Five Things You Should Think About Before You Upgrade to iOS6

If you are one of the masses who likes all things new and shiny, then you're probably anxious to upgrade to iOS6.

In my opinion, every iOS upgrade has eventually turned out to be an improvement over the previous verions.  That said, there are some things you should consider before you hit the "update" button.

1.  Upgrade time can vary.  It'll take anywhere from 20-30 minutes to download the update if you're doing it directly from the device.  It could take longer.  It depends on your wifi speeds.

2.  It'll take about another half hour to install the update.  Remember, this isn't a patch but a completely new OS altogether.  Install times vary but about a half hour seems to be average.  Explect to be without your phone for at least an hour when you update.

3.  Check your battery life.  If my device is anywhere lower than 90%, I won't even do it unless I have my iPhone plugged into a charger.  You don't want your phone do die in mid-upgrade so make sure you have plenty of juice.

4.  Maybe this should have been "1".  Make sure you backup your phone before you install the new OS.  If something crashes, you might have to reinstall from a back up.  If that does happen, you'll want your backup to be as current as possible.

5.  If you're out of town, consider waiting.  TWICE, I was out of town when a new OS was delivered and TWICE I ignored my better judgement and installed the update while on the road.  It's a bad idea.  If your update crashes, you don't have a backup.  And updates can cause glitches.  I've seen people report losing all their contacts or have had battery life greatly diminished after an upgrade.  The latter happened to me.  My battery life went from fantastic to no more than an hour on a single charge.  I had to blow $30 on a car charger so I could keep my phone charged while I traveled.  It's simply a safe practice to wait until you're at home with all of your resources before you update.

There you go.  This list is by no means complete.  Comment below and let me know if I'm missing anything.