iOS 7 now available, but upgrade your iPhone or iPad with care

Apple's massive overhaul to its iPhone and iPad operating system, iOS 7, is now available. If your eligible device is reasonably up to date already, you can just click Settings -> General -> Software Update to download it straight to your phone, but be careful! It's a major change from the iOS you know, so it pays to learn all about it first. 

If you do nothing else, click "Learn More" when it tells you that iOS 7.0 is available (see screenshot). You'll see a lengthy list of stuff worth skimming before you commit.

Read more: Activation Lock may be most important iOS 7 feature

For eligible devices and further cautions, have a look at my story from yesterday. And for a lot more info, start reading this massive review done by our friends at Laptop.

Update - Wednesday, 5:45 p.m. ET: We've upgraded an iPhone 5 here, and it's been acting funny, occasionally powering down, and showing low or no battery. Hopefully with a full battery charge and a manual restart or two, things will work themselves out, but it's annoying for sure, so it pays to be cautious!

Others we've heard from on Twitter are experiencing congestion in the download, or a hang-up in the installation process. Most people may be doing fine, but this does not seem to be a completely hiccup-free process. Good luck, and feel free to let us know on Twitter at @wjrothman if you're having any troubles of your own.

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Update - Thursday, 11 a.m. ET: We've now successfully updated two devices, an iPhone 5 and an iPad Mini, and both appear to be working smoothly. The iPhone 5 had weird battery issues, but since it's been fully charged, it has not given us any trouble.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Also, some of the long download wait times reported in Software Update — "19 hours," "35 hours," "48 hours" — appear to be wildly overcautious guesstimates. Most people who have seen those high wait times have been able to upgrade their devices within an hour or two, so don't give up.

Wilson Rothman is the Technology & Science editor at NBC News Digital. Catch up with him on Twitter at @wjrothman, and join our conversation on Facebook.