Troubleshoot an iPhone that’s freezing and lagging

Your iPhone may continue to freeze if you have overused it and it has become hot. In this case, stop using it when it becomes overheated. Your iPhone may also have battery issues; therefore, you need to check the battery’s health. If it is below the acceptable level, you need to replace it.

Moreover, there might be some glitches, the software may have bugs, or the apps could be the reason why your iPhone keeps freezing. Additionally, it might be facing storage problems.

How do I get my iPhone to stop freezing?

We have researched the most effective methods that can fix your iPhone if it keeps freezing. Let’s dive into the details!

1. Restart your iPhone.

Restarting your iPhone is one of the easiest and fastest ways to fix freezing issues on the device. Restarting a device at least once a week is extremely helpful for resolving various problems, including preventing software crashes and making it run more smoothly than before. Additionally, it improves battery life. Therefore, if you are facing an iPhone freezing issue, your first step should be to restart it.

How to Restart an iPhone SE (2nd or 3rd Generation), 6, 7, or 8.

1. Press the side button and continue holding it until the power-off slider appears on your iPhone.

   

2. Next, drag the slider to turn it off and wait for around 30 seconds.
3. Lastly, turn on your device by pressing the side button and holding it until the Apple logo appears.

How to Restart an iPhone X or Later Version

1. Press the volume up or down button, along with the side button, until the power-off slider appears on the screen.
2. After this, drag the slider to turn off your iPhone and wait for approximately 30 seconds.
3. Press the side button until the apple logo appears on your screen to turn it on.

   

If your device cannot shut down because it keeps freezing during the process, perform a force restart instead. Here is how to do a force restart:

1. Press the volume up button and release it immediately.
2. Press the volume down button and release it instantly.
3. Next, press the side button and hold it until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
4. Release the side button.

2. Reset the network settings.

Sometimes, your iPhone may freeze due to a VPN service that you have installed on your device. In this case, a network reset will help.

Resetting network settings not only fixes the issues that your device faces while connecting to Wi-Fi or cellular connections but also helps in resolving other glitches it has been encountering. Therefore, attempting a network reset would not cause any harm.

Nevertheless, if you are planning to proceed, be sure to back up or note down your network-related data, as it will remove everything. You need to save your Wi-Fi passwords, VPN details, Bluetooth connections, etc. Apart from the network data, no other information will be deleted.

1. Go to Settings and click on General.

   

2. Next, scroll down and tap on Transfer or Reset iPhone.

   

3. Click on Reset.

   

4. Lastly, select Reset Network Settings.

   

3. Clean your iPhone’s storage.

Your iPhone may have low storage, which could cause it to freeze. If your device has low storage, it might slow down, eventually leading to freezing. Apple suggests maintaining at least 1 GB of storage on your Apple devices for better performance. The device will create room for additional content if you have less than 1 GB of storage on your iPhone.

Here’s how you can check your iPhone’s storage:

1. Go to Settings and click on General.
2. Then, tap on iPhone Storage.

   

From here, you can view your iPhone’s storage and delete any unused apps by tapping on the app and then on ‘Delete App.’ You can also tap on ‘Offload App‘ to free up the storage used by the app without deleting the data.

Apart from this, you can delete any unimportant text messages, photos, and videos. Also, avoid opening several apps at the same time, as this takes up RAM. Lastly, clear your Safari data; here’s how to do it:

1. Go to Settings, scroll down, and click on Safari.
2. Again scroll down and tap on Clear History and Website Data.
3. Lastly, select Clear History and Data.
4. After completing all the mentioned steps, restart your phone once, and check if this method has worked.

Moreover, you can also try clearing the cache data of the iPhone.

4. Update Your iPhone Using a PC.

If your iPhone is completely stuck when you turn it on, the screen is frozen, and only the Apple logo appears on the screen, you need to update it using a PC. If this is the case with your iPhone, you cannot try any other method because the screen is unresponsive. Thus, using a PC is the only option that will help you.

Updating your device will make it run faster and more smoothly, as it will fix bugs and update security. It will also add more useful features to your iPhone, which may contribute to improved performance.

1. Connect your device to a PC. If you are using a Mac with macOS Catalina, go to the Finder. For Macs with macOS Mojave or an earlier OS, go to iTunes. Follow the same steps on a Windows PC.
2. Next, choose the device on your PC.

• If you are using Finder (macOS Catalina or the latest OS), you will see your device name in the sidebar.
• If you are using iTunes (macOS Mojave, previous operating systems, or a Windows PC), an iPhone icon will appear in the upper left corner.

As your device is now connected to your PC, here are the steps you need to follow:

• On the iPhone 6s or previous versions, press and hold the home and side buttons/top buttons.
• On the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, press and hold the side button and volume down button.
• On iPhone 8 or later versions, press the volume up button and release it immediately. After this, press the volume down button and release it quickly. Lastly, press the side button and hold it.

While you are holding the button, you will see that the recovery mode appears on your screen.

Next, you will receive a pop-up notification on your PC or Mac regarding restoration or update. At this point, you must select “Update.
6. Now, the PC will download the software for your iPhone. Nevertheless, if the process takes more than 15 to 18 minutes, you will need to repeat the aforementioned steps, as your iPhone will exit the recovery mode.

5. Reset Your iPhone.

If your iPhone continues to freeze after updating it, you may need to reset it, as there might be some files that are not compatible with your device. A reset will return your phone to its factory settings, effectively making it like new.
Also, it will solve any software-related or app-crashing issues. However, if you reset your iPhone, it will clear all the data stored in it. Therefore, you need to back up all your important data before a reset. Here is how you can reset your device:

1. Go to Settings > General.
2. Scroll down and tap on Transfer or Erase iPhone.

   

3. Next, tap on Erase All Content and Settings.
4. Hit the Continue button.

   

5. Enter the password that you use to unlock your device.
6. Choose Erase iPhone. With this, the process of erasing all your data will start.

When setting up your iPhone, you have to restore the data. However, if your iPhone starts to freeze again, reset it, but this time do not back up your data, as there might be some corrupt files causing the freezing issue. You can download the apps after a few days.

If you have tried all the methods and your iPhone still freezes and does not work properly, you need to call Apple support and ask them to resolve the issue or to replace your device if it is still under warranty.