What happens to your iPad if you ignore updates?

Apple’s iPad was an instant hit when the company launched the first one in 2010. For starters, it looked really cool, designed to resemble a thin sheet of glass. With little effort required beyond tapping and swiping, it was also the ideal tool for viewing photos and videos, playing games, browsing the web, listening to music, and sending quick emails. Essentially, it was less intimidating than, say, a laptop, and proved popular with casual users who had never really embraced PCs, although seasoned tech enthusiasts, curious about the potential of this new type of device, also jumped on board.

For those who want the simplest experience possible with an iPad, perhaps the only slightly annoying aspect is the prompts to update the device’s operating system. You can of course let the iPad handle updates in the background, but many users stick with manual updates because they want to know what’s changing. Others simply ignore the prompts, but it’s usually best to keep the device updated.

Updates come in various forms. The smallest ones may actually be the biggest ones, fixing security issues or newly discovered bugs, while the biggest downloads arrive as new versions of iPadOS, transforming the way your iPad looks and works. It is possible to ignore both types, and for the most part your iPad will continue to function normally. But it would be wise to install at least the small security updates so that your device is properly protected against known exploits and malware.

Apple has revamped the iPad’s operating system every year since the device launched in 2010. The most recent arrived in 2025 as iPadOS 26. As usual, it brought a new look to the user interface (in this case, a redesigned Liquid Glass effect for the lock screen), as well as updated app icons and refreshed system controls. Apple also introduced a handy new windowing system that lets you juggle multiple apps at once by closing, minimizing, resizing, and tiling windows.

If you own an iPad from the late 2010s, chances are you can download iPadOS 26 and enjoy everything it has to offer. In fact, you probably already have. But some people may have hesitated, fearing they would have to learn a new way of doing things. While this is a valid concern, the changes generally don’t take too long to get used to and should, overall, make the tablet more enjoyable to use.

Small updates to iPadOS are, in many ways, more important. Apple offers them throughout the year, as needed. A wave of these issues could arrive in the days and weeks after the new iPadOS arrives, as tens of millions of users around the world discover bugs, mostly by accident, when using the new system. After receiving these bug reports, Apple fixes and deploys them as quickly as possible, ensuring users have the best possible experience with their iPad. Additionally, Apple will also seek to resolve security issues soon after they are discovered so that users are properly protected from any online threats.

For added peace of mind, it’s best to update your iPad whenever Apple asks you to, or you can simply set up automatic updates through the Settings app. On recent versions of iPadOS, the Automatic Updates screen offers various options with toggles. To access it, tap Settings, Software Update, and Automatic Downloads. If you enable the Automatically Download button, your iPad will grab new iPadOS updates in the background as soon as they become available, but it won’t install them until you allow it. The iPad must also be connected to Wi-Fi and charged for the download and installation processes to take place. If you want the iPad to automatically install the download without asking you first, also just turn the Automatically Install button to “on.” Finally, if you want to automatically install things like security patches, enable the System Files button.

Keeping your iPad’s software up to date is the best way to ensure it remains enjoyable and safe to use. Whether you set up automatic downloads or initiate them yourself is entirely up to you, but we think it’s worth staying as up to date with your iPad’s software as possible for the best possible experience. And watch out for the next big update in just a few months with the rollout of iPadOS 27, bringing with it many new features. But be careful, some older iPad models will not be able to benefit from the new operating system.