As I’m sure you gadget geeks know, the long anticipated debut of Apple’s iOS 7 is upon us.  At some point on Wednesday Apple will release the new software for your favorite iDevices.  In the past I’ve learned some lessons when it comes to upgrading that might be able to save you some pain in the future.  Before performing the upgrade there are a few things you should consider.

1. Backup your phone first – This will save you a lot of time if the worst should happen and you have to reset your phone back to its original state.  Most people have setup iCloud to automatically backup their phone and that’s a good first step.  Remember, restoring from an iCloud backup is a slow process as your phone will redownload all of your apps again.  If you want to be able to restore your phone quicker backup your phone on your local computer using iTunes.  It might take a little time at first but its worth it in the longrun for a quick ability to restore.  Both of these methods will backup your photos to iCloud as well, but if you want an added backup try using Dropbox’s camera backup feature.
2. Make sure your iOS is up to date – This one is also a future timesaver.  If you haven’t updated to version 6.1.3/6.1.4 on your iPhone go ahead and to that a day or so before iOS 7 drops.  It will simplify things for you.
3. Update your apps – A lot of developers are updating their apps to work with iOS 7 right now.  If you download them now they’ll work on iOS 6 and then when you update your phone.  This way as soon as your iOS update is complete you can start experiencing iOS 7.
4. Be patient – Sometimes it can be slow for your device to download and then install the update.  Whatever you do, don’t get impatient and interfere with the process.
5. Plug in your iDevice – The iOS updater will generally tell you to plugin your device especially if your battery is low.  Listen to their suggestion, as the last thing you want is to drain your battery dead while installing a new iOS.  It will probably corrupt the install and leave you in a world of pain.
6. Don’t be afraid to wait – As much as they test the new iOS there are still problems that can pop up.  Don’t be afraid to wait a day or two to update your iDevice.  Then you can watch the message board traffic and see what kind of issues people have encountered.  A couple day’s wait can save you from the pain of a corrupted install or worst case scenario a bricked iDevice.

These are just a few things I would consider when its time to upgrade to the new iOS.  With these things in mind you’ll be ready for a quick update and if the worst case scenario happens you’ll be prepared to restore your phone without losing any data.  If you have any tips, please leave them in our comments below.