Fake iOS Update
The fake iOS update prank shows the black "Software Update" screen an iPhone loads while installing: Apple logo, a slim progress bar, and a wait with no end. Open it on their iPhone, go full-screen, and hand the phone back like nothing happened.
Press F11 for maximum realism. Tap or press Esc to exit.
For the best results, add this to the device's home screen. It then opens with no address bar, no tabs and no URL, so there is nothing left to give it away.
The reason it lands is that nobody interrupts an iPhone update. The phone is unusable until it finishes, so they just sit there holding it. Android in the room instead? Use the fake Android update. Want the phone to look like it's dying rather than updating? Try the fake low battery screen.
How to use the fake ios update prank
- In Safari on the iPhone, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
- Open the page from the new home-screen icon, which loads it without the Safari address bar.
- Tap Launch Full-Screen Prank and set the phone down face up with the bar already moving.
- When the joke is over, press and hold the icon and remove it from the home screen.
Running the fake iOS update on an iPhone or iPad
Safari on an iPhone does not let a web page take over the whole screen, so the Launch button alone leaves the address bar showing. Opening the page from a home-screen icon is what hides it. That is the step that makes the difference on an iPhone.
On an iPad, the Launch button can usually fill the screen straight from Safari, though the home-screen icon still looks cleaner. On iOS 16.4 and later the page asks the screen to stay awake, so the phone does not auto-lock while the bar crawls.
What the fake iPhone update screen shows
A black screen, a white Apple logo and a slim progress bar, with no percentage and no text. The bar fills to about four fifths in under a minute, then slows almost to a stop and halts just short of the end after about two and a half minutes. It never completes, and nothing on the phone changes.
How one tap ends the fake iOS update
A tap anywhere on the screen closes it and shows this page again. Swiping up to the home screen leaves it too. A real iOS install ignores taps, so the first tap is also the reveal. It works best on a phone left on a table that someone picks up, rather than one handed over for a specific job.
Afterward, delete the home-screen icon so it does not sit there as a clue for next time.
When the fake iOS update is a bad idea
Skip it when the phone holds something needed right now: a boarding pass, a ride booking, directions or an expected call. Skip it on a work phone. If you want an iPhone screen that looks like a problem rather than a wait, the fake low battery screen is a shorter joke.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real iPhone update?
No. Nothing is downloaded and iOS is completely untouched. It's a web page pretending to be the install screen. Close the tab and the phone is exactly as it was.
How do you do the fake iOS update on an iPhone?
Open this page in Safari on the iPhone, add it to the home screen, open it from the new icon and tap Launch. The Apple logo and progress bar run on their own, so you do not need to time anything.
How long does the fake install take?
It never completes. The bar creeps toward the end and stalls, which mirrors the real thing closely enough that people keep waiting rather than questioning it.
How do I get rid of the address bar so it looks real?
Add the page to the home screen and launch it from there. It then opens with no Safari toolbar, no URL and no tab bar at all. That's the single biggest difference between "obviously a website" and genuinely convincing.
Does it work on an iPad?
Yes. iPads show the same black-and-Apple-logo update screen, and the layout scales to fill the display, so it reads correctly on any iPad size.
Can they still use the phone?
Yes. The prank fills the screen but it does not lock anything. A tap anywhere closes it, and swiping up or pressing the home button gets them straight out, which keeps it a joke rather than something that traps someone's device.
Can I get in trouble for using it?
The page is harmless and legal. Use judgment about whose phone and when: someone waiting on an important call or traveling on a booking held in their phone will not find it funny. Reveal it quickly rather than letting it run.
Why does it look different from my iPhone's update screen?
Apple has tweaked the install screen across iOS versions, and some updates show a percentage while others show only the bar. This version matches the common recent look; on very old iOS releases the real thing had a slightly different logo position.