How to download iOS 10 developer preview 5 to your iPhone or iPad

If you're a developer looking to take a peek at iOS 10, here's how to install the developer beta.

Update August 9, 2016: Apple has just released iOS 10 beta 5 for developers. If you already have iOS 10 beta installed, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away. If you've been waiting for beta 5 to get in on iOS 10, keep reading and we'll walk you through the set up!

iOS 10 is coming this fall with a ton of new features, several that require lots of third-party developer input. As such, the company is releasing developer betas so that software engineers can get a head start on making great software for you.

Apple's 2016 software updates — iOS 10, watchOS 3, tvOS 10, and macOS Sierra — are currently available as closed developer previews and as public betas for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. While the betas contain new features, they also contain pre-release bugs that can prevent the normal use of your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac, and are not intended for everyday use on a primary device. That's why we strongly recommend staying away from the developer previews, and using the public betas with caution. If you depend on your devices, wait for the final release this fall.

How to make an archived backup of your iPhone or iPad
How to register your device with the iOS 10 developer beta
How to install the iOS 10 developer beta
How to get started with the iOS 10 beta

How to make an archived backup of your iPhone or iPad

Before you begin, make sure you back up your iPhone or iPad. While the beta process is fairly straight forward, any time you make any significant change to your device you risk problems. And with your personal data, it's always — always! — better to be safe than sorry. Even if you back up every night, you'll want to make sure it's absolutely up-to-date.

Plug iPhone or iPad into your Mac or Windows PC.
Launch iTunes.
Click on the iPhone or iPad icon in the menu bar when it appears.
Make sure backup is set to This Computer. (And enable Encrypted backup — it's worth it!)
Click on Back Up Now. (Click on Encrypt Backup and add a password — you want the security.)
Back up Apps, if asked.
Press Command, to open Preferences. (Or go to iTunes in the menu bar and click on Preferences.
Click on the Devices tab.
Option-click on your Backup and choose Archive.

Archiving will prevent your current backup from being overwritten by an iOS 10 backup in the future, should you want to revert for any reason.

How to register your account for the iOS 10 beta

Before you do anything else, make sure you have a developer account with Apple — without a paid account, you won't be able to download any non-Xcode betas.

Thanks to Apple's configuration profile, you can download iOS betas directly on your iPhone or iPad, no Mac required! (You can still install iOS 10 on your iPhone or iPad by connecting your device to iTunes, but you'll need to be running the Xcode beta first. The method listed below is generally a lot faster, with fewer wires.)

Go to developer.apple.com on your iPhone or iPad.
Click on the "Download New Betas" tab.
Log in with your developer account's username and password.
Go to the iOS 10 beta section and tap the down arrow to expand downloads.
Click Download next to Configuration Profile.
When it asks which device you'd like to use, select iPhone.
The Beta software profile will appear on your phone. Tap Install. You may need to enter your Passcode.
Agree to the Consent form and press Install once in the upper right corner, and once at the bottom of the screen.
Press Restart to apply the changes to your iPhone.

How to install the iOS 10 beta

To install the iOS 10 beta, you'll need to visit Software Update on your iPhone or iPad.

Launch Settings from your Home screen, tap on General, then tap on Software Update.
Once the update appears, tap on Download and Install.
Enter your Passcode.
Tap Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
Tap Agree again to confirm.

Your iPhone or iPad will reboot to install iOS 10. There will be a couple progress bars going across the screen. Sit tight, and let everything finish.

How to get started with iOS 10 beta

Once your iPhone or iPad reboots, it'll be running iOS 10. There's a brief bit of setup you'll need to go through, however, as the system will have changed enough that it'll need your login to complete the update.

Tap Continue.
Enter your Apple ID password. iCloud settings will update, so give it a minute.
Tap Get Started.

Once that's done, you'll be on the Home screen and ready to rock iOS 10.

What if I want to go back to iOS 9.3?

It's pretty simple — as long as you remembered to make an archived backup before upgrading. (You did make an archived backup, right?) Just follow the instructions on our website.

What's new in iOS 10?

So much! We've written a bunch about the new operating system, including a detailed FAQ and sections on its new user interface, Lock screen, Messages app, and lots more.

Running beta software

iOS

Reader comments

How to download iOS 10 developer preview 5 to your iPhone or iPad

27 Comments

dejanh

Is this an update for Pokemon Go? Will it make my Pokemon Go run better? If it is not Pokemon Go related I don't care.

3 weeks ago

lerimer

How old are you, like 5?

Sent from the iMore App

jeffro02

You don't get sarcasm, do you.

I guess you don't either. Lol

DannyJJK

9.3.3 actually did seem to make my Pokémon Go run better

tnt4

Has anybody else had major app incompatibility with 10? Obviously it's a beta and I expect some, but it seems like I've had a lot more issues with the iOS 10 beta and the apps I use than prior large betas. Just curious!

ScouseYeti

I did have massive problems with the initial developer beta but since the second beta it has been fine, just installing the third one now so hopefully that works just as well

Thanks. Did you have to reinstall the apps or did they just start working again?

No they just started working, I did note a few had made minor updates to help with the iOS beta

Premium1

I haven't had many issues on the public beta, actually has worked a lot better than previous beta versions of IOS.

mojeska

I have had problems with the YouTube application, menus disapear all the time on beta 2. I also run into streaming issues, where music and videos randomly stop. It's a beta, some trouble is expected. I have reported these bugs.

durfmobile

I'm on public beta. iPhone 6, 64gb AT&T. My 3rd party apps have been fine but the system stuff and the OS in general has been slow and crashy.
Stay away until further betas or gold master.

Rolandh

I just had a problem with my Banks app in Beta 2 which is now fixed in Beta 3.

Trooper27

Just installed a little while ago. So far so good. Animations still seem laggy but widgets are back to working fine! Hope it stays this way!

nbomar1

This is still developer only isn't it? Would be nice for clarification on these.

First sentence says it, "Update July 18, 2016: Apple has just released iOS 10 beta 3 for developers. If you already have iOS 10 beta installed, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away. If you've been waiting for beta 3 to get in on iOS 10, keep reading and we'll walk you through the set up!"

Bob Garon

Question for you guys… Since iOS 10 beta-1 Apple no longer has today's date in the drop-down notification shade. In iOS 9 and earlier you can drop it down, swipe to the widget screen, and it displays today's date right at the top. Do you know how to bring that back? Or is it a bug?

cerebasan

The date shows in the up next widget.

Not for me. There's no date anywhere.

kale.parisian

Hey, I've been using the iOS 10 beta and just got wind of iOS 10 beta 3. When I go to General > Software Update it say's "Your software is up to date" and has iOS 10.0. Does this mean the update automatically installed? Is there any way for me to identify beta 3 over beta 2?