Why won’t it let my phone update?

To update over the air from the phone all of these requirements must be met:

• To update over the air from the phone all of these requirements must be met:
• You need at least 10 GB of free storage for iOS 16 and later or 6 GB for iOS 15 or lower; more is better
• You must be connected to a Wi-Fi network (and not a personal hotspot) unless it is an iPhone that supports cellular 5G (12, 13, 14, 15 or SE 3rd edition) and has a 5G network connection
• The phone must be charged to at least 50%, and preferably plugged in so it stays above 50% during the update
• The phone must not be in Low Power Mode
• The phone must not be connected through VPN, and it may be necessary to delete any VPN apps and VPN profiles
• The phone cannot be in Airplane mode and must have a cellular data connection
• You cannot still have a beta of a previous version installed on the phone
• You cannot have a previous version that was downloaded, but not installed - go to Settings/General/iPhone Storage to look; if you find an iOS installer, delete it

If you can't meet all of them you can still update using your computer.

I keep getting an error message. I have 11.4 mb of free space for storage. Full battery power. Deleted my VPN. Airplane mode off. Won’t work hooked direct to computer or over high speed wifi. My last update was 16.7.1 so I have no older version on my phone that was not activated. I meet all conditions but just keep getting an error message.

Do you have a beta version? Go to Settings/General/Software Update - do you see a line for Beta Updates?

When you deleted VPN did you go to Settings/General/VPN & Device Management and delete the VPN profile?

Is your battery icon yellow (indicating Low Power mode)?