Wanted - Solid text and no transparency on all apple devices

Question

Wanted - Solid text and no transparency on all apple devices

How can I disable Liquid Glass completely on all of my apple devices at once? It has been such a waste of time to change something that worked perfectly well until the most recent Apple iOS update using a look see approach instead of one switch that deactivates it all at once. I wish security updates and features updates were separate. I want the security updates, but not all feature updates.

On iPhone 17 pro and can do both - reduce transparency and contrast in the display settings and accessability. But on the other older devices (e.g., Apple iPad Pro 3rd generation), I can only do one or the other so can’t seem to get my solid text back or solid backgrounds in the text boxes. NOTE: There is no option to select the iPad Pro 3rd gen in the devices section. Why? I have 9 apple devices. I would like to be able to opt out of updates that don’t work universally.

This is driving me crazy not being able to have the same settings (which I never expected to have to fix) on all of my new and older devices. Definitely negatively affecting my apple experience. Can i get my older iOS version back?

iPad Pro (4th generation)

Posted on Feb 27, 2026 1:43 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

LotusPilot

Level 10

304,256 points

Feb 27, 2026 4:11 AM in response to Northernlights25

iOS/iPadOS 26.1 introduced a new setting that subtly charges the appearance of Liquid Glass:

Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass - select Clear or Tinted

Sadly, for iPad, this new setting makes very little difference for those that struggle with both the appearance and overlapping screen elements introduced with Liquid Glass.

If you are experiencing difficulty with the new Liquid Glass UI, there are other key settings that can easily and significantly improve the appearance and suppress the majority of unwanted effects:

Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency - set to ON
Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Increase Contrast - set to ON
Settings > Accessibility > [Motion] Reduce Motion - set to ON

Each if these settings can be used individually, or in combination. Setting Reduce Transparency alone (1) will likely suppress the majority of your issues. The Reduce Motion setting (3), if used, will eliminate the "lensing" effects of the Liquid Glass UI. Experiment; you should find a combination that works for you.

I suggest that you begin with setting Reduce Transparency to ON - and then, if needed, experiment with additional use of one or more of the other options.

NB: The new Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass setting can only be changed/toggled while Reduce Transparency is set to OFF. You might find that setting Liquid Glass to Clear, prior to enabling Reduced Transparency to ON, may give the best result.

Rolling-back to an earlier version of iOS/iPadOS is not possible.

All System Updates are digitally signed by Apple - and can only be installed whilst the digital signatures remain valid. After release of a new iOS/iPadOS version, the immediately preceding version continues to be digitally signed by Apple - however, usually within a few days, Apple will revoke the digital certificate with which the earlier version is signed.

Perhaps consider that iOS/iPadOS updates include both functional and essential security updates. Restoring an earlier version of the OS would undermine the security of your device and your personal data.

For information, Apple do invite submission of comments via its Product Feedback portal. For iPad and iPadOS:

Feedback - iPad - Apple

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