The iPhone is known for many things, including its speed. Yet, if you use an older model iPhone, you may experience a slowdown. If you’re not ready to upgrade to a newer device, this guide provides some tips for troubleshooting and fixing a slow iPhone.
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Causes of a Slow iPhone
Older iPhones were deliberately slowed down to protect from battery problems and improve overall performance. Apple admitted as much in 2017. But this is not the only cause for a slow-moving iPhone. There’s a range of other potential causes, including:
- Age: Beyond Apple intentionally slowing down older iPhones to protect the battery, simple aging processes can slow down devices.
- Memory loss: iPhones with full memories may be slower due to a lack of storage space.
- Lack of updates: Out-of-date devices become slower over time.
- Apps running in the background: An iPhone slows down other activities to compensate for apps running in the background.
How to Fix a Slow iPhone
You can use a variety of tips and tricks to speed up your device without springing for a new one.
- Restart the iPhone. Many people use their iPhones constantly, charging when there’s a few percent left, and using it until the battery is back down again. If you haven’t restarted your device in a while, close all open apps and restart it. This may speed up the device considerably.
- Restart the iPhone. Many people use their iPhones constantly, charging when there’s a few percent left, and using it until the battery is back down again. If you haven’t restarted your device in a while, close all open apps and restart it. This may speed up the device considerably.
- Reduce iPhone visual effects. The Motion setting, as well as iPhone transparency, may improve visual performance. However, these features can also cause older model iPhones to slow down. Reduce the motion and transparency within the settings and see how it affects the device.
- Change location settings. With iOS 11 and later, change the location settings to While Using the App, which only allows the app to know your location when it’s in use. This change can save power and help bring back the iPhone’s speed.
- Clear browser cookies. You can also free up space by clearing the Safari cookies on an iPhone. Clearing cookies doesn’t change your autofill information.
- Restore the iPhone to factory settings. A full restore may fix speed concerns within a device. Still, this should only be used as a final step.Restoring an iPhone deletes all the data from the device. Create a backup of your iPhone so that you don’t lose important information and files.
- Contact Apple Support. If all else fails, there may be a problem with a component inside the iPhone. Reach out to Apple Support by starting a request online or taking the device to a nearby Apple Store with a Genius Bar.