HT4972 Can I update iOS on iPad itself

Question

Hi, any one can help me pls? I wish to update to the new iOS for my iPad. How to go about with it? Can I upgrade on iPad and not sync to a pc?

Answer 1

If you are on iOS 4 as your tagline suggests then you can only update by connecting to a computer's iTunes - it is only when you have iOS 5+ installed that you will get an Settings > General > Software Update option appear on the iPad which will allow you to do future updates directly on the iPad.
Connect the iPad to your computer and select it on the left-hand side of your computer's iTunes, and copy any purchases off the iPad via File > Transfer Purchases (you may also want to copy photos off the iPad as well) and then force a backup of the iPad by right-clicking the iPad 'Device' on the left-hand side of iTunes and selecting 'Backup'. You may also want to copy off the iPad any important documents, notes, files etc 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 start the update by selecting the iPad on the left-hand side of iTunes, 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