HT4623 How do I update my software on my iPad 1

Question

Software updates

Answer 1

If you already have iOS 5+ on it then you should have a Settings > General > Software Update option on it for direct update on the iPad. If you have iOS 4 or below then you can only update via your computer's iTunes.
To update via a computer, connect the iPad to your computer's iTunes and copy any purchases off the iPad to your computer via File > Transfer Purchases (File > Devices > Transfer Purchases on iTunes 11). You may also want to copy photos and any important documents off the iPad as well e.g. via the file sharing section at the bottom of the device's apps tab when connected to iTunes, via wifi, email, dropbox etc - they should be included in the backup, but it's best to have a copy of them outside of the backup just in case. You can then force a backup of the iPad by right-clicking the iPad 'Device' on the left-hand sidebar of iTunes and selecting 'Backup' (on iTunes 11 you can enable the left-hand sidebar via option-command-S on a Mac, control-S on a PC)
Then start the update by selecting the iPad on the left-hand sidebar, and on the Summary tab on the right-hand side clicking the Check For Updates button
Updating to iOS 5+ : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4972
You can only update a device to the highest iOS version that it supports, which for an iPad 1 is iOS 5.1.1 (it doesn't support iOS 6)