iOS 11: Download and install times slow as iPhone owners rush to get new update

It could be best to wait for a few hours

Apple's iOS 11 is out for download. Doing so is easy — but not especially quick.

With a huge number of iPhone and iPad owners trying to download the software, servers are running slowly and people are waiting hours for the update to actually arrive.

Most people should now be able to start the software's download.

That's done by heading to the Settings app, clicking general and selecting software update. The phone will check in with Apple and start the download.

But when that download will actually finish is another question entirely. Because so many people are requesting the update, phones are saying that it won't complete for hours.

The slowness is likely to come to an end very soon. As such, it's best to wait for a few hours before starting the download.

But you can set it going, leave, and carry on using your phone. The download will use a little more battery and can only progress on WiFi, but won't otherwise affect the use of your phone.

If you'd prefer to avoid the problems entirely, your iPhone will eventually decide that it wants to update itself. Then, it will download the software automatically and even update while you're sleeping, so there's no disruption to how you use your phone.

Whatever happens, ensure that your iPhone is ready to be updated by following this guide.