Some iOS 12 users are experiencing performance issues after installing the company’s latest iOS 12 version.
iOS 12.5.2 users are dealing with various issues such as crashes, freezes, lags, app crashes and random reboots. These are common issues and we see popups after every iOS release.
Some of these issues may require chatting with Apple customer support or visiting the Apple Store, while others can be resolved within minutes from the comfort of your computer chair or couch.
Our guide to fixing bad iOS 12 performance will walk you through some steps to take if you experience one or more of these issues on your iPhone, iPad, or iPad touch.
Restart your device
If you start noticing poor performance on your device, the first thing to try is a simple reboot. This can work wonders if you haven’t restarted or shut down your device for a while. Turn it off, wait a minute, and then turn it back on.
Update Your Device
Apple will periodically release new iOS 12 software. Changelogs will vary (point updates mainly focus on fixing bugs, while milestone upgrades offer a host of fixes and features), but they all have the potential to fix performance issues.
Of course, new updates always bring their own collection of issues, you’ll want to read reviews before upgrading to the latest version of iOS 12.
For more information on Apple’s latest iOS 12 update, take a look at our guide.
Network Settings Reset
If you’re starting to notice slower than normal download speeds on your device, you’ll want to try resetting your network settings. Here’s how to do this:
This will cause your device to forget your Wi-Fi passwords, so keep them handy.
If that doesn’t work, try resetting all your settings from the same menu. Tap Reset All Settings. This will restore your device’s settings to their factory defaults, so you’ll need some time to get your Wi-Fi passwords handy and your settings back to your liking.
Clean Up Your Storage
If you’ve owned your device for a while, chances are good that you have a lot of clutter in your internal storage. Getting rid of this clutter can help speed up your device.
iOS 12 makes it easy to see exactly how much free space you have on your device. Here’s how to check:
If you’re approaching the threshold, you’ll want to go back to General and navigate to where it says iPhone Storage or iPad Storage.
Here you will get a detailed summary of what is taking up the most space on your internal storage. Apple will make some recommendations based on your storage usage, but you can also manually review each partition and delete files and data you no longer need.
Update Your Apps
If your apps start giving you problems in iOS 12, you’ll want to update them.
App developers release support updates for their apps and these updates should help stabilize performance.
Before installing an update, go to the App Store and read reviews from iOS 12 users. If the reviews are mostly good, install the latest version of the app.
Stop Automatic Downloads
iOS 12’s auto-update feature is extremely useful, but the constant stream of updates can leave your device running in the background. If your device is running a lot, you may notice a drop in performance.
If you’re having trouble manually updating your apps in the App Store, at least temporarily, try disabling Automatic Downloads on your device and see if the performance improves. To do this:
Once inside, you’ll want to turn off Updates located in the Automatic Downloads section. You may also want to disable other options.
Disable Widgets
Widgets can be extremely useful, but if you have a ton enabled, they can overwhelm your device’s hardware. Try disabling some or all of them and see if it improves your device’s performance.
Swipe right on your device’s home screen. From here, scroll all the way to the end of the list and tap Edit.
On the next screen you should see a long list of services and applications. These are your widgets. To disable a widget, tap the red circle with white lines and then tap Uninstall.
Clear Browser Cookies and Data
Clearing your browser’s cookies and data frees up memory, which can have a positive impact on your phone’s performance.
First off, if you’re using Apple’s Safari browser, go to the Settings app, tap Safari and navigate to where it says Clear History and Website Data. Tap on it.
Tapping this 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, you’ll want to enter the app and tap the three horizontal circles in the lower right corner. If you haven’t updated to Chrome’s new design, they are in the upper right corner.
Once inside, tap on Settings, tap on Privacy and now tap on Clear Browsing Data. You can now choose the ones you want to delete. If you’re noticing heavy lag, you might want to clean everything up.
Stop Background Refresh
iOS 12’s Background App Refresh works in the background to keep your apps updated with new data. It’s a nifty feature, but turning it off can potentially improve your device’s performance.
If you don’t need your apps to pull data in the background, go to Settings, tap General, tap Background App Refresh and turn Background Refresh off. This will turn the feature off for all apps.
You can also review your application list one by one and make choices according to the situation. It’s tedious, but if you want to keep this feature enabled for your core apps, this is the way to go.
Reduce Your Animations
If you’re noticing choppy UI animations and transitions, try smoothing them out.
Apple’s software provides a sense of depth when you tilt your device and open and close your apps. It’s a nice touch, but minimizing this feature can improve your device’s performance.
To reduce Motion Effects on your device, you must:
Before you do this, keep in mind that turning down the Motion Effects will disable some features in your Messages app, such as the bubble effect.
We also recommend reducing the transparency and blur effects on your device. To reduce transparency:
Restarting
If nothing here helps and you can’t find a fix from Apple or any other source, you may want to downgrade to an older version of iOS 12 (if available) or reset and factory reset your phone or tablet.
Before resetting your device factory defaultsMake sure your important data is properly backed up via iTunes, Finder (if you’re running a newer version of macOS on your computer), or Apple’s iCloud service.
If everything is backed up and ready to use, you are ready to start the process. Go to Settings, tap Reset, tap Erase All Content and Settings. This may take a few minutes, so you need to be patient.
If that doesn’t work for you, you’ll want to take your phone to a Genius Bar for service.
Last updated 2022-02-05. This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read our disclosure policy for more details. Images via Amazon API
