Air
iPad mini
iPad mini with Retina display

As an addition, here are 7 new features for your old iPhones running iOS 8.