Q: "Phone" app freeze on iOS 10

Yes I started to have this issue when I updated my iOS to 10. It was happening more than frequently, especially when I needed to make important phone calls, looking at my recent calls, etc. The app would just freeze not allowing me to toggle within the different screens example (recent, calls, favorites, call/dial, voicemail) the screen was basically frozen, I would jump out by pressing the home button then back to the phone app, and again nothing would work, in some instances the app would just crash and then work. Another thing I may add on this is my emails will respond very slow when toggling quickly to have the mail go from unread to read, you literally have to wait until the complete mail loads and wait for the blue notification to disappear until selecting the next mail in order for it to register as "read". Not to mention the removal of slide to unlock, with those 2 issues occurring on my phone and with the removal and not leaving the option to add slide to unlock I found the best solution. I was able to downgrade back to 9.3.5 which it is still available if you want to fix these issues I suggest you downgrade to a much stable UI, until Apple releases a much stable version. Personally 9.3.5 works well so I wont be doing an update anytime soon.

Phone: iPhone SE

Version: Rolled back to iOS 9.3.5

Bugs UI Version: iOS 10.0.1/10.0.2

It seems I solved the problem.

Previously I used Exchange server as the storage for my contacts. I transferred them to the iCloud and since then it has been working fine.

Amazing it worked. Thanks man.

Switched off the contacts link from the exchange server mail and the PHONE app seems to be working fine.

Hello, could you explain me better how did you do this ? I mean, the steps you followed to do this. Thanks.

That seems to do the trick but it means breaking the link with Exchange accounts - both my personal and work accounts are exchange based.  Any changes to contacts made using a computer won't sync to the phone, as well as changes to work address book.

I'll reinstated my accounts one by one to see if one of them is responsible.

ps - Others have said the freeze happens after a few days after a wipe & reinstall, so any tests will need to left in place for a few days.  This could be a slow process!

• Go to settings
• Scroll down to select "Mail"
• Select "Accounts"
• Click on iCloud, scroll down to check contacts is on
• Click on any accounts using Exchnage and switch them off, but select option to leave contacts on your phone

Any contacts on your exchange account(s) at the moment will stay on your phone.  Any changes to contact details or new contacts on the other accounts will not show up on your phone.

Thanks for your help, yes, I have checked it and I see the problem in my case is that I have a Gmail account for the contacts and calendar management in my iPhone. When I deleted the Gmail account, the phone app began to work right. But I reinstalled the account because I have the most of my info in Gmail. Then the phone freeze started again. I think the problem is caused for the link between the Phone app and my contacts in Gmail.

I guess they will need to fix that as your contacts should be synced with the exchange accounts saved for example when sending an email these contacts get saved in the accounts you have turned on with contacts. Your settings remain the same as in previous iOS releases, once they fix this then you can switch it back on. please share with us if the problem persists even after the deletion of the account or switching the contacts in the exchange accounts to off.

Leonardo, you can selectively disconnect the gmail contacts as I've described above.  Hopefully gmail email and calendars are OK.  They're OK for me with exchange, just the contacts mess things up.

Go to settings, mail, accounts, then scroll down to turn off contacts and leave the rest intact.

It must be an Apple fault if the problem exists with both gmail and exchange ... hopefully they fix it rather than say everyone else is has got it wrong!

I'm having the same problem with iPhone 6.   Occasionally the phone app freezes and will not respond to any of the touchscreen functions.  The home key still works and I can access other apps.  This seems to last maybe 15 seconds or more. 

I am having the exact same problem - iPhone 7 and iOS 10.  Every time I try to use the phone, none of the screens respond.  So, I'm unable to dial, search contacts, view recents, listen to voicemail, etc.  I just have to wait until the phone decides to exit whatever "do loop" it's in.  The phone app suddenly shuts down, and then everything seems to work again.  Very frustrating.  Is Apple working on a solution/patch for this?

Yes, I have turned off the Contacts in Gmail (Settings>>Mail) and it starts to work right. That's the problem in my case. But unfortunately all my contacts are in my Gmail account, so I can't simply turn it off. I hope the iOS 10.1 fixes it when it's finally released. I know there is a beta version being tested since several days ago.

I found this issue also when using the phone app. I have just received a carrier update for the phone so I am hoping that this will fix it.

Hi Leonardo - Does Gmail have its own iOS app which might have contacts? 

I use the MS Outlook app on my phone so I can call people using that, ie tap on their number in the contacts section on Outlook.

Hello guys, I have just wiped and restored my iPhone 6 plus by iTunes. I didn't apply any backup. I just had to reinstall every app, and set everything up by myself. I think it was the best way to fix the problem. I even had tried installing the beta version for iOS 10.1 and the problem continued, so this morning decided to reset my phone and so far, it's working. I expect it continues working. For now, phone app working smoothly. (I set up the exact configuration for mail, contacts and calendar that I had during the phone app crash,and now it works)