iPhone XS Freezing Issue

I received a new XS on release day (9/21) and the next day started to experience intermittent freezing. The iPhone would freeze a few times a day and it happened while performing a variety of tasks, texting, surfing, emailing and using apps. The phone would freeze for several minutes where no screen touching or button pushing would any effect. The phone would either eventually go back to normal after several minutes by itself or require a hard restart from me.

I took the phone to my local Genius Bar exactly 6 days after receiving the XS and they gave me a brand new phone right away. Actually, they wanted my “freezing phone” so they could examine it in more detail to figure out why the freezing was occurring. I was happy and thought the issue was solved.

The next day after receiving new replacement XS, it started freezing again with the same frequency and symptoms. I went back to the same Genius Bar less than 48 hours after receiving the replacement phone and they did a few diagnostics on the unit and said it looked to be hardware based, but they couldn’t be sure. They again gave me another brand new phone and wanted to do an autopsy on my first replacement. I joked with the Apple Rep that was helping me that I might be “Patient 0” with this freezing issue. He told me to come back if it happened again and they would have to do a more exhaustive test to figure out the cause.

I got the second replacement yesterday and I have had one Freeze since obtains the phone, but that is better than the first two. I had an iPhone X previously with the same apps on it and it never froze one time in the year I used it. I thought I’d write my story here incase someone else is having the same issue.

By the way, Apple has been great with trying to help resolve this issue and I really appreciate their help. I’ll update this post if the freezing continues.

Posted on Sep 30, 2018 6:46 AM

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Posted on Nov 7, 2018 12:36 PM

This is my second reply. I went to my Apple store and explained my new XS is freezing. Also mentioned my iPhone 7

did the same thing and I traded it, thinking I'd not have the issue anymore. The tech said I needed to completely wipe my phone and set it up as a new phone, as my prior software had been corrupted. (iPhone 7s began freezing with the new ios11, and it affected 7 and 8 models) The tech had me wipe my phone at the store and she began installing fresh software for my XS. The only thing I lost in the process was everything in messages, but my music, mail, and photos came back intact. The object is to not use any of the old software from backups of your prior phones. This solution has worked for me so far. I wish I'd though of this myself (duh) but the tech was helpful and reassuring during the process. Hope this helps!

53 replies

Nov 2, 2018 4:27 PM in response to Nelsonic

I bought my XS on October 31. Began nearly immediately having freezing issues. One time it froze while I was in my address book, so it isn't a network or app issue exclusively. Very disappointing as I traded my loved iPhone 7 for this one because of the same problem. Wish I had my 7 back. I'm thinking a trip to the Apple store (2 hours) isn't going to be helpful at this time.

Dec 5, 2018 3:48 AM in response to Nelsonic

I thought i was the only one with this problem. My big problem is that we dont have an actual apple store here in our country and i bought my Xs in Hong Kong apple store. Just experienced it awhile ago while using iMessage and Netflix! Hard to hard reset and screen not functioning! Just like what happened to my apple watch series 4. Which apple replaced thru a official apple care provider. If rhis is a software issue then they should resolve this immediately. We pay top money here so we should get what we pay for not this brick issues. Just saying.

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iPhone XS Freezing Issue

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