With the newest iPhone 6 already on sale and the iOS 8 software update available for owners of older iPhone models, many of you may be antsy to upgrade. For good reason, too. iOS 8 features a new keyboard, camera app enhancements and improved search. But you might want to hold off on hitting that “download and install button” for the iOS 8 update a bit longer.

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Why you should wait

For starters, the mere act of checking for an update on your device could take 10 to 15 minutes. Some iPhone users have reported problems connecting to Apple’s server to check for an update. Even when you hit that “download and install” button, it doesn’t automatically download the update, it sends a request. This can set you back another 5-15 minutes if you’re lucky.

Adding insult to injury, the update itself could vary in time, depending on your device. Reports have popped up that iPads and iPad minis are taking longer to update, with some having to wait six hours or longer.

Also, the free space needed for the update also varies depending on the device you are using. The least storage space needed is about 4.6GB.  iPads require more free space than iPhones, and if you have iDevices with bigger capacity the free space requirement may be respectively bigger as well.

Because of the storage space requirement, some iDevice users have been forced to delete files, most of which are photos and videos, just so they can update to iOS 8. But don’t fret, there’s a way for you to get iOS 8 without having to delete your whole digital life.

The easy way to upgrade to iOS 8

If you don’t want to wait hours to have your iDevice upgraded to iOS 8 and you don’t want to delete any of your data, the best option is to use iTunes. For this, you would have to resort to the old way of updating an iDevice and that’s by connecting it to a computer with the latest version of iTunes installed.

After connecting your device, be sure to hit the “Check for update” button and not the “Restore” button so as not to wipe all the data from your device. Also, make sure to make a backup before you proceed to downloading the update just in case something goes wrong. This way, you don’t lose anything, and you won’t have to worry about deleting any of your files just to make space.

photo credit: tim caynes via photopin cc