The Files app unresponsive in iPhone post update

I'm seeing the same issue, and it also started with 17.4. In my case, Files always opens initially, but opening an on-device folder may cause it to hang for several minutes at minimum. In a hang, the folder sometimes opens, but it never shows files. Once it happens, it will continue to happen until I restart. This also affects the share sheet in many cases. Shutting down sometimes leads to a black-screen hang that requires a hard shutdown.

I see the same hanging issue using accessing the files through File Provider Storage in third-party apps such as FE File Explorer.

Same here on iPhone 12 Pro Max with 17.4 and then 17.4.1. Recently Safari started acting weird too, often freezes after I press share. And tap-to-wake keeps lagging as well. This is the buggiest version of iOS I ever had. Files are enterily unusable.

Fixed it for me.

My symptoms were exactly the same as yours. After struggling with the resets, I decided to do a current backup to iCloud and completely restore my iPad Air 5 to factory settings (as if I were going to sell it). After recovering from the iCloud backup about 30 hours ago, the Files app now works as it should with no problems. I use the app extensively so, I feel it’s fixed for sure, given how often it was freezing up before. We shouldn’t have to go to that extreme to make it work but, Files is very important to me.

Same problem with ipados 17.4.

I’m having the same issues. It’s especially prominent when Stage Manger is turned on with external display. It also happens more often when Files is part of a two window situation on external display. Never happened before iPadOS 17.4. I’m having to do way too many hard shutdowns to resolve it as I use the Files app a lot.

I started having the same problem this morning, on my iPad but not on my iPhone.

Also in Pages app on iPad, the File Open window freezes and will not open any folders.

Turning the iPad off then on again did not fix it.

Same issue. Seems like I get to a certain number of files in a folder and it takes forever for the folder to open, let alone open a file. Support told me it was the processor on my iPad Air (4th gen). So I bought the new one (iPad Air M2) and it does the exact same thing. Only have 24GB used of the 256 GB. Only thing in there is .pdf blueprints, quotes, selections, etc. When out on the construction site with limited cellular service, it stinks having to wait forever for the folder to load and then try to open a print. Any solutions?