iPadOS 17 files app problems

I have been having the same issue. It started in the beginning of January 2024. I am a nursing student and use my iPad to take my notes on. For the past 2-3 weeks when I'm trying to take notes the Files App will stop letting me write and will say 'saving PDF' which is great but this happens approximately every 2 minutes and takes at least a full minute to save. Also the Files App has randomly stopped working, then it would kick me off the app and when I get back onto the Files App all my notes I just previously took are GONE. Absolutely gone. I am using an iPad 9th generation that wasn't cheap when I first bought it. Something has to change this is literally affecting my grades and my ability to complete my assignments! I have been a LOYAL apple customer since I was 15 buying my first iPod Touch, if nothing changes I will have to switch to Samsung. PLEASE APPLE DO BETTER!!

Yes i have the same problem.

I am a student and i solve my question papers on ipad by using apple pencil and save it.

but those files that were saved automatically disappeared. When I search in recent my files name it doesn’t open and says file doesn’t exist.

I have the same issue. My very important documents keep disappearing one by one and I literally don’t know what to do. My pdfs from classes disappear with notes on them. No one can imagine how important these files and notes were to me and now I have lost them. I am so stressed out and about to 😭. But unfortunately the issue isn’t resolved after 3 additional bug fix updates. Apple doesn’t know what the users are going through because of their laziness. That’s not what I paid thousands of dollars for. It’s shameful Apple! Do something about it!

For me it started today 03/16/24. The file app is not responding anymore. I cannot change directories. All apps need to do file operations freezes. Adobe Reader crashed the system entirely. With this issue the iPad is useless at the moment. Are there any official responds to this? Any help is warmly welcome.

I am currently having to restart the pad one or two times a day due to Files either freezing completely or freezing the pad on a white screen. After probably 12 years of pad use it has never been this bad. Tried all the hopeless suggestions this must be something structural in the files app relation with the iOS. Individual file apps like OneDrive continue to function (so long as no white screen). I think / hope it is a matter of waiting for a fix that will pop up eventually.

I have the same issue with the files app. Some times it freezes the entire device. And, if not, it freezes all apps that have a connexion with it on the side bar. some gentlemen at apple have been doing this for a lot of years, they should have learned to do it properly by now. If working with an iPad as i do is to be taken seriously, they need to focus on reliability: today, an iPad costs as much or more than a regular laptop, thus put your act together and solve the issue. Just hire some regular persons to test your machines and software prior to launch them to us.You seem like Microsoft 30 years ago!!

I’ve been experiencing the same issue on my iPhone 12 mini ever since the 17.4.1 update in March. Everything described in this thread and typically occurs several times a day. The Files App either completely freezes my phone OR shows no documents. Repeated attempts at force quitting are always ineffective and I ultimately have to manually restart the phone. It can also occur when sharing/saving anything to the Files app. Sometimes a reboot isn’t even effective but other times the Files app works as normal and shows all my files. Now it’s happening on my iPad Pro too.

Additionally, whenever manually shutting down to troubleshoot this behavior I’ve noticed my iPhone appears to be fully powered down but won’t turn back on for 1-2 minutes. It goes black, appears to be fully off, but won’t power on and is effectively a brick. After 1-2 minutes it’ll finally respond to the power button and I see the Apple logo. This has been so frustrating!

Another 'me too'. At least I am running the betas, so I thought it might have been something around that. At the moment Files is unusable for me on my iPad mini 6, which also stops other apps like Neb and GoodNotes from being effectively used.

This is unacceptable.

My issue with the Files app and iPadOS 17.5 (on a new iPad 9th Gen) is that the Files app refuses to sync. My MBA, MBP, iP13 and iP10 all sync with both iCloud and OneDrive where I store all my files, but the iPad will not sync - and there is no 'command-r' or similar to try and force syncing?

Do we know, is there a ticket opened with Apple around this?

Since latest update to 17.4.1, iPad Pro became practically unusable with anything stored in files.

Try to load configuration (e.g. Garage Band latest track) - can't find it, hangs, garage band not usable.

Try to load procreate - searches for stored images - can't get access to them - hangs, unusable.

Need to re-set iPAD multiple times a day.

iPad has plenty of free space, so it's not a local memory issue. Crazy.

cant re arrange pdfs without the pages getting messed up, copy pasted, or just a copy of the other pages at random, at least give the option to rollback updates or give updates after it is stable in the beta

Tonymeadows100 wrote:

My issue with the Files app and iPadOS 17.5 (on a new iPad 9th Gen) is that the Files app refuses to sync. My MBA, MBP, iP13 and iP10 all sync with both iCloud and OneDrive where I store all my files, but the iPad will not sync - and there is no 'command-r' or similar to try and force syncing?

As you are running a beta version of iPadOS you should have full expectation of encountering issues and bugs - as detailed in the associated release notes.

If you are currently enrolled in a beta programme and wish to return to using the current production version, this support page provides the necessary information to remove the beta from your iPad:

How to uninstall iOS beta software - Apple Support

iPadOS 17.4.1 is the most recent (i.e, current) production release.

This is a serious problem, it randomly hangs Files and any app trying to access the data (i.e. Safari trying to download a pdf). Restart seems to fix it for a while, but not for long. Very annoying.

exactly same for me (iP14p, now on 17.5 pb1, error is still there). Scary to wait for the phone not to switch on after shuttibg it down to reboot. So far, the white apple logo always comes after a few minutes and the phone is not “fully” bricked. 😨