How to Prepare Your iPhone & iPad for iOS 11 Beta Right Now

Backup Everything, Check your Developer Membership, Free up Space and More for iOS 11 Beta

The big WWDC 2017 opening keynote is all set for tomorrow. Apple will use the stage to announce a handful of great stuff, with iOS 11 Beta being one of them. So, if you are planning to take Apple’s new pre-release software for a spin on your iPhone or iPad, then here’s what you should do right now to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Sign Up or Renew Apple Developer Program Membership

The first beta of iOS 11 will be available directly through Apple’s developer portal. But it’s something that requires a paid membership. In case your membership has expired, it’s best to renew it today, rather than tomorrow. If you are looking to sign up fresh, either way, head over to this link for more details: developer.apple.com/programs/

Once you visit the link above, click on the blue Enroll button to get started. If you already have an account, then click on the Account button at the top to sign right in using your Apple ID.

Backup Everything There is

Since you are dealing with beta software here, therefore it’s best to back everything up right away. You can either use iTunes or iCloud in order to do so. If you have firmware prior to iOS 10.3 installed, then follow the guide posted here. iOS 10.3 or above users can find out here how they can perform an iCloud backup. The iTunes backup process for iOS 10.3 and above users is the same as before.

Make sure you do not miss this step. It’s absolutely crucial.

Keep Your Lightning Cable (or Dongle) Ready

If you are planning to clean install iOS 11 Beta, then it’s best to keep your Lightning cable ready. If you have the 12-inch MacBook or the new MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3, then source yourself a dongle beforehand. Until or unless you have a USB-C to Lightning cable already, then everything’s just fine.

Free Up Some Space if You Are Planning to Install Over the Air

Planning to perform an over the air installation of iOS 11 Beta? That option will be available to users. But there’s a small problem: it will require a handful of free space on your device. This means you should start working right now to free up at least 3GB of space so that everything goes through smoothly as possible.

You may skip this step entirely if you are planning to perform a clean installation anyway.

Download the iOS 10.3.2 Firmware File Right Now if You Wish to Downgrade

There is a chance that iOS 11 Beta turns out to be so buggy that you instantly regret your decision upgrading to the firmware. So, before the regret kicks in, it’s best to download the firmware file of the current software for your device, so that you can use it to downgrade back using iTunes. You can download the iOS 10.3.2 final firmware file from here.

Try Using a Spare iOS Device to Try Out the New Beta

As exciting new software is, but it’s a good idea to take it for a spin on a device that is not your daily driver. There are bound to be bugs, performance issues, battery life problems and whatnot. So it’s best to take your secondary device all the hit. This measure is recommended only if you have a spare device lying around.

Play the Waiting Game & iOS 11 Public Beta

It’s likely that the first iOS 11 Beta will go live for developers only immediately. This means that they’ll be the ones to get the taste of Cupertino’s latest dessert. It’s also likely that Apple will make the software available for public beta testers as well. But, it’s unclear when that will happen. So, it’s best to prepare yourself for the software waiting game.

You’re all set. We will keep our readers posted regarding each and every single bit of news from WWDC 2017 tomorrow. And oh, before you head out, you might want to check out the following:

[Source”cnbc”]