Only iPads capable of running iPadOS 26, 18 or 17 are receiving regular updates. However this is only possible if the model is supported and there is enough free storage space on the iPad
This means that your iPad could be susceptible to being hacked or compromised if not running iPadOS 17 or higher
How to free up iPad storage space to be able to run updates?
When trying to run updates, you may see a message such as below.
A warning saying – Software Updates are “Unable to download“
And another saying “More Storage Required“
The biggest users of storage space are “iPadOS”, “System Data” and “Photos” but these cannot be touched or deleted, so start reducing storage by deleting “downloaded Videos and Audios” and Apps.
Having deleted some apps, and videos, restart the iPad to see if that has been enough to free up enough storage,
once again goto System > General > Software Update
Some Apps once deleted will free up a lot more storage than they indicate.
Try deleting Streaming Services Apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney one at a time, reboot and
once again goto System > General > Software Update
rinse-and-repeat the process until enough space becomes available to run the updates.
Once updated you can re-add the deleted apps until the next time you need to do a major update.
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