How to check the operating system running on your device

Owned by Catherine Randall
Last updated: Nov 11, 2019
2 min read

Introduction

There are certain times where you may need to check the operating system of your device.

How to check your OS

Android

With Android devices, the operating system itself isn’t the only bit of information you may want to find. Your device name, manufacturer and carrier can also affect how BART runs on your device – even the Linux kernel version and the ‘Android security patch level’ are sometimes important to know.

  1. Open the ‘App Drawer’ (you should see the entire list of apps installed on your device)

  2. Scroll through the list of installed apps, and look for one named ‘Settings’

  3. Tap the settings icon to enter the Android system-wide ‘Settings’ app

  4. Scroll down until you find an ‘About phone’, ‘About tablet’ or ‘System’ option

  5. Tap on it and look for ‘Android Version’ to find the Android operating system version installed on your device


Please note: It will usually only display the version number, not the code name. Please refer to the list below for current code names:

  • Android 9.0: Pie
  • Android 8.0: Oreo
  • Android 7.0: Nougat
  • Android 6.0: Marshmallow
  • Android 5.0 – 5.1.1: Lollipop
  • Android 4.4 – 4.4.4: Kit Kat
  • Android 4.1 – 4.3.1: Jelly Bean
  • Android 4.0 – 4.0.4: Ice Cream Sandwich
  • Android 3.0 – 3.2.6: Honeycomb
  • Android 2.3 – 2.3.7: Gingerbread
  • Android 2.2 – 2.2.3: Froyo
  • Android 2.0 – 2.1: Eclair
  • Android 1.6: Donut
  • Android 1.5: Cupcake

iOS

On Apple devices, you can check which version of iOS you have on your iPhone, iPad or iWatch via the ‘Settings’ app.

Navigate to:

Settings > General > About

You’ll see the version number to the right of the ‘Software Version’ entry on the ‘About’ page: