iPhone and iPad are freezing every day after updating to iOS 16

From the first day after the first update to iOS 16 I'm having some weird issues with my iPhone 12. It happens almost every day, sometimes even more often. Neither of the following iOS 16.x updates resolved this problem.

While my phone does not completely freeze, it stops doing what I'll describe as 'new things', like:

  • load data from the internet (websites are not loading and apps are not refreshing)
  • show push notifications (but sometimes does, without any text)
  • open new apps that weren't loaded prior to start of the problem (if I close any opened apps from the switcher, they won't open again too)
  • load sections of opened apps that weren't opened before
  • show new UI elements that weren't shown before (like screenshot editor, control center, power-off screen)

If I continue using the phone in this broken state, it's fine for the first couple of minutes, but then it usually glitches out completely (I've tried to do a screen recording and it was successful, but when I ended it the phone freezed).

A reboot usually helps, but since the power-off screen is not always showing, sometimes I have to do a force restart (vol up - vol down - power hold). This problem is super annoying because the phone can hang on its own, then I notice that it's doing nothing an hour later and miss a lot of notifications.


I've asked some friends if they noticed anything similar on their iPhones (some have the exact iPhone 12 model as me) but they aren't. But then happened the absolute bizarre thing - I've bought a brand new iPad Air 5 (2022) three days ago, updated it from iOS 15 to latest 16 and yesterday, when I was finishing setting it up (it was restored from iCloud backup of the super old iPad), it hang up exactly like my iPhone. This confirmed that the problem is not my iPhone, but what then?


Does anyone else have the same problem? If so, did anything help to resolve it or at least make it less often?

iPhone 12, 16

Posted on Jan 2, 2023 10:48 AM

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5 replies

Jan 3, 2023 1:41 PM in response to loshvitalik

Greetings loshvitalik, 


We understand that you’re having some performance issues with your iPhone and iPad where they are becoming unresponsive while using. 


Let’s check some things from If your iPhone or iPad is running slow


Make sure you have enough storage
If your device is low on storage, iOS or iPadOS automatically frees up space while installing an app, updating iOS or iPadOS, downloading music, recording videos, and more. iOS or iPadOS only removes items that can be downloaded again or that aren't needed anymore.

You can check your device's storage in Settings > General > [Device] Storage. 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 or iPadOS repeatedly makes room for more content.

If you need to free up some space, follow these steps to turn on the storage-saving recommendations built in to iOS or iPadOS:

1. Go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage and read the recommendations that iOS or iPadOS might provide.
2. 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 device. They're listed on the same [Device] 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.


Thanks. 

Jan 6, 2023 7:33 AM in response to loshvitalik

You're most welcome, loshvitalik,


Have you had a chance to go through the remaining troubleshooting steps in the article shared above such as isolating this behavior to a specific network and checking your battery health?


Are you using any VPN software on your iPhone? VPN software can interfere with your iPhone connectivity. You can learn more here: Check VPN (Virtual Private Network) and third-party software to help resolve network connectivity issues

"Check for VPN connections and third-party firewall or security software

Some types of software, including VPN apps or configuration profiles, may have settings or restrictions that can cause connectivity issues. Types of software that could affect connectivity include: 

  • VPN (Virtual Private Network) apps
  • Managed configuration profiles
  • Firewall apps
  • Anti-virus apps
  • Parental control apps
  • Content blockers

Review the apps on your device to see if these types of apps or configuration profiles are installed. 

On iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, scroll through your installed apps and check for VPN software or configuration profiles in Settings. 

  • Settings > General > VPN (even if it says Not Connected)
  • Settings > General > Profile (if this option doesn't exist, profiles are not installed)

On Mac, check your Applications folder in the Finder and check for configuration profiles in System Preferences > Profiles. 

If any of these types of apps are installed on your device, you may need to delete them to resolve the connectivity issue. Use caution if you choose to do this, since deleting an app or changing a configuration profile could affect how you use your device. For example, if you delete a configuration profile installed by your organization or school, your device may not work with that network."


We look forward to your reply.


Cheers!

Jan 7, 2023 2:10 PM in response to Miche11e_P

Hi, thanks for suggestions, checked the last bits. My iPhone battery is at 86% health, which I guess is pretty good. I'm turning low power mode only at night when not using the phone. Don't see any network correlation since it can happen both on my Wi-Fi and cellular, and there are other people on this Wi-Fi that don't have problems.

I do have a VPN set up, but have not used it in a long time. Will try to delete it some day, but I need to have it for work and don't want to mess it up.

Here's a screen recording that I managed to make, showing the problem. Can't start unloaded apps and websites in Safari aren't loading. The recording doesn't show it, but I have taken a screenshot and the popup didn't appear. Also at the very end, when I pressed record button to end it, you can see control center glitching out. After that I had to hard reset the iPhone.

https://youtu.be/GYlKVsy3VjU

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iPhone and iPad are freezing every day after updating to iOS 16

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