{"id":6692,"date":"2018-06-01T09:04:21","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T14:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tcn.tidbits.com\/?p=6111"},"modified":"2018-06-03T16:20:08","modified_gmt":"2018-06-03T21:20:08","slug":"what-os-version-are-you-running-heres-how-to-find-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/what-os-version-are-you-running-heres-how-to-find-out\/","title":{"rendered":"What Apple OS Version Are You Running? Here\u2019s How to Find Out."},"content":{"rendered":"

In Troubleshooting 101, one of the first questions is always, What OS Version Are You Running On Your Apple Product?<\/em> There\u2019s a big difference between Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and macOS 10.13 High Sierra, and the solution to any particular problem will likely revolve around knowing what operating system is in play. If you are looking for the latest features for your iPhone or iPad, you need to make sure it has the latest OS update.<\/p>\n

The same is true of Apple\u2019s other operating systems: watchOS, and tvOS. And, although they aren\u2019t quite in the same category, Apple\u2019s AirPods and HomePod both have system software that can be updated as well.<\/p>\n

For the next time you\u2019re experiencing a problem, here\u2019s how to find the version of each of Apple\u2019s operating systems.<\/p>\n

macOS<\/h3>\n

On the Mac, click the Apple menu in the upper-left corner of the screen and choose About This Mac. A window opens, displaying the name (macOS High Sierra shown here) and version (10.13.4) of the running version of macOS.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Every now and then, it can be important to learn the build number too\u2014it\u2019s one step more specific than the version number. A new Mac may have a different build number of the same version of macOS, for instance, or Apple may push out a silent security update that changes the build number. To find the build number, simply click the version number\u2014the six-character build number (17E202) appears in parentheses, as above.<\/p>\n

iOS<\/h3>\n

On an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you find the version number in Settings > General > About. Scan down the screen until you see the Version line, which tells you both the version of iOS and the build number.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

watchOS<\/h3>\n

There are two ways to find the version of watchOS running on an Apple Watch:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • On the watch, open the Settings app, scroll down to and tap General, tap About, and then scroll down until you see Version.\"\"<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • On your iPhone, open the Watch app and make sure My Watch is selected in the bottom button bar. Then go to General > About to see a screen that displays much the same information as the Settings app on the watch, including the version number.\"\"<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      tvOS<\/h3>\n

      By now, you can probably guess that on an Apple TV you go to Settings > General > About to find the tvOS version. Apple is nicely consistent in this regard. That said, only the fourth-generation Apple TV and Apple TV 4K run tvOS. The obsolete second- and third-generation Apple TVs are instead based on a stripped-down version of iOS, and the first-generation Apple TV is an entirely different beast yet, with its large white case and internal hard drive.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      AirPods<\/h3>\n

      You\u2019re unlikely to need to check the version of your AirPods, but if it ever comes up, make sure the AirPods are either connected to their host iOS device or in their case with the top open. Then, on the host iOS device, go to Settings > General > About > AirPods and look for the Firmware Version line.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      HomePod<\/h3>\n

      Although the HomePod shipped only recently, Apple has promised software updates that will allow two HomePods in a room to provide true stereo sound and support multi-room audio if you\u2019ve sprinkled HomePods around your house. To check the version of the HomePod software, open Apple\u2019s Home app, make sure Home is selected in the bottom toolbar, and then press and hold on the HomePod\u2019s tile until it opens. Then tap the Details button in the lower right and scroll down until you see the Version line.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      In Troubleshooting 101, one of the first questions is always, What OS Version Are You Running On Your Apple Product? There\u2019s a big difference between Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and macOS 10.13 High Sierra, and the solution to any particular problem will likely revolve around knowing what operating system is in play. If […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,184,69,5,106,112],"tags":[118,126,187,212,70,41],"class_list":["post-6692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-apple","category-apple-consultants","category-apple-consulting-ct","category-apple-products","category-apple-support-ct","category-mac-support-ct","tag-apple","tag-apple-consulting-ct","tag-ios","tag-ios-version","tag-mac-consulting-ct","tag-mac-ct"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6692"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6704,"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6692\/revisions\/6704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}