In this approximately 13-minute podcast, Darrell Shandrow demonstrates and teaches the over-the-air (OTA) Software Update process as he makes the jump to iOS 5.1 on his iPhone 4 without the need to connect the device to a computer running iTunes.

iOS 5.1 is a minor update containing a number of bug fixes and new features, including a fix for dropped audio on some outgoing calls, improved battery life, playback speed controls for podcasts and enhanced camera face detection. Read this article on the changelog and direct download links for more information.

Before updating iOS, it is strongly recommended that you thoroughly back up your iOS device in iCloud and iTunes. Follow these instructions to complete both backup tasks.

The gestures indicated in all instructions assume VoiceOver is enabled and are performed from a blind person’s perspective.

iCloud Backup

  1. Flick to and double tap Settings.
  2. Right flick to and double tap iCloud.
  3. Right flick to and double tap Storage & Backup.
  4. Right flick to and double tap Back Up Now to start the process.

iTunes for Windows Backup

If you are running iTunes with JAWS for Windows, the free Blind Tunes scripts enhance the experience significantly.

  1. Connect your iOS device to your computer and open iTunes.
  2. Press F6 until you reach the Sources list.
  3. Press down arrow until you reach the name of your iOS device. If a dialogue box about your iTunes purchases opens, press enter on its OK button, then continue down the list until you reach your device.
  4. Press Shift+F10 or the Application key to right click your iOS device.
  5. Down arrow to Back Up and press enter. A quick series of tones will be heard from iTunes when the backup has completed.

iTunes for Mac Backup

  1. Find and open iTunes. You may want to launch it by pressing Command+O instead of Control+Option+Space Bar so iTunes doesn’t “forget” the location of your media library if it has changed from the default.
  2. Use the Control+Option+Left and Control+Option+Right Arrow keys to navigate to the Sources table.
  3. Press Right Arrow+Down Arrow to interact with the Sources table.
  4. Press down arrow until you reach the name of your iOS device. If a dialogue box opens asking you to log into Apple’s Ping social networking service, press escape to close it and resume moving down the list. If a dialogue box about your iTunes purchases opens, press enter on its OK button, then continue down the list until you reach your device.
  5. Press Control+Option+Shift+M to open a context menu for your iOS device.
  6. Down arrow to Back Up and press enter. A quick series of tones will be heard from iTunes when the backup has completed.

Update iOS

Once you have completed the iCloud and iTunes backups, you are ready to update iOS.

  1. Flick to and double tap Settings.
  2. Right flick to and double tap General.
  3. Right flick to and double tap Software Update.
  4. Right flick to and double tap Download and Install to start the update process. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the download to complete. Left flicking a few times will take you to a download progress indicator. Once the download has finished, you will hear a couple of messages about downloading and verifying the update. Your iOS device will reboot and complete the installation of the new software.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

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