How to Install iOS 11 Public Beta on iPad

If you’re a more advanced user who has been on the fence about installing iOS 11 beta onto an iPad, you may want to give it a second thought. With the iOS 11 beta marching along towards the fall release date, each additional beta build is increasingly more stable and refined, and for the iPad users out there who don’t mind braving a beta operating system (always backup first so that you can downgrade if necessary), the allure to run iOS 11 is obvious.

The appeal to running iOS 11 right now is particularly strong with iPad, which receives a variety of notable new multitasking features that really improve the iPad experience. So if you have an iPad laying around that is compatible with iOS 11, or maybe you want an excuse to buy an iPad 2017 model, you might find it worthwhile to give the latest beta builds a try at this point.

Installing iOS 11 public beta onto an iPad is easy, but it’s likely an unfamiliar process to many users. No worries, this tutorial will walk through each step, and you’ll be up and running iOS 11 on the iPad in no time at all.

Prerequisites for iOS 11 beta on an iPad

• An iOS 11 compatible iPad (or treat yourself to a new iPad, you deserve it!) – including iPad Air 2, iPad Pro, iPad 2017
• An active internet connection to download and install iOS 11 beta from Apple
• An Apple ID, this is needed to enroll in the iOS beta program
• A new backup made of the iPad before starting the iOS 11 install process
• Several GB of free storage space available on the iPad
• Acceptance that beta system software is less stable, less reliable, and has generally worse performance than final versions of system software

Sound good? Ok now let’s backup your iPad, enroll in the beta, and install it!

First: Back Up

Back up your iPad before doing anything else, you can back it up to iTunes or iCloud, or preferably to both.

Backing up the iPad to iTunes is just a matter of connecting the iPad to a computer with iTunes and choosing to “Back Up Now”. Apple recommends you choose to “Archive” the backup before installing the beta so that the archived backup persists beyond additional backups, which is good advice.

Backing iPad up to iCloud is done through Settings > (Your Name) > iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now

However you backup the iPad, don’t skip it, and let it complete before going any further. This is very important, a backup made of the iPad ahead of installing iOS 11 insures that you can downgrade and restore your data should the need arise. Failure to backup before installing system software (beta or otherwise) can lead to permanent data loss, do not take that risk. Just backup, and make it a habit to back up your devices regularly. If anything ever goes wrong with your device(s), you’ll be glad you have those backups.

How to Install iOS 11 Public Beta onto iPad

1. Backup your iPad if you have not done so already
2. On the iPad, go to this website here on beta.Apple.com to sign up in the iOS 11 public beta program
3. Enroll the iPad and choose to download the iOS beta profile



4. When the Install Profile screen shows up, choose “Install” and then agree to the pre-release consent form (I am sure you will read it very carefully!)



5. Restart the iPad when requested to install the iOS beta software profile



6. When iPad boots back up again, open the “Settings” app and go to ‘General’ and then to “Software Update”, here you will find the iOS 11 public beta is available to download and install



7. Confirm that you want to install the iOS 11 beta and agree to the terms and conditions (I’m sure you will read those too)



8. The iOS 11 beta will download and verify the update, then reboot to begin and complete installation showing a black screen with an Apple logo  and progress bar



9. When the iPad has finished installing iOS 11, it will boot back up and you will see a white screen saying “Update Completed” where you can walk through a few simple setup steps to configure some options



10. Your iPad is now on iOS 11 public beta!

The best way to experience iOS 11 is with hands on activity, so play around and explore. There are a lot of new features available in iOS 11, both in the core operating system and in the default apps.

Where much of the iOS 11 greatness for iPad comes into play is with multitasking. The familiar iPad multitasking features still exist, like Slide Over, Picture in Picture video, Split View with side-by-side apps, but the new productivity boosting multitasking features are things like the new Dock, which can be accessed from anywhere just like a Mac), being able to drag apps open to run side by side directly from that Dock, drag and drop support for side-by-side apps, and the all new Multitasking screen and Control Center which behaves a bit like Mission Control on the Mac. The whole iOS 11 experience on iPad is great, and it’s where iOS 11 really shines – even in current beta form.

Have fun with iOS 11 on the iPad! If you run the iOS 11 public beta, when the final version comes out in the fall you will be able to update directly to that, just as you would with any other software update. And if you decide you hate the experience for whatever reason, remember you can downgrade iOS 11 beta back to iOS 10 if desired.

And yes, you can also download the iOS 11 public beta for iPhone too, but the significant changes and additions to iOS 11 are found on the iPad, and we have received a fair amount of questions about this, thus it’s worth a specific mention.

Have you checked out the iOS 11 beta on the iPad yet? What do you think?