How to update your Operating System

Updated at: Jul 3, 2024

Your Operating System is underlying software on your computer or phone that makes everything "work". It's responsible for making programs run, handling your keyboard, mouse, and monitor, connecting to the internet, managing memory, storing files, and essentially keeping it all running. Operating Systems are very complicated pieces of software, and the manufacturers often new versions to fix problems and add new features.

List of guides to update different Operating Systems

• How to update Windows
• How to update macOS
• How to update iOS
• How to update ChromeOS
• How to update Android

Advice on updating your Operating System

Firstly, let us say that we always recommend updating your web browser as frequently as possible. Keeping your web browser up to date is a vital part of staying safe online and there's usually no problems in installing updates.

However, updating your Operating System is a bit of a bigger deal - because it's responsible for everything on your computer or phone. If there's a problem with the operating system update then it's usually a significant problem to fix or reinstall compared to if there's a problem updating your web browser. If something goes wrong with a web browser update, then usually you can just delete the browser and try again. But if something bad happens with an operating system update then it's usually a much more complicated problem to solve.

Updating the Operating System can also potentially cause some programs to no longer work if those programs aren't compatible with the latest version of your operating system. This isn't always the case; but it has happened in the past when the manufacturer (eg Microsoft or Apple) make significant changes that the old programs can't handle.

Make sure you know what you're doing

We advise you to take special precautions when updating your operating system on your computer, phone or tablet.

You should read the release notes from the manufacturer carefully to see if all of your existing software/apps will work with the new operating system.

Create a backup before you update

You should definitely create a full backup of your system before installing an operating system update.

Exceptions

The only real exception we have to this is for Google's ChromeOS. This is because "under the hood" ChromeOS is almost basically just the Google Chrome browser. As well as this, ChromeOS automatically updates itself as new versions become available anyway. So it may not be as necessary to exercise that much caution when upgrading ChromeOS.

But for updating "real" or "traditional" operating systems such as Windows, macOS or Linux, you should be very careful.

Mobile Operating Systems such as iOS and Android are somewhere in the middle. Usually as long as you're installing official updates you should be ok. It's still extremely important to keep a fresh backup of your device before you install and updates to your operating system.

Ask for help

Updating your operating system is a big deal, so if you're not sure about anything, you should ask for help from a friend or family member who has the right knowledge, ask for help from a tech support company, and read the release notes from the maker of the Operating System (eg Microsoft or Apple) first.

We make our guides to be as clear and helpful as possible; but nothing beats one-on-one advice from someone you trust.