Why Is My iPad Running So Slow And How To Fix It

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There have been reports that after upgrading to the latest iPadOS 13, their iPad has been running slower than usual. Other than apps are running slow, it has also been reported that closing the app is slower, it’s as if the app had frozen. Not only that, everything else on the iPad is running in slow motion. It can be a very frustrating experience for iPad users who were so excited and eager to try the new iPadOS only to experience their iPad to run slow.

Ideally, the new models of iPad nowadays are equipped with a more powerful and improved processors. It is built to run faster than other older iPad models. Although there are instances wherein these new iPad models tends to be sluggish and is running slow. They may even at times freeze up, or perhaps the response can be a bit slow and even unresponsive. 

There can be a variety of reasons why your iPad is so slow, and these reasons are the most commonly experienced factors. You need to be aware of these reasons so that you can check on your iPad to be able to detect which is the reasons that’s causing it to slow down.

There is no available storage space left or the storage space on your iPad is full. Ideally, most iPad have a 16G or 32G ROM on the device. But if you have been taking videos and photos for quite some time, your iPad also saves more of those contents. With that, the available ROM on your iPad will become smaller and smaller overtime. 

Ideally, as mentioned, the new iPadOS processors are so powerful and can withstand running apps at the same time. However, there are instances wherein multiple apps that are simultaneously running exceeds the ability of the RAM on your iPad, as a result causing your iPad to run slow. 

There are times when the cache files are stored on your iPad System, too much caches can make your iPad slows down

Whatever the reason why your iPad is running slow, there can also be potential solutions on how to fix it. Read on below to find out how.

FIX iPADOS RUNNING SO SLOW

1. INSTALL THE LATEST iPADOS

Whenever Apple releases a new software update, it usually offers new improvements on its system and at the same time it fixes bugs that may have caused your iPad to slow down. Since not all iPad devices supports and can download the latest iPadOS, make sure to check the list of devices that can download and install the new update. 

Below is a list of supported devices for the new iPadOS 13:

  • 12.9-inch iPad Pro
  • 11-inch iPad Pro
  • 10.5-inch iPad Pro
  • 9.7-inch iPad Pro
  • iPad (6th generation)
  • iPad (5th generation)
  • iPad mini (5th generation)
  • iPad mini 4
  • iPad Air (3rd generation)
  • iPad Air 2

How to update to the new iPadOS version:

  1. Go to Settings from the home screen of your iPad
  2. Then, tap on General
  3. Next , tap on Software Update. Apple servers will now search for any available update. Once there is an update available for download, tap on Download and Install to begin the update process.
  4. If there are no available update, it means that your current iPadOS is up-to-date.
  5. Restart iPad and see if the problem with slowing down is resolved.

2. CHECK STORAGE SPACE AVAILABILITY AND FREE SOME SPACE IF NEEDED

As mentioned, whenever your iPad storage space is low or full, your iPad tends to run slower than usual. This is because whenever you are running an app, it also takes a portion of your memory to be able to properly run its system. So technically, if your iPad do not have enough storage space, your iPad will definitely run so slow.

To check available storage space on your iPadOS:

  1. Go to Settings from the Home Screen
  2. Tap on About
  3. Then, scroll down the from the list of options and look for Available tab.  You will see how much storage is left of your entire storage space.

If in case you need to free some storage space, follow these steps below:

  1. Go to Settings from the Home Screen
  2. Tap on General.
  3. Then, tap on iPad Storage. In this category, you will be able to see which apps are taking most of your storage space. That way you can properly manage the storage space of your iPad. 
  4. You may delete the apps that are no longer useful or you are no longer using it for quite some time to free up some storage space.

3. FORCE CLOSE APPS

When you are running simultaneously two or more apps on the background, your iPad will tend to run slow. Why is that so? It is because multiple apps running at the same time slows down the processor of your iPad. In order to help fix the problem, make sure to force close apps from time to time to avoid slowing down your iPad. 

How to Force close apps:

  1. From the home screen of your iPad, double tap on the home button. 
  2. Double tapping on the home button directs you to the app switcher. The app switcher is where all running apps are located, they are represented as an App card.
  3. It is recommended to force close all apps.  While at the app switcher, swipe up the app card you want to force close or you may also force close all running apps. You will still be able to relaunch it again later on. 

4. CLEAR CACHE


Clear Cache is another way of saying “emptying the trash”. The more web you visits, the more is stored on the folder of your web browser, the more storage of RAM it uses thereby making your iPad to run so slow most especially if it starts to be full. 

How to clear cache

  1. Go to Settings from the home screen of your iPad
  2. Scroll down from the list of options tab and look for Safari. Click on Safari tab
  3. Then, scroll down again from Safari category and tap on Clear History and website data tab. 
  4. A prompt message appears “Clearing will remove history, cookies and other browsing data. History will be cleared from devices signed into your iCloud account”
  5. Tap on Clear to proceed. 

5. RESET NETWORK SETTINGS


Sometimes a wrong configured settings on your iPadOS is what causing your iPad to run so slow. You may need to Reset Network Settings. Do not worry for there will be no data loss when doing a network reset, however though all unsaved work, WiFI passwords and settings preferences will bring back to default. Therefore, make sure to keep in hand a copy of your WiFI password and any other settings preferences as this will be used later on.

How to reset all settings:

  1. Go to Settings from the Home Screen of your iPADOS
  2. Then, tap on General. 
  3. Next,  scroll down from the list of options and tap on Reset 
  4. Tap on Reset Network Settings. 
  5. Input iPad Passcode to confirm action
  6. Finally, restart your iPad
  7. Re-enter again all passwords on Wifi as well as settings preferences.

6. RESET iPADOS TO FACTORY SETTING

This step is not entirely recommended and should also be used when all the other solutions mentioned above did not fix the problem. Not recommended simply because this solution deletes and erases not only unsaved work and passwords but the entire iPad contant. It basically brings your iPad to default. Thereby before resetting, make sure to have a backup of all your data and contents to be able to restore it later on. 

How to Reset iPhone:

  1. Go to Settings from the home screen of your iPad
  2. Tap on General
  3. Then, scroll down from the list of option tab and tap on Reset. 
  4. Next, tap Erase All Content & Settings.
  5. Enter Passcode to confirm action. 
  6. Restart iPad to apply the changes. 

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