How to fix delayed touchscreen response on iPhone iOS 13

Have you noticed a significant delay when swiping to other pages on your iPhone Home screen after installing the iOS 13 (beta) firmware? If that is so, then you could be one of the first few iOS 13 beta users who are facing an issue on delayed touchscreen response. Keep reading to find out how to deal with this iOS 13 beta bug on your iPhone.

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Troubleshooting iPhone iOS 13 problem on delayed touchscreen response 

The following procedures are used to eliminate software-related factors, particularly iOS 13 firmware errors that caused your iPhone’s touchscreen response to slow down

First solution: Force close all background apps.

A device may seem to lag or become sluggish after installing software updates when apps have gone rogue as well. It’s a typical reaction for many apps to misbehave from an update as they try to adapt the recent system changes. And the usual culprits are those apps that are left suspended or running in the background during the iOS update. Any of these background apps might have been corrupted and eventually caused conflicts to other apps and/or system functions. To fix the problem, force closing background apps is recommended. 

The steps in closing background apps vary between iPhone models. In earlier iPhones, particularly those with a Home button, force closing background apps is done through these steps:

  1. Go to your Home screen and press the Home key twice to view recent applications.
  2. Swipe up on the app preview to close individual apps.
  3. Do the same to close other background apps.
  4. Then tap anywhere on the Home screen or press the Home key to go back to the Home screen.

In newer iPhones like the X, Xs, Xs Max and XR, clearing all background apps is done through these steps:

  1. Navigate to the Home screen, to get started.
  2. Then, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause slightly in the middle of the screen.
  3. Swipe right or left to navigate through app previews.
  4. Then, swipe up on the app’s preview to close it. 

Follow the same steps to close all other background apps until everything is cleared out.

Second solution: Reboot your iPhone (soft reset/forced restart).

Another simple solution to minor post-update symptoms including delayed touchscreen response attributed to minor iOS glitches, is to carry out a soft reset or forced restart on the phone. Doing so clears out memory and system caches including corrupted temporary data from the recent iOS 13 beta update installation. No data is affected during this process thus, backing up won’t be necessary.

Follow these steps to soft reset an iPhone (with physical Home button):

  1. Press and hold down the Power/Top button for a few seconds until the Power off slider appears.
  2. Drag the slider to power off your device.
  3. After a few seconds, press and hold the Power/Top button until the Apple logo appears.

Alternatively, you can carry out a forced restart. It’s usually considered as an alternative procedure to a soft reset if the display is stuck or not responsive. This is likely what your iPhone needs if the Touch ID isn’t working because the phone got stuck after the iOS update implementation. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Simultaneously press and hold the Power button and Home button until the device shuts down and reboots. 
  2. When the Apple logo appears, release both the Power and Home buttons.

If you’re using a later iPhone with no Home button, then follow these steps to force restart the device:

  1. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
  2. Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
  3. Then, press and hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears.

Allow your iPhone to finish its boot-up sequence and then try using it as you normally do to see if you still experience delayed touchscreen response on your iPhone in iOS13.

Third solution: Update all apps on your iPhone.

Installing pending app updates can also be the key to resolving delayed touchscreen response problem on your iPhone if rogue apps are to blame. This however is only possible if your iPhone still has sufficient battery life and storage space to allocate new update files. A stable Internet access is also needed. Once you’ve met all the requisites, follow these steps to manually check for and install pending app updates on your iPhone:

  1. From the Home screen, tap App Store. Doing so launches the Apple Store app.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the App Store screen then tap on Updates. A list of apps with pending updates will appear.
  3. Navigate to the list of apps and then tap the Update button next to the name of the app to install individual update for your apps.
  4. If multiple app updates are available, tap the Update All button on the top-right corner of the screen.

Wait for all your apps to finish updating then reboot/soft reset your iPhone to apply the recent software changes and likewise to refresh the apps.

If the problem only occurs to an application, then that app is most likely the culprit. That app might have been corrupted after the iOS 13 (beta) update implementation and eventually caused the device to respond slowly. In that case, deleting the app that caused delayed touchscreen response on your iPhone would be necessary.

To delete an app from your iPhone, simply follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Home screen to get started.
  2. Tap and hold on an app icon until the icons start wiggling.
  3. Tap the X on the upper left corner of the app that you want to delete.
  4. Tap Delete if prompted to confirm app deletion.
  5. Follow the same steps to delete other errant apps from your phone.
  6. When you’re done deleting rogue apps, tap anywhere on the Home screen or press the Home key to stop the apps from wiggling.

You can also delete the app from the iPhone storage folder. Just follow these steps:

  1. From the Home screen, tap Settings.
  2. Select General.
  3. Tap iPhone Storage.
  4. Scroll through the list of apps then select the app you’d want to delete.
  5. Tap the option to Delete App then confirm.
  6. Follow the same instructions to delete other apps.

After deleting all bad apps, reboot/soft reset your iPhone to clear cache and to refresh the memory and operating system.

Also read: What to do if iPhone XR screen is slow or unresponsive

Fourth solution: Reset all settings to fix delayed touchscreen response on your iPhone.

Another recommended solution to random symptoms inflicted by iOS updates is to reset all settings on your iPhone. This will erase any automatic settings override from the recent iOS update as well as incorrect/invalid configurations that might have adversely affected your iPhone’s performance. This won’t affect any saved data on the phone storage so creating backups is not needed. Just follow these steps whenever you’re all set to proceed:

  1. Tap Settings from your Home screen.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll down and tap on Reset.
  4. Choose Reset all settings from the given options.
  5. Enter your passcode when asked to proceed.
  6. Finally, tap the option to confirm all settings reset.

Your iPhone should restart automatically once the reset is finished and then loads up the original values and options. To use necessary features, particularly those that are disabled by default, you will need to re-enable or turn them on individually.

Fifth solution: Erase your iPhone and restore its factory default settings.

Performing a factory reset or master reset is likely needed if delayed touchscreen response issue continues on your iPhone iOS 13. There might be some complex system errors that slowed down the iPhone’s performance and thus it’s responding to touchscreen commands very slowly. If you wish to give factory reset a shot, back up all critical data from your iPhone data and then follow these steps to factory reset your iPhone through settings:

  1. From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Select the option to Erase all content and settings.
  5. Enter your passcode to proceed.
  6. Tap the option to confirm full system reset or factory reset.

You can also use iTunes to manually erase and restore factory default settings on your iPhone through iTunes on Windows or Mac computer.

Last resort: Restore your iPhone from a previous iOS backup.

Putting your iPhone in recovery mode lets you reinstall iOS through iTunes. To get this done, you will need to use a Windows or Mac computer with the latest version of iTunes apps. This method is often carried out when a device refuses to boot up or when it frequently crashes. The only downside is that when you reinstall iOS, all data stored on your iPhone will be lost. Having said that, creating a backup is necessary. If you haven’t set your iPhone to back up to iCloud automatically, you can back it up in iTunes beforehand. Once your backup is secured, follow these steps to restore your iPhone in recovery mode:

If you’re using an iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X and later model, follow these steps to enter recovery mode:

  1. Connect your iPhone to the computer and then launch iTunes.
  2. While your iOS device is connected, quick-press and release the Volume Up button.
  3. Then quickly press then release the Volume Down button.
  4. Press and hold the Side/Power button and don’t release it when the Apple logo appears.
  5. Release the Side/Power button when the Recovery Mode screen appears.

If you’re using an iPhone 7/7 Plus, follow these steps to enter recovery mode:

  1. Connect your iPhone to the computer.
  2. Then open iTunes on your computer.
  3. Next, press and hold the Side button and Volume Down button simultaneously.
  4. Keep holding both buttons when the Apple logo appears.
  5. Then release both buttons when the Recovery mode (Connect to iTunes) screen is displayed.

For earlier iPhones like the iPhone 6s/6s Plus and older models, follow these steps to enter recovery mode:

  1. Start by connecting your iPhone to the computer and then launch iTunes.
  2. Press and hold the Home and Lock/Side/Top buttons simultaneously.
  3. Keep holding both buttons when the Apple logo appears and then release when you see the Recovery Mode (Connect to iTunes) screen.
  4. Click the button to Restore your iPhone.
  5. Follow the rest of the onscreen commands and restore your iPhone in iTunes. 

Don’t disconnect your iPhone from the computer unless the entire restore process is finished. Otherwise, you could end up corrupting the firmware. When this happens, the problem could become even worse.

Also read: Easy ways to fix an iPhone X unresponsive screen issue [troubleshooting guide]

Still experiencing delayed touchscreen response on your iPhone iOS 13?

Touchscreen issues including sluggishness could also indicate a hardware issue. If none of the aforementioned solutions is able to fix the problem and your iPhone iOS 13 is still responding so slowly, setting up a service appointment at a nearby Apple Genius bar can be considered among the next options. While the delayed touchscreen response symptoms started after installing the iOS 13 update on your iPhone, it doesn’t always due to an iOS bug. Thus, hardware-related factors should also be ruled out.

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