Apple iPhone X issues keep popping up and some users are reporting lag, freezing and other performance issues.
iPhone X users are reporting a wide variety of issues with Apple’s 5.8-inch flagship. We’ve heard of FaceID issues, setup issues, battery life issues, and various issues with the device’s performance.
iPhone X uses powerful hardware, but some users experience occasional lag, crashes, freezes, random reboots, and other common performance issues.
These issues usually pop up right after Apple releases a new iOS update, but they can occur at any time.
If your iPhone X starts freezing, lagging, or restarting randomly, you don’t need to make an appointment at your local Apple Store right away. There’s a good chance you’ll be able to solve your problems from the comfort of your computer chair or couch.
This walkthrough will walk you through solutions that have worked for us and others in the past, and help you maintain a fast and efficient iPhone X down the road.
Restart Your iPhone X
If you start experiencing performance issues on your iPhone X, the first thing to do is to restart your phone. This works a little differently on the iPhone X.
Press and hold the Side button and the volume button (up or down) at the same time to turn iPhone X completely off. Swipe to turn off the phone.
You can also try to force restart your iPhone X. To do this, press and release the Volume Up, press and release the Volume Down and hold the side button until the Apple Logo appears. The device will reboot itself.
Monitor Your Storage
If you restored from a backup, chances are high that you brought tons of files to your iPhone X’s internal storage. Clutter can slow down an iPhone, so you may want to scan your data and delete files, apps, songs, videos, and photos you no longer need.
Go to Settings > General > on your iPhone X and tap iPhone Storage. This will bring you a detailed look at the files taking up space on your device. Take a look around and delete what you can.
If you’re not sure where to start, iOS gives you some suggestions. For example, if you have a ton of apps that you don’t use, the software will tell you to “Unload Unused Apps”.
It also gives you a list of apps that are taking up the most space on your iPhone X. Tap an app and you’ll get a breakdown and personalized recommendations.
Update to Latest Software
If you are currently running an older version of iOS, it may be time to upgrade.
You can check if there is a new iPhone X update in your device’s Settings. Go to Settings > Software update. If you’re feeling nervous, read reviews before downloading new software to your device.
The current version of iOS is iOS 12.
Update Your Apps
If your apps are working, you’ll want to download the latest update provided the update doesn’t cause any problems.
Developers are rolling out iOS 12 support updates, which may stabilize the app(s) giving you trouble. We’ll see a steady stream of app updates throughout the year (some developers update their apps every two weeks), so keep an eye out for the App Store.
Before downloading the latest update to your iPhone X, make sure to go to the App Store and read reviews from iPhone X users and those using the latest software.
Stop Automatic Downloads
If you’re not good at keeping your apps up to date, you may want to turn on Automatic Downloads. However, while automatic downloads are useful, they can slow down your iPhone X.
If you don’t mind manually checking the App Store for new software updates, try disabling Automatic Downloads on your iPhone X to see if this helps improve your device’s speed.
Go to your Settings app > iTunes & App Store. Once inside, turn off Updates located in the Automatic Downloads section.
You may also want to disable other options.
Clear Browser Cookies and Data
If you haven’t already, be sure to periodically clear your browser’s cookies and data. This will free up memory and can speed up your iPhone X.
If you’re using Safari on your iPhone X, go to Settings > Safari > and where it says Clear History and Website Data. Tap this.
Tapping this button will remove your browsing history, cookies and other data from Safari. The history will also be cleared from all devices signed into your iCloud account. If that’s okay, tap Clear History and Data again.
If you’re using Google Chrome on your iPhone X, go to the Chrome app and tap the three vertical circles in the top right corner.
On the next screen, tap Settings > Privacy > Clear Browsing Data. You can now choose the ones you want to delete.
If you are experiencing a lot of lag on your device, you may want to consider starting from scratch. To do this, tap Clear Browsing Data.
Reduce Animations
Animations on the iPhone X are a nice touch, but if you’re experiencing significant slowdowns, consider reducing their presence.
If you start noticing animations or abnormal lags on your iPhone X, go to Settings app > General > Accessibility and turn Reduce Motion on.
You may also want to reduce your device’s transparency and blur effects. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > tap Increase Contrast and then turn on Reduce Transparency.
Kill Background Refresh
Your iPhone X comes with a feature called Background Refresh. When Background Refresh is turned on, your device is constantly working to keep your apps updated with new data. It’s a nifty feature, but turning it off can help improve your device’s performance.
To turn off Background Refresh, you will want to go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and disable Background Refresh. This totally kills the feature.
You can also go to your app list and turn the feature off depending on the situation.
Disable Your Widgets
Widgets are all over the iPhone X. While they are useful, they can be slowing down your device. If you are not using widgets, consider disabling them.
On the iPhone X home screen, swipe right to see your list of Widgets. Scroll to the end of the list and tap Edit.
On the next screen you will see a list of services and applications. These are active and inactive widgets of your iPhone X. To disable a widget on your device, tap the red circle with the white line, then tap Uninstall.
You can remove as many widgets as you want and always turn them back on if you don’t see a performance boost on your phone.
Fresh Start
If none of these fixes work and you can’t or don’t want to take your iPhone X to an Apple Store, you can try wiping the device to see if that helps.
Factory resetting your iPhone X will wipe the device, but it can improve the overall performance of the device.
Before you reset your iPhone X factory defaults, make sure your data is properly backed up via iTunes or Apple’s iCloud service. That way, if you don’t see any improvement, you can easily restore from a backup.
After backing up all your files, go to Settings > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings to start the reset process.
