A spinning wheel in the status bar on your iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max means that there is a network activity like downloading, sending/receiving data etc. This is a small spinner icon located on top of your screen. Several users have reported that they see this non-stop spinning wheel. It just keeps constantly spinning indicating that some network activity is going on in the background. You probably want to resolve this because this may reduce battery life. This short article explains how you can resolve the spinning wheel problem.
Several users stated that they started to experience this problem after an iOS update. Some users worried that this is a sign of spyware and that some unwanted and secret activity is stealing sensitive information. This is NOT spyware and you do not need to remove anything. This is likely a simple bug.
According to Apple’s documentation, the spinning wheel in the status bar “Shows that there’s network activity.” If this spinning wheel is appearing constantly, it may mean that something is wrong. Here is how you can stop this:
- Update your iPhone 18 Pro. Simply go to Settings > General > Software Update and if there is an update available, simply tap Update Now.
- Force close everything running in the background. Swipe up from the bottom of your home screen. This action will display the recently used apps. Swipe up all of the apps.
- Open Siri: Some users have stated that opening Siri will stop this. Simply launch Siri. Press and hold the side button. And ask something. Anything. Just use Siri.
- If your phone’s Siri is disabled, enable it by going to Settings > Siri and toggle on Siri.
- Restart your iPhone 18 Pro. You can shut down your device by going to Settings > General > Shut Down.
- Disable Hey Siri if it is enabled. Simply go to Settings > Siri > Requests and tap Off.
- Disable Background App Refresh by going to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn this off.
- Force restart your iPhone 18 Pro. Here is how:
- Press and release the volume up then volume down buttons then press and hold the side button for at least 10 seconds until you see the Apple logo.
- Press and release the volume up then volume down buttons then press and hold the side button for at least 10 seconds until you see the Apple logo.
- Reset Network Settings. Note that this action will delete all your network settings like your Wi-Fi passwords etc. Simply go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
