Full and final version of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 for iPhone and iPad is now available for download. You can grab the update over the air.

iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 Final Updates Arrive with Tons of New Features Including the Much-Awaited Universal Control

Compared to iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3, the newly released iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 updates are packed with a ton of new features. This includes the ability to unlock your iPhone using Face ID while wearing a mask even if you are not wearing your Apple Watch, a handful of new emoji, 120Hz ProMotion support for third-party apps if you have an iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max and, of course, Universal Control. The latter is a big one, given the feature was announced last year.

We will let the official feature list do the talking here and then we will show you how you can download everything onto your iPhone and iPad:

Universal Control

Universal Control allows you to use a single mouse and keyboard across iPad and MacText can be typed on either iPad or Mac and you can drag and drop files between them

Emoji

New emoji including faces, hand gestures, and household objectsHandshake emoji allows you to choose separate skin tones for each hand

FaceTime

SharePlay sessions can be initiated directly from supported apps

Siri

Siri can provide time and date information while offline on iPad Pro with A12Z Bionic and laterSiri now includes an additional voice, expanding the diversity of options

This release also includes the following enhancements for your iPad:

Volume controls can be set to adjust as you rotate your iPad, on iPad (5th generation and newer), iPad mini (4th and 5th generation), iPad Air 2, iPad Air (3rd and 4th generation), and iPad ProiCloud custom email domains can be managed from SettingsSafari webpage translation adds support for Italian and Chinese (Traditional)Podcasts app adds episode filters for seasons, played, unplayed, saved, or downloaded episodesNews offers enhanced discovery of audio content in the Today feed and Audio tabCamera in keyboard can be used to add text to Notes and RemindersShortcuts adds support for tags in Reminders; add, remove, or query tags when creating and editing ShortcutsSecurity recommendations can now be hiddenSaved passwords can now include your own notes in Settings

This release also includes bug fixes for your iPad:

Keyboard may insert period between typed numbersNews widgets in Today View may not open articles when tappedPhotos and videos may not sync to iCloud Photo LibrarySpeak Screen Accessibility feature may quit unexpectedly within the Books appLive Listen may not turn off when switched off in Control Center

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

Just like any other iOS or iPadOS update, this one is available to download over the air. First and foremost, you have to make sure that you have 50% or more battery life remaining in order to go forward. Plugging your iPhone or iPad to a wall outlet is recommended at this point. Other than that, you can download the update using 5G or Wi-Fi. Support for downloading updates using 4G LTE is included with iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4. For now, you're limited to 5G and Wi-Fi only.

Launch the Settings app on your phone or tablet.Go to General > Software Update.Wait for the page to refresh and then tap on Download and Install.

At this point, your device will send a request to Apple after which the download will begin. Once done, everything will be verified and installed. The whole thing may take around half an hour. Do not use your iPhone and iPad during this time.

You also have the option to perform a clean installation of the update. Simply grab the IPSW firmware file from the links below and follow our clean installation guide at the very end of this post.

We only recommend performing a clean installation of iOS and iPadOS if you're running into a lot of issues, including bad battery life, occasional slowdowns and more. Provided you're facing all of these issues, and more, then it's probably a good idea to go ahead with a clean install. It will take some time, you will lose your files and settings therefore backup everything using iCloud, iTunes or Finder before going ahead.

Download iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 IPSW Files

You will require the iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 IPSW files for clean installing the update on your devices. You can find them below:

iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 13 ProiPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13iPhone 12, iPhone 12 ProiPhone 12 Pro MaxiPhone 12 miniiPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XSiPhone 11, iPhone XRiPhone XiPhone 8, iPhone 7iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 PlusiPhone SE 3iPhone SE 2iPhone SEiPhone 6siPhone 6s PlusiPod touch seventh-generation12.9-inch iPad Pro (5th-gen, 4th-gen, 3rd-gen, 2nd-gen, 1st-gen)11-inch iPad Pro (3rd-gen, 2nd-gen, 1st-gen)10.5-inch iPad Pro9.7-inch iPad ProiPad (5th-gen, 6th-gen, 7th-gen, 8th-gen, 9th-gen)iPad Air (2nd-gen, 3rd-gen, 4th-gen, 5th-gen)iPad mini (4th-gen, 5th-gen, 6th-gen)

Follow the guide posted here on how to clean install:

How to Clean Install iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 on iPhone and iPad

Also check out the following:

How to Downgrade iOS 15.4 to iOS 15.3 on iPhone and iPadFinal HomePod Software Update 15.4 Now Available for DownloadDownload: macOS 12.3, watchOS 8.5, tvOS 15.4 Final Released