How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?

George_Lampropoulos wrote:

Guys I got it:

I managed to clear it completely :

I went in a shop, bought a new iPhone 16. Disabled auto update on settings.

Now my phone is amazing again.

(I am being serious unfortunately)

There's an old saying........."Don't cut off your nose to spite your face." So, you'll never ever update again, right? That's not really sustainable, and you'll ultimately wind up with a device which is vulnerable to security issues. And you'll wind up with apps at some point, which will no longer be supported on the iOS version you intend to freeze yourself at. But if this is the right solution for you, good for you.

pocketpenguin04 wrote:

Agree, I can’t read any of my notifications with the liquid glass effect! Not sure why I would want a non-optional feature that makes basic functions of my phone unusable. Really appreciate all the suggestions to help people make this at least a little better.

Update your iPhone to iOS 26.1, which was released 2 days ago, then read this link and you'll see how you can change how your notifications are displayed --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Emi055 wrote:

I agree. I hate the glass and want it gone now. It’s so difficult for me to even see the time because I’m half blind.

please Apple, take the glass away! I’m so serious that I would consider an android at this point,

You aren't speaking with Apple here. This is a user to user only forum. And no one here works for Apple.

If you don't like Liquid Glass and you feel an Android will be better for you, by all means go buy one. As users only, it doesn't matter to any of us what phone you choose.

But if you want to perhaps take the time to adjust what you can adjust in Liquid Glass to better meet your needs, I wrote this, which you might want to read --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Emi055 wrote:

I agree. I hate the glass and want it gone now. It’s so difficult for me to even see the time because I’m half blind.

please Apple, take the glass away! I’m so serious that I would consider an android at this point,

Apple doesn't read here in this user-to-user forum for feedback or suggestions. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

Hi everyone,

I’ve been struggling with severe eye strain on iPadOS 26 just like many of you. I posted on different forums, tried every suggestion, and almost gave up on my device — until I finally found a fix that completely solved the issue for me. It worked 100% on my iPad Air, and I hope it helps you too.

Here is the exact 3-step method that fixed the Liquid Glass / UI discomfort / eye strain problem:

1️⃣ Turn OFF these Accessibility settings

Go to Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size

Make sure the following are OFF:

Reduce Transparency → OFF

Increase Contrast → OFF

Reduce White Point → OFF

2️⃣ Update to iPadOS 26.1

26.1 adjusts some Liquid Glass behaviors — this step is required before applying the fix.

3️⃣ The actual fix: Change Liquid Glass to “Tinted”

After update to iPadOS26 you will reach a new menu;

Settings → Display & Brightness → Liquid Glass

and select Tinted from there.

This instantly removes the harsh glare and restores a stable, comfortable screen appearance.

✅ Result

After these steps:

Eye strain disappeared

Text readability improved

UI glare and shimmer were gone

The screen felt like pre-iPadOS-26 again

I hope this helps some of you as much as it helped me.

Feel free to reply if it works (or doesn’t) 

There is no way to completely disable the Liquid Glass effect in iOS 26, but you can reduce its impact by going to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and turning on Reduce Transparency. This will make the interface less transparent, but it won't remove the effect entirely.

Spinoza_Ed wrote:

I think liquid glass is awful. Reducing transparency helped some but it is still awful. I am writing messages with another message showing up underneath. It is distracting and I think it is ugly. Asking Apple for a feature to completely disable what I think is a total mess.

You're not writing anyone at Apple, by posting here. This is a user to user only forum, which Apple neither participates nor reads for user feedback.

You can use this link to share your thoughts with Apple, but I wouldn't expect Apple to disable a key feature of iOS, which is hard coded throughout the entire operating system --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

You might want to read this all the way through and make adjustments, which may better meet your needs --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Breathe20 wrote:

I put the background on my iphone 16 navy blue and this has helped the icons look clearer and more visible. Also enlarged the icons. I don't like the glass look at all, it's especially difficult for people with any kind of sight limitations. Apple needs to address this issue for people with disabilities and for anyone who wants a choice to set their screen to pre-glass state.

Did you read this and try the settings changes which are available to you --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Otherwise, telling only other users what you think Apple needs to address, will not be noticed by anyone at Apple from posting on this user to user only forum. But you can tell Apple what you think they need to do here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

I was able to get rid of the glass on the homepage time by going to settings>wallpaper> then select customize > the tap on the clock and it gives an option for glass or solid - hope this helps others - I literally just upgraded without knowing about this new glass interface

Mee369 wrote:

Here is the simplest answer… You Can’t. But if you have IOS 18 backup(s), you can open Time Machine on Mac and select an iOS 18 backup, with iPhone in recovery mode.

That will not restore iOS 18 to the phone. Backups do not contain the system software.

Lawrence Finch wrote:

lobsterghost1 wrote:

Did you check your facts?

Facts? AI bots never check facts. They just make them up.

I'm not sure the post was written well enough to have been AI generated. But we both know it was 100% wrong!

anandamanav wrote:

It would be a great if Apple/iOS could provide a way to opt-out from it. Because this liquid glass design is not nice, looks subpar compare to my old iPhone 14 pro. I see iPhone 17 is going backwards in its look & feel.

That's just not going to happen. Liquid Glass is woven into iOS 26 and there will never be an opt-out of what is hard coded into the OS. Read this --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

mcringor wrote:

Please remove liquid glass. Its too bubbly, to much round corners. The straight forward browser navigation and access is gone. Its horrible and looks like theme ios of windows 7 10 years ago.

No. No one here on this user to user only forum works for Apple. We can't remove anything. And you should't be expecting Apple to remove Liquid Glass either Read the thread. Or at least read this --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Bot69 wrote:

I just got the update. I’m very displeased. If anyone from Apple reads this: Liquid Glass is my final frustration. My next new phone is in 9 or 10 months. It won’t be an iPhone unless i can turn off Liquid Glass. I bought this device. And you changed it in an awful way.

Had you read much of this 22-page thread, you would know that no one from Apple is reading here. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

I would note that, while the hardware is yours, the system software is not. The licensing terms you agreed to essentially say that Apple can change it whenever they want.

BaileyAndrusiw wrote:

The new iOS 26.1 update is absolutely infuriating. I have a hard time adjusting to change and not being able to switch the display back to how it looked before the update is completely inconsiderate. Please create a way to change it back to the original display for me and everyone I’ve talk to today who also despises this update.

in particular the apps opening and closing, I have turned off the motion and yet it does not change it back, it makes me motion sick.

No one here has the ability to do anything. No one here works for Apple or had anything to do with iOS 26. This is a user to user only forum.

Go through this ALL the way and chances are you can make some setting changes, which you can be happier with --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community