The other day my friend mentioned that their iPhone had become so slow and so sluggish as to almost be unusable.
"The battery life is also terrible," she added glumly.
She offered me the iPhone 14 so I could "do your thing and take it apart" and was going to scrape together the cash to buy a replacement
She left with an iPhone that was, in her words, "working like new."
In my experience, a slow iPhone may look as a sign that the device will need an upgrade soon. But the chances are you can fix the issue pretty quickly once you know what’s causing it. In this article, I’ll explain the real reasons why your iPhone is so slow and show you the fixes that will speed up your iPhone.
Why is my iPhone running so slow?
Your iPhone could be slow due to a range of issues. Here are the most common causes:
Software problems
Usually, a software problem on your iPhone is what’s causing it to run slowly. This includes bugs in iOS, the iPhone’s operating system, which may be patched out at a later date. This is why it is recommended that you update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS if you encounter problems.
Insufficient storage space
If your iPhone is slow, insufficient storage space could be the culprit.
Apple doesn’t define a minimum amount of spare space that you should have available on your device at any one time, but if you see the "Your iPhone ran out of space" error a lot, performance may be suffering. In the case of my friend’s iPhone, I noticed that her device had very little free space. Well under a gigabyte.
And the iPhone was trying to shuffle apps and data around to make enough free space for updates.
Poor battery health
iOS slows down your device to prevent it from shutting down in cases of very old batteries.
To help manage power consumption, your processor won’t complete an intensive task immediately, but will instead spread the effort out over more attempts. What you experience is a phone that seems to lag a bit; apps run more slowly and the device doesn’t respond as quickly to your requests.
In the case of my friend’s iPhone, the battery was in good condition. According to iOS, the battery was in good condition, and checking it out with the CoconutBattery app showed that the battery was a little more than halfway through its 500 recharge cycles.
I ruled out the battery being the problem.
Frozen applications
If an app has frozen, it might still be using energy in the background and slowing down your iPhone.
Low Power Mode is enabled
Low Power Mode is an iPhone feature that extends battery life by reducing the amount of power that your device uses. In Low Power Mode, your iPhone’s performance is reduced. You can see this when you benchmark your device with LPM enabled, since your scores will be much lower.
Poor network conditions
Many apps require an internet connection for their content and other functionality. If the network that you’re connected to is congested — for example, at an event with many people using the same network — apps might take a while to open or display their content. Your device can also seem slow as it repeatedly reconnects to new cell towers when you’re in a moving vehicle.
iPhone is too hot or cold
iOS adjusts your iPhone’s performance if it’s become too warm due to external conditions, like being left in a hot car or used for an extended time in direct sunlight. Very cold temperatures can also slow your iPhone.
Your iPhone Need Rebooting
It’s important to remember that sometimes, phones need a rest. When you use a device for hours each day and put it straight on charge at night, your iPhone works around the clock. Over time, this usage may impact your phone’s performance.
Though you may not attribute your iPhone’s poor performance to a lack of rest at first, it is something you should consider.
How to speed up an iPhone that’s running slowly
Update your apps
One way to keep your iPhone and your apps running efficiently is to update them regularly. Developers release app updates to fix bugs and introduce new features.
To see which apps have available updates, open the App Store and tap on the Account Icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
Scroll down to the Updates section, then tap Update next to an app you want to update, or tap Update All to update every single one of your apps simultaneously.
Update your iPhone
Before determining if software is causing your phone to perform slower, you’ll need to check for updates. To do this, follow the steps below.
Go to Settings > General.
On the General tab, tap on Software Updates.
If your iPhone software is up to date, the message on your screen will reflect this. But if it isn’t, you’ll need to tap on the button allowing you to download the latest iOS version. Downloading the newest version of iOS regularly may seem like a chore. However, it’s necessary for optimizing your phone’s performance.
If you don’t want to download new updates manually, you can choose to make your phone do so automatically. In the Software Updates tab, you’ll find an option called Automatic Updates; open this and turn on Install iOS Updates.
Increase storage
An iPhone at or near capacity tends to run slower. You can lighten its load by removing apps you no longer use and deleting photos and videos you no longer need (or moving the ones you want to keep to the cloud). iOS includes several tools that can help you regain some storage space.
Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Here, you’ll see a colorful chart that shows you how much space you are using and how much free space you have remaining. For best performance, try to maintain at least 1GB of free space. If your available storage is consistently less than 1GB, your device might slow down as iOS repeatedly makes room for more content.
Below the chart you’ll get a few recommendations about how to save storage, including the ability to Offload Unused Apps and reviewing videos stored on your iPhone.
If you need to free up some space, read the recommendations that iOS provides. Tap Enable to turn on a recommendation, or tap a recommendation title to review the content that you can delete. If you don’t see any recommendations — or if you need to free up even more space — you can review the apps on your iPhone. They’re listed on the same iPhone Storage screen along with the amount of space that they use. Tap an app, then choose from the options:
- Offload the app, which frees up storage used by the app, but keeps its documents and data.
- Delete the app, which removes the app and its related data.
Depending on the app, you might be able to delete some of its documents and data.
Close frozen applications
If an app stops responding or freezes, force it to close and then open it again. How you go about force closing an app depends on whether or not your iPhone has a home button. Below you’ll find steps for both types of iPhones.
To force close an app on an iPhone with a home button, like the iPhone SE:
- Double-press the home button to open the App Switcher.
- Slide each app’s preview card up and off the screen. You can swipe multiple cards at the same time using a second or third finger to speed up the process.
Force closing an app on an iPhone without a home button, like the iPhone 16, is a quick process. Here’s what you need to do:
- With your iPhone unlocked, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause about a quarter of the way up to bring up the App Switcher.
- With a stack of app preview cards now visible, swipe each card up and off of the screen to close the app. You aren’t limited to closing one app at a time, either. Use a second or third finger to swipe up two or three cards at a time to speed up the process.
Note: Under normal conditions, forcing an app to close is not necessary and does not make your device run faster. In fact, an app takes longer to open after a force close because it has to reload all of its data.
Disable Low Power Mode
If your battery icon is yellow, Low Power Mode is enabled.
Disable Low Power Mode off if you need your iPhone to function without low-power restrictions. You can turn Low Power Mode on or off in Settings > Battery.
Improve network signal
Even if your device indicates a strong signal, you might need to wait, try again in a different location, or use available Wi-Fi. If you continue to experience issues with cellular data speed, availability, or performance in multiple locations, contact your carrier.
Keep your device from getting too hot or cold
Move your iPhone to a cooler location and let its temperature adjust.
If your iPhone runs slowly after being exposed to cold, move it to a warmer location.
Reboot your iPhone
Turning off your iPhone purges the iPhone’s memory and gives it a fresh, clean start.
To restart a modern iPhone with Face ID (no home button), press and hold the Side and volume up until you see the "Slide to power off" slider appear. Slide it, wait for the device to power down, then turn it back on again by holding the Side button. You can do this on older devices (with a home button) simply by holding the power button.
If you’ve completed the steps above, you’ll see a noticeable increase in speed after it reboots. You’ve lightened the load on your iPhone, and your iPhone will show you its gratitude with increased speed.
Please note, a touch screen that responds to taps incorrectly can make your iPhone seem slow. If you think that your touch screen isn’t responding correctly, try restarting your iPhone.
Reset All Settings To Speed Everything Up
If you’ve tried everything above and your iPhone is still too slow, Reset All Settings is often a magic bullet that can speed things up.
Sometimes, a corrupted settings file or misconfiguration of a specific app can wreak havoc on your iPhone, and tracking down that type of a problem can be very, very difficult.
Reset All Settings erases and restores everything in the Settings app to factory defaults, but it doesn’t remove any apps or data from your iPhone. I only recommend doing this if you’ve exhausted all of your other options. You’ll have to sign into your apps again, so make sure you know your important usernames and passwords before you do it.
If you’ve decided you’d like to give it a try, go to Settings > General > Transfer Or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings to restore your iPhone back to its factory default settings.
Replace the battery
If your battery is in bad shape, your iPhone may underclock your iPhone to preserve battery life. The idea here is that an iPhone that runs slower consumes less power, which means your battery will last longer.
iOS includes features that shows battery health and recommend if you need to replace the battery. You can find these in Settings > Battery > Battery Health (with iOS 16.1 or later, find these in Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging). If you see a message, like "Your battery’s health is significantly degraded," you should look into making an appointment with Apple to replace your battery. A degraded battery might be slowing down your iPhone. A new battery will improve your overall performance.
You can check out how much it will approximately cost to replace your battery on Apple’s iPhone Battery Service website. The price depends on your service coverage and the make and model: for the iPhone 15 series, the estimate is $99.
Conclusion
If you’ve been wondering why your iPhone is so slow, I trust this troubleshooting guide has helped you get to the core of the issue. I’ve walked you through the reasons why iPhones get slower with time, and i’ve explained how to make your iPhone faster. I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments section below, and if you’re still having a problem, I’ll do my best to help you out along the way.
FAQs
Got more questions? We’ve got answers.
Why is my iPhone 11/12/13/14/15/16 so slow?
Newer iPhones aren’t immune to slowdowns. Check your storage and battery health first—if those aren’t the culprits, it might be time for a deeper dive into your settings or your software.
Why is 5G so slow on my iPhone?
If you’re expecting lightning-fast 5G speeds but aren’t getting any, it could be a few things holding you back. Network congestion, a weak signal, or your current location can impact your phone’s 5G speeds. Make sure your network settings are up to date and that you’re in a 5G-supported area.
Why is the internet on my iPhone so slow?
A slow internet connection on your iPhone could be due to several factors—poor Wi-Fi signal, too many devices on the network, or even the speed of the service you’re using. Need help troubleshooting your slow internet connection? Check out our guide.