How to fix slow Internet browsing on the iPhone 8 Plus following an update to iOS [Troubleshooting Guide]

Many factors can trigger different types of network problems to occur on a mobile device, like the iPhone 8 Plus in particular. The problem can be attributed to the network equipment, software issues on the iPhone, or worst, hardware damage. In some cases, network connectivity issues are attributed to account problems as well as network outages. These are the things that you should consider looking into first whenever you’re dealing with network problems on the phone.

The methods I demonstrate in this post are generic solutions to a network-related issue on the iPhone 8 Plus, particularly slow browsing. You can refer to this walkthrough if ever you’re end up having slow Internet browsing problem after installing a new iOS update on your iPhone 8 Plus.

Before we move on to our troubleshooting, if you are looking for a solution to a different issue, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed some of the most common problems reported by our readers. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If you still need our help after that, then feel free to contact us by filling up our iPhone issues questionnaire.

First solution: Reboot your wireless router or modem.

Sudden issues concerning network connectivity functions of your iPhone are usually remedied by a reboot on the network equipment in use. Like any other devices, wireless routers and modems can also give into firmware crashes. While the symptoms may occur after installing a new update, it doesn’t always denote that the update is to blame. It might have just occurred as a coincidence that the network equipment is also experiencing troubles the moment the new platform is implemented. To rule this out, try to power cycle your network equipment. Here’s how:

  1. Press the Power switch or Power button until the equipment powers off completely.
  2. Unplug the A/C adapter of your network equipment (modem or wireless router) from the power source.
  3. After about 30 seconds or 1 minute, plug it back in.
  4. Then press the Power button or switch to turn on again.
  5. Wait until all the lights on the modem/wireless router are all lit and stable. If you see any red light, wait until it turns green or blue. A red light usually denotes an issue like when the modem or router is getting no signal from the network. (Color indicators may also vary between network equipment types)

If everything looks good on your modem or router, just wait until it has completely rebooted. Allow your iPhone to reconnect to your Wi-Fi network automatically then open the Safari app to do some test browsing and see if your Internet connection is already working faster.

Second solution: Restart your iPhone (soft reset).

If the Internet connection remains slow after restarting the modem or wireless router, try to soft reset or restart your iPhone 8 Plus too. This would be necessary to dump any corrupted cache files from the browser app or phone system that might have caused the Internet connection to become very slow. This won’t affect any data you’ve stored on the internal memory of your iPhone so you don’t have to create backups beforehand. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Press and hold the Side/Power button until the Slide to Power Off command appears.
  2. Drag the slider to the right to turn your iPhone completely off.
  3. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears and then release.

You can also turn off your iPhone 8 Plus from the settings menu and then restart after a few seconds.

Third solution: Clear cache, cookies and history on your Safari app.

Refer to the following procedures on how to delete history, cache, and cookies from Safari on your iPhone 8 Plus.

  1. To clear history and cookies, navigate to Settings-> Safari then select the option to Clear History and Website Data. Doing so will clear your browsing history, cookies, and browsing data from the Safari app without changing your autofill information.
  2. To clear cookies and keep your history, go to Settings-> Safari-> Advanced-> Website Data, then select the option to Remove All Website Data.

Follow the rest of the onscreen instructions to complete the process then clear the Safari app. After a few seconds, try to launch Safari app then browse the Internet to see if your browsing speed has improved.

If it still remains very slow, then you may need to resort to a system reset to clear and refresh network functions of your iPhone.

Fourth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone 8 Plus.

Performing a network settings reset will let you set up your wireless Internet connection as new. Your previous network configurations, server settings and other customized network options might have caused conflict especially if they did not correspond to the new platform. As a result, network functions don’t work or may still work but not stable. To get started, follow these steps:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll to and tap Reset.
  4. Select Reset network settings option.
  5. If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue.
  6. Then tap the option to confirm network settings reset.

Your iPhone will then reboot by itself when the reset is finished. By then you can start to set up and connect to your Wi-Fi network again.

Fifth solution: Restore your iPhone to factory defaults (master reset).

A master reset might be the required solution if the problem is too complex for prior solutions to deal with. It’s possible that the new update caused your iPhone’s network services to become corrupted and so they’re unable to work as intended. In that case, wiping everything from your iPhone and restoring its factory defaults would be the next best option as it allows you to set up your device as new. Any software bugs and malware that might have caused conflicts on the recently installed platform will also be cleared in the process. However, all your data and personal information will also be deleted. Should you wish to proceed, back up all your important data to iCloud or iTunes beforehand. And whenever you’re all set, follow these steps to reset and restore your iPhone 8 Plus to its factory defaults through settings:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll to and tap Reset.
  4. Select the option to Erase all content and settings.
  5. Enter your device passcode, when asked.
  6. Then tap to confirm full system reset.

Allow your device to finish wiping the system and restoring the defaults. When the process is completed, your iPhone will reboot by itself. At that point, you can proceed with the initial setup process and set up your device as new. Everything should be working properly by then unless hardware damage is present.

Seek more help

Contact your Internet service provider for further assistance if the Internet remains very slow after performing all prior solutions on your iPhone 8 Plus. There may be some other factors that caused your Internet connection to become limited. Verify your account services status and make sure everything is good and active. In addition, ask your carrier to check their outage boards for you. Network outage that it’s either due to a regular maintenance or unexpected technical difficulties can also be the main reason as to why an Internet connection becomes very slow.

If you suspect that the wireless router or modem is at fault, then you can either contact the manufacturer of the network equipment or take it to the nearest service center in your place. It would be better if you’ll have the equipment examined by an authorized technician too.

Connect with us

If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the new Apple iPhone 7 smartphone, feel free to visit our Tutorial Page. There you can find a list of how-to contents, step-by-step tutorials, as well as answers to FAQs regarding iPhone 7. If you have other concerns or encountered some troubles while using the phone, you can reach us through this form. Just be sure to tell us more details of the problem or device issue(s) you may have and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

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