The AppleToolbox Guide to Installing Apple Betas

Apple’s operating systems, iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS, regularly receive beta updates well in advanced of a public release. This allows developers to get their apps ready, and also allow users to test for bugs and issues before a public release. July is an exciting month with public betas available for many of the new operating systems from Apple which includes macOS and iOS. We wanted to provide you a concise guide on installing Apple Betas that you use when deciding to take advantage of the public betas made available between July and September for the various Apple devices.

There are two ways to get Apple Betas:

1) Join the Apple Developer Program at http://developer.apple.com for $99.99 a year.
2) Apply for the Apple Public Beta Program at http://beta.apple.com

While there are loopholes around having to do either of these options, it is highly recommended you stick to one of these two routes if you plan on installing betas. Apple has in the past invalidated copies of Betas installed unofficially resulting in loss of data.

We additionally recommend sticking to the public betas unless you are a developer. Developer betas tend to be extremely buggy, and are only recommended for development devices.

Always make sure to backup devices before installing betas.

After you’ve joined a beta program, here’s how to install them:

Installing Apple Betas: Public Betas

All public betas are installed via a profile on your iOS or OS X device. There are no public betas on tvOS or watchOS at this time. To install the profile:

1) Go to http://beta.apple.com and enroll
2) Upon being accepted, sign in
3) Click on enroll your devices and read any agreements or instructions
4) Follow the steps for installing profiles

Developer Program

To install developer program betas, make sure:

1) You have signed up for the Apple Developer Program
2) Are logged in
3) Go to https://developer.apple.com/download/

Installing Apple Betas: iOS

There are two ways to install iOS betas via the developer portal. The first is to install a profile, similar to the public beta program. To do this:

1) Visit https://developer.apple.com/download/ on your iOS device.
2) Scroll down to the iOS Beta section
3) Push download on the option titled ‘Configuration Profile’
The second way to install betas is via iTunes. To do this:

1) Go to https://developer.apple.com/download/
2) Select the correct iOS beta for your device, download it.
3) Once the download is complete, connect your device and open iTunes. Make sure you are on the latest update of iTunes.
4) Select your device in the iTunes menu
5) While holding the option key on a Mac, or the shift-key on a PC, select ‘Check for Updates’
6) This will bring up a file explorer. Select the iOS beta you just downloaded.
7) All further betas for this version will be installed OTA on your iOS device.

RELATED: How to downgrade from iOS 10 to iOS 9.

Installing Apple Betas: macOS

Installing Mac betas is pretty easy and self-explanatory. Here’s how you do it:

Note: It is just as important to have Mac betas as it is iOS. It is highly recommended you attach a drive and run Time Machine before installing a beta.

1) Go to https://developer.apple.com/download/
2) Push download on the Mac beta you want
3) Once the download is complete, open up the downloaded file.
4) The installer will guide you through the process.

If you experience problems while downloading the beta for macOS or if it gets stuck mid-way, please make sure to open your App store and “check for unfinished downloads…” Follow the steps and that should fix the issue. The other way to look at this issue depends upon if you deleted the download folder. For example, you had started the download but then you encountered a non-existent disk space issue. You then proceeded to delete the download folder. In this case, you can restart the download process by clicking on /Applications/Install 10.12 Developer Preview.app

RELATED: How To Downgrade from macOS Sierra to El Capitan

Installing Apple Betas: watchOS

Installing watchOS betas can be a little more complicated, and there is only one way to do it. Here’s how:

1) On the iPhone that is connected to your watch, go to https://developer.apple.com/download/
2) Select the watchOS beta you want, download it.
3) Install the profile it presents
4) Restart your device if you weren’t prompted to do so
5) Go into the Watch App -> General -> Software Updates. You should now see an option to download the beta.

Please note that there is one big issue when it comes to downloading your watchOS betas. If at a later point, you decide to downgrade from the beta to watchOS 2.2 version, you simply cannot do this on your own. This will require Apple Support. You will have to send your watch into Apple Support so that they can restore the current GM version of watchOS. It takes about 3 business days for Apple Support to do this.

Installing Apple Betas: tvOS

There are two ways to install tvOS betas. To do it with iTunes:

1) Go to https://developer.apple.com/download/
2) Select the tvOS beta, download it.
3) Once the download is complete, connect your Apple TV using the included USB C cord and open iTunes. Make sure you are on the latest update of iTunes.
4) Select your device in the iTunes menu
5) While holding the option key on a Mac, or the shift-key on a PC, select ‘Check for Updates’
6) This will bring up a file explorer. Select the tvOS beta you just downloaded.

The second option for tvOS is to install using a profile. To do this:

1) Go to https://developer.apple.com/download/
2) Download the profile for the tvOS beta
3) Go to the Mac App Store and download Apple Configurator
4) Plug in your Apple TV to your Mac
5) Select your Apple TV, drag and drop the profile
6) The update should now be visible in the updates section of the Apple TV settings.

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Binyamin Goldman( Senior Writer )

Binyamin has been writing about Apple and the tech sector as a whole for over five years.

His work has been featured on Forbes, MacWorld, Giga, MacLife, and more.

Additionally, Goldman is the Founder of BZG, a software development company focusing on Apple devices.

Currently a Senior Writer at AppleToolbox, Goldman has written for Updato and Inside Pulse and was a founding member of WatchAware and Mulling Apple.