You Can Install Apple Security Updates Without Updating to IOS 18
iOS 18 is full of new features , but not everyone wants to upgrade right away. The problem is that traditional tech advice advises updating your devices frequently because these updates contain important patches that protect your device and its data from security vulnerabilities. If you’re cautious and would rather wait a few extra days, weeks, or months before updating to the latest version of iOS, there’s good news: you can still stay on iOS 17 for a while longer and protect your iPhone from security flaws.
With iOS 18 just around the corner, Apple has released an iOS 17.7 candidate (RC) to developers and public beta testers, which was first spotted by 9to5Mac . RC is a version of iOS that is one step away from becoming generally available: as long as no one finds any bugs or glitches in RC, Apple will release the exact same update to the public when it is ready.
Why release a new version of iOS 17 if iOS 18 is just around the corner? This 17.7 update contains the security fixes introduced in the upcoming iOS 18 update, but without all the new features. This way, you can avoid updating your iPhone to a new version of iOS while protecting your device from security issues. We just won’t know which security vulnerabilities Apple has actually fixed until it publishes release notes, likely sometime on Monday.
How to install iOS 17 security updates without updating to iOS 18
While you can update to iOS 17.7 right now, it involves enrolling your iPhone in Apple’s beta program. This is not necessary as the update will be released soon. What you can do now is to set your iPhone to ignore the iOS 18 update on Monday and remain in the iOS 17 release cycle. To do this, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates . On this page, disable the two iOS Updates options you see here and make sure Security Responses and System Files are enabled. You will still receive security updates and your phone will remain protected for some time.
Keep in mind that support for iOS 17 won’t last forever, and you’ll have to update to iOS 18 at some point in the near future. (Apple typically reserves these security-only updates for iPhones that are too old for the newest OS.) By then, however, app developers should have ironed out most of the bugs and issues with iOS 18, and hopefully Apple will. did the same for older iPhones.