iPhone Slow and Laggy After iOS 18 Update? Here’s How to Fix It

Is your iPhone slow after the iOS 18 update? This issue is common with recent iOS versions, and many iPhones feel sluggish and unresponsive.

Fortunately, you can fix this with a few simple adjustments. Methods from the article have helped countless users restore their iPhone’s performance, proving that a few changes can make a significant difference in speed and responsiveness.

Why Is iPhone Slow After iOS 18 Update?

Many users report performance issues with their iPhones after updating to iOS 18. In fact, this thread on the Apple Support Communities highlights the same problems: lag, app freezes, and slower system animations.

What causes this sudden drop in performance? After an update like iOS 18, your iPhone runs several background processes. These necessary processes, which re-index files, update app databases, and recalibrate system components, slow down your phone temporarily. Some apps may not yet be optimized for iOS 18, leading to crashes or delays. Features like dynamic wallpapers and “Background App Refresh” also increase system resource usage.

The forum also mentions that older iPhones have problems with the update. Users feel their devices become slower after they update, especially with apps that worked well on earlier iOS versions. Next, we will cover practical steps to restore your iPhone’s speed and eliminate the lag.

How to Fix iPhone Lagging After iOS 18

If your iPhone feels sluggish after updating to iOS 18, several fixes can help restore its speed. These methods address common performance problems like background app activity, animations, and resource-heavy settings. We’ll go through each fix step-by-step and start with something simple: close unnecessary background apps.

1. Close Unnecessary Background Apps

One of the simplest ways to speed up your iPhone is to close any apps running in the background. Although iOS manages memory well, having too many apps open at once can cause slowdowns, especially on older devices.

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (on iPhones with Face ID) or double-press the Home button (on iPhones with a Home button) to access the app switcher.
2. Swipe through the list of open apps.
3. Swipe each app upwards to close it.

Close unnecessary apps to free up system resources, which makes your iPhone run faster. However, this is just the first step. Other factors, such as outdated apps or system settings, can also contribute to iPhone lagging after iOS 18.

2. Update Problematic Apps

Outdated apps can cause performance issues after a major iOS update. Developers often release updates to provide compatibility with the latest version of the operating system. If your iPhone slows after iOS 18 update, checking for app updates may resolve the lag, especially with apps that crash or take too long to load.

1. Open the App Store on your iPhone.
2. Tap on your profile icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
3. Scroll down to see the updates that are scheduled to be updated. Click Update All or update individual apps that may be troubled.

When you update your apps, you’re guaranteed a seamless experience with iOS 18. If some apps still show poor performance even after updates, it could be due to deeper compatibility issues, which developers may address in future releases.

3. Configure Keyboard Settings

If you notice input lag after the iOS 18 update, your keyboard settings could contribute to the problem. Features like keyboard predictions, haptics, or even third-party keyboards sometimes slow down your iPhone’s response time, especially in apps that rely heavily on text input.

1. Go to Settings on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap General, then select Keyboard.
3. Turn off features like Predictive and Smart Punctuation to reduce processing overhead.
4. If you use a third-party keyboard, try switching back to the default iPhone keyboard to see if it improves performance.

When you adjust the keyboard settings, you reduce the load on the phone’s processor, which helps improve response time when typing. This fix often proves effective for those whose iOS 18 makes the phone slow and shows input delays, especially in messenger apps.

4. Disable Dynamic Wallpapers

Dynamic wallpapers add visual effects to your home screen, but they also use more system resources. After the iOS 18 update, this feature can slow down your iPhone, especially on older devices. If iOS 18 is slowing down the phone’s visual effects, switching to a static wallpaper can improve it.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on Wallpaper.
3. Select Choose a New Wallpaper.
4. Scroll to the “Stills” section and select a static image.
5. Set it as your new wallpaper for the home screen, lock screen, or both.

After you disable dynamic wallpapers, you can free up system resources that your iPhone would otherwise use for animations. This change often helps reduce lag, making your device more responsive after the iOS 18 update.

5. Reduce Interface Motion

The iOS 18 update includes various visual effects that improve the interface, but they also use additional processor power. Some users have reported that after updating to iOS 18, interface animations become “choppy” and experience occasional hangs. Reducing motion effects in the settings can help prevent these performance issues.

1. Go to Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap on Accessibility, then select Motion.
3. Enable the option Reduce Motion.
4. Optionally, toggle off the Auto-Play Message Effects to further reduce animations.

Reduce motion to eliminate many of the transition animations; this helps your iPhone run smoother without glitches.

6. Turn Off the Background App Refresh

Background App Refresh allows apps to update their content in the background, even when you’re not using them. While convenient, this feature consumes system resources, which can slow down your iPhone. iOS 18 may slow down with background app updates enabled, especially after an update, as many apps use this feature to optimize their content for the new iOS version.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap on General, then select Background App Refresh.
3. Choose Off to disable Background App Refresh entirely, or select Wi-Fi if you prefer to limit it to Wi-Fi connections only.

Turn off Background App Refresh, so your iPhone can prioritize system functions instead of constantly performing background updates to app content. With this feature disabled, apps update when you open them, which may lead to a slightly slower startup, but it does not impact the overall performance of your iPhone.

7. Clear iPhone Storage

A lack of available memory can significantly impact your iPhone’s performance, especially after upgrading to iOS 18. The updated system tends to use more space, and leftover files from the update may further reduce available storage, slowing down the device. For smooth operation, your iPhone needs at least 20% free memory space. If iOS 18 is laggy on your iPhone, try to free up memory by removing unnecessary apps, as they can often take up a significant amount of space.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on General, then select iPhone Storage.
3. Scroll through the list of apps to see how much storage each app uses.
4. Tap on apps you no longer need and select Delete App.

If you remove unused apps to free up space, you can significantly improve your iPhone’s performance and make it faster and more responsive. However, apps aren’t the only storage hog. Photos and videos also take up a large portion of storage space.

To manage multimedia files, you can use third-party apps that make the process quick and convenient. An example is Cleaner Kit: Clean up Storage, which helps remove duplicate or large photos and videos, clearing up valuable space. These tools save time and allow you to sort large media files easily.

Once you clear out enough space, your iPhone will have the resources it needs to run more smoothly.

Is It Possible to Downgrade iOS 18 to 17?

If your iPhone continues to experience performance issues after you update to iOS 18, you may consider a downgrade to iOS 17. However, once Apple ceases to sign an older version of iOS, a downgrade is no longer possible. Currently, Apple no longer signs iOS 17, so you cannot officially revert your iPhone to this previous version.

Apple limits version downgrades to maintain security and compatibility with new apps and features. While it might seem like a solution to revert to a more stable version, the system prevents this after the signing window closes. Downgrades through unofficial methods are risky and can lead to further issues, such as voided warranties and vulnerabilities introduced to your device.

Conclusion

We discussed common reasons why iOS 18 is laggy on iPhone, such as background activity and resource-heavy features. This article describes the steps to overcome the drop in productivity and provides practical solutions to eliminate the root causes. With these adjustments, you can address lag and improve your iPhone’s overall performance after the iOS 18 update.