How to stop iPhone, iPad and Mac auto-updates to avoid early bugs and glitches – and Liquid Glass

Apple has now squirted shiny Liquid Glass into every iPhone, iPad and Mac it possibly can. But maybe you’re less than thrilled about Liquid Glass or worried about bugs and other issues in a dot-zero update. If so, you can stop your devices performing automatic updates and decide to do them at a time of your choosing, not Apple’s.

Will these operating systems run on your gear anyway? Check out our guides to iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 system requirements.

Stop automatic iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 updates

On your iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app. Under General, go to ‘Software Update’ > ‘Automatic Updates’. Turn off ‘iOS/iPadOS updates’ and – boom – no surprise automatic iPhone and iPad updates sneakily happening while you sleep.

You can also block automatic downloads, if you don’t want a multi-GB file lurking in your storage, rent-free. But do keep ‘Security Responses & System Files’ on. That’s the stuff that patches exploits outside of full-on OS updates.

Stop automatic macOS Tahoe updates

Your Mac is just as sneaky as your iPhone and iPad and will update automatically if you let it. If you don’t want that, open System Settings by using the Applications folder, Finder, Spotlight or the Apple menu. Under General, go to ‘Software Update’ > ‘Automatic Updates’. Click the annoyingly small info button, and turn off ‘Install macOS updates’.

Stop watchOS 26 and tvOS 26 updates

Want to complete the set? Let’s do it.

To deny your Apple Watch the chance to offer you illegible Liquid Glass faces, open its Settings app, tap General, select ‘Software Update’ and turn off ‘Automatic Updates’ in the identically named section. 

And should you not want James Bond’s face refracting through playback controls on your Apple TV, open Settings, head into System, select ‘Software Updates’ and click ‘Automatically Update’.

You can run, but you can’t hide

Eventually, you’ll of course feel compelled to upgrade. Maybe a much-loved (or hated but necessary) app will demand the latest operating system. Or you’ll look at all the good stuff in iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 and think it’s worth the risk.

But that doesn’t have to be today. Let everyone else upgrade. Take a breath so Apple can iron out all the wrinkles. Be a touch more cautious and sit back until Liquid Glass and the rest of the ‘26’ stuff has settled down a bit.

• Now read: The best free iPhone and iPad apps to download today

Craig Grannell Contributor

About

I’m a regular contributor to Stuff magazine and Stuff.tv, covering apps, games, Apple kit, Android, Lego, retro gaming and other interesting oddities. I also pen opinion pieces when the editor lets me, getting all serious about accessibility and predicting when sentient AI smart cookware will take over the world, in a terrifying mix of Bake Off and Terminator.

Areas of expertise

Mobile apps and games, Macs, iOS and tvOS devices, Android, retro games, crowdfunding, design, how to fight off an enraged smart saucepan with a massive stick.