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Chapter 4 Deploying iTunes 41
Updating iTunes and iPhone Software Manually
If you turn off automated and user-initiated software update checking in iTunes, you’ll
need to distribute software updates to users for manual installation.
To update iTunes, see the installation and deployment steps described earlier in this
document. It’s the same process you followed for distributing iTunes to your users.
To update iPhone software, follow these steps:
1 On a computer that doesn’t have iTunes software updating turned off, use iTunes to
download the iPhone software update. To do so, select an attached device in iTunes,
then click the Summary tab, and then click the Check for Update button.
2 After downloading, copy the updater file (.ipsw) found in the following location:
 On Mac OS X: ~/Library/iTunes/iPod Software Updates/
 On Windows: bootdrive:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\
Apple Computer\iTunes\iPod Software Updates\
3 Distribute the .ipsw file to your users, or place it on a network drive where they can
access it.
4 Tell your users to back up their device before applying the update. During manual
updates, iTunes doesn’t automatically back up the device before installation. To create a
new backup, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac) the device in the iTunes
sidebar. Then choose Back Up from the contextual menu that appears.
5 Your users install the update by connecting their device to iTunes, then selecting the
Summary tab for their device. Next, they hold down the Option (Mac) or Shift
(Windows) key and click the Check for Update button.
6 A file selector dialog appears. Users should select the .ipsw file and then click Open to
begin the update process.