How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?

ckmrt wrote:

I’m just looking for genuine help and hoping my concerns can be taken seriously.

You have received all the options in this post to reduce the Liquid Glass effect. There really is nothing left to add and sending Feedback using the provided link is how you let Apple know how you feel about the UI. Continuing to express your frustration here will make no difference.

As for switching to another platform, that is completely up to you and makes no difference to any of us here. I would recommend to make a purchase based on what best meets your needs, whatever that is. As for Android devices, you may want to be aware of the recent Android 16 version of the OS, where they have introduced blur and transparency effects in the UI very similar to Liquid Glass. The only difference is that they call it Material Design 3, and no it cannot be removed there either.

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.

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

jentrepreneur wrote:

I just tried to submit feedback re Liquid Glass, but the terms button is not working. What the H E double hockey sticks is going on??

Here is what I was trying to say:

I am 48 yrs old, and I just got prescribed glasses and contacts for the first time. My nearsightedness is the one thing I can rely on without glasses. Liquid Glass has ruined that for me. Everything is blurry as if I didn't have my glasses on. Please release an OS update that allows the user to make Liquid Glass optional. It is truly mean to make anyone older than 45 feel like they can’t see when their eye sight is already becoming an issue. In short, Liquid Glass is a completely ageist / disability UNfriendly feature that completely ignores the needs or comfort of what I can only assume is the majority of users. Especially parents; we pay for all the devices in our household. Why would you force a feature that is only appropriate for a 20-yr old? It is literally giving me a headache, and it’s been on for less than 24 hours.

Just to be clear, this is a user to user only forum, which Apple neither participates nor reads for user feedback. I don't know what link you tried to use to send feedback, but this link surely works --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

I'm in my 70s. I'm nearsighted and astigmatic and I wear glasses. Liquid Glass has done NOTHING to cause me issues. If it is causing you issues now that you've gotten glasses, I'd recommend you visit your ophthalmologist, as it would seem your prescription may not be good.

Assuming anyone over 45 is having issues with Liquid Glass is a bad assumption as is the assumption that the vast majority of users aren't happy with Liquid Glass. I don't think you can speak for the millions upon millions upon millions of people who are now on iOS 26.

Since you responded to the opening post in this thread, perhaps you didn't read any of the other posts in the thread? I wrote this for people who may be less than thrilled with Liquid Glass --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Read it all the way through and try the various setting changes I spoke about and chances are you can find a way to manage to live.

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!

Catzeye00 wrote:

Seeing the background move distortedly messes with my motion sickness, I either get dizzy or slightly nauseous. When I select the tinted option it does not look like anything changes. Please give us the option to turn it off, I don’t want to feel sick every time I use my phone.

Read this ALL the way through --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

I suspect you're having an issue with Animations, which can be toned down considerably by opening Settings > Accessibility > Motion

ronniefromma wrote:

Someone just gave me a great tip. There’s a new liquid glass setting. Go to display & brightness. Then liquid glass. Change the setting to tinted. That’s the best solution I’ve seen yet.

Yup, you probably read it here in this very thread, where it has been mentioned several times.

Perhaps users can get a preview of iOS updates? They did. Apple opened Beta Testing for iOS 26 in June, before rolling it out to the public in September. It was widely reported on in the press. In blogs. In YouTube and just about everywhere tech oriented. I don't beta test myself, but I was more than well aware of what iOS 26 was all about long before it was updated on my iPhone.

As to your issue with seeing the time, I'd recommend choosing a wallpaper with a dark background. This is really no different than it was in iOS 18. The time on your home screen has always been white.

And you of course do have several options in terms of adjusting Liquid Glass. This has been posted many times throughout this thread. Read it ALL the way through and try the options --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

rogemcdoge wrote:

This issue needs to be fixed, asap. All this advice about changing all these settings just to get it to look halfway decent again is not a solution.

This is user to user only forum. We can't fix anything. And in my opinion, nothing is broken. If you don't like Liquid Glass, you can make settings adjustments as detailed in this link --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community Those are the only options you have available to you.

If this is not acceptable to you, tell Apple what in your opinion needs to be fixed --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Tony_Pistilli wrote:

No off switch. Very upsetting I want an off switch so bad but apparently Apple said no cause Liquid Glass is “hard coded into the OS” like man… at least let us downgrade or something idk I’m just so desperate to get this thing gone. You don’t understand how close I am to switching to samsung

Hello~ We are your fellow forum members and not Apple. We don’t really care what brand of phone you choose. One bit of information though …you’re likely to find variations of this type of view on most phones now. Read thru this…

Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Let Apple know your thoughts as they get paid to listen to complaints whereas we volunteers don’t. Have a nice day!!

Product Feedback - Apple

~Katana-San~

My iPhone 16 just updated to IOS26 - oh dear wish I could reverse out, however we have to keep with the security updates.

1) I had the universe (night sky with stars) Home Screen wallpaper prior to IOS upgrade, if I keep it I can't change the liquid glass time display font to how it used to be - I get error message "Failed to load Asset". I have to use one of the new available wallpapers then I can change the font to be solid and similar to as it was before.

2) Lots of my other text fonts changed - especially reading emails - luckily worked out how to change back to something resembling sensible font and contrast.

3) Why have searches been moved from the top to the bottom of the screen?

4) Selecting text from within WhatsApp message - used to be able to do straight away, now tap on text and get menu options, have to then release and tap again to be able to copy the text. Just another unnecessary change.

In summary - over-engineering comes to mind, and/or artistic beyond supporting prime function. Should be an option to turn liquid glass on or off -- so those who just want to get on and use their phone without esoteric text effects can do so.

5) When in Contacts and looking at an address the screen turns off far too quickly so I have to tap the screen to stop the App exiting...whilst I'm attempting to write the address on an envelope...I don't recall it being so quick to exit in the past. Frustrating when doing my Xmas cards.

The more unnecessarily complex a system gets the more risk of bugs. Also harder for the user to manage the device with unwanted features with settings buried in settings somewhere. I wonder if you try these new features out on "average people in the street" who are not experts in iPhone menu options!! Best to put the effort where it's needed - verification & validation. Adopt the KISS principle for best UX.

If you want to turn of app Liquid Glass you simply have to hold down on the Home Screen to get the app to wobble or whatever they do and if you look to the very top left of the screen there is a edit button. Pressing that and then pressing customise will show app icon designs press either default or dark and they will no longer be liquidy

XD_Puppet43 wrote:

If you want to turn of app Liquid Glass you simply have to hold down on the Home Screen to get the app to wobble or whatever they do and if you look to the very top left of the screen there is a edit button. Pressing that and then pressing customise will show app icon designs press either default or dark and they will no longer be liquidy

You should check the date of a post before you reply. You do realize you've provided information, which has been shared multiple times over and over and to the original post written in September.