How To: Upgrade to iOS 4.3 right now

Surely you’ve read our roundup of yesterday’s Apple event. If you have, you’ve likely seen the lovely new features that are to come in iOS 4.3 in the near future. But, if you’re like us, waiting isn’t what you do. Lucky for you, Apple has released the Gold Master of iOS 4.3 and it doesn’t require you to have a Developer account to use it.

Now, this is not sanctioned by Apple. In fact, if you’re a developer and you provide the Gold Master, you’re breaking an agreement that you have with Apple. So, do this at your own risk. We’re not hosting the software, so if the link dies, it’s up to you to find it yourself.

That said, if you want to upgrade now, we want to help. Here’s what you need to know:

1. To commence, you will need iTunes. The version shouldn’t matter but it would be best to upgrade to iTunes 10.2 just to be on the safe side.
2. Now you need to download the gold master for your device and save it on your desktop. Bear in mind that support for the iPhone 3G has now officially been dropped. You’ll need a 3GS or newer, and a 3rd or 4th generation iPod Touch for this to work. Oh, and if you own an iPhone 4 on Verizon? No luck there either. This is GSM-only.
3. Now let’s actually install iOS 4.3

• • Plug in your iOS device, and then tab over to iTunes.
  • In iTunes, alt+click (or shift-click in Windows) on the ‘restore’ button, and then when promoted to locate the file select the IPSW file we just moved to your desktop.
  • Wait for between 10 and 15 minutes for the new OS to be moved over.

So there you have it. That was pretty painless, eh? If it wasn’t painless for you, plug your phone back and in and restore it to the 4.2 that you were running previously. Remember, this is just a guide. We take no responsibility for what you might do with it.