Download iOS 13 Beta Over the Air Without Losing Files or Settings [Update]

Uzair Ghani
download iOS 13 beta over the air

Here’s how you can download iOS 13 beta over the air on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch without losing your files or settings.

Update: for some reason the over the air installation method is not available yet. Since it isn't, therefore you have to wait a while before you go ahead installing iOS 13 or iPadOS 13 betas.

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Update 2: The profile is now available to download over the air!

If you ever want to experience beta software at its full potential then it is a good idea to perform a clean installation of the software. However, a clean install will delete everything off your device, forcing you to start from scratch or restore from a backup which can be a huge pain for a lot of people out there. Therefore, you might want to take the over the air method for installing beta software, which is not only easy, but takes very little time as well.

Before you go ahead, please know that this requires an Apple Developer Program membership, which will cost you $99 on an annual basis. It’s a good idea to subscribe to the portal if you consider yourself an Apple enthusiast as it will give you access to every single beta bit of upcoming software before anyone else.

Though this is an over the air route of installing iOS 13 beta, we still encourage you to take a backup of everything using iTunes or iCloud. Why? Because this is ‘beta 1,’ meaning you will run into some nasty bugs or even experience broken functionality in many different corners, forcing you to perform a downgrade eventually. So please, take a backup of your files and settings, just to be on the safe side. Also, make sure your device is compatible with iOS 13 beta and iPadOS.

Let’s download iOS 13 beta over the air without losing your files or settings!

  • On your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, open the Apple Developer Program website and sign in with your Apple ID.
  • Now head over to the Downloads section.
  • Scroll down to Featured Downloads and find iOS 13 beta.
  • Right next to the featured download of iOS 13 beta, you’ll see a blue Install Profile button [direct download link]. Tap on it.
download iOS 13 beta over the air
  • You will be asked to download a profile onto your device, so please do so. Select the target destination of installation as your device (iPhone, iPad or iPod touch), not an Apple Watch if you have one connected to your iPhone.
  • Once the profile is installed, you will be asked to restart your device which will barely take a couple of minutes at best.
  • As you have booted up, navigate to Settings > General > Software Update.
  • You will see the iOS 13 beta become available for download almost instantly. Tap on the Download and Install button to kick off the installation process.
  • Your device may restart several times during the process so don’t panic. Once done, you will boot straight into iOS 13 beta, ready for use as you normally would.

Be careful though, this is beta software therefore expect some things to be broken in certain corners. There’s always the option of downgrading back to iOS 12 if you like. But hey, at least you got to try out Apple’s shiny new OS that is set for release this fall.

Let us know in the comments section below what you think about iOS 13 beta in general. Have you installed it on any of your devices or have you given it a pass until the final build arrives later this year?

You may like to check out the following guides as well:

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