Why is my Apple iPhone 6s Plus running very slow? [Troubleshooting Guide]

The iPhone 6s Plus (#iPhone6sPlus) smartphone is deemed among the most powerful flagship iPhones released by #Apple to-date. This device integrates a 2GB RAM with a dual-core CPU, six-core graphics GPU, and embeds the Apple A9 chipset. Given these specs, we can tell that this iPhone has a powerful processor and therefore, it is normal for users should expect for a faster and robust performance from this device. But just like any other powerful smartphones out there, the iPhone 6s Plus performance and processing speed can also depreciate over time.

iPhone 6S Plus slow

In case you have noticed a decline in speed on your device and it happens more often, that can possibly denote that your iPhone is already showing some signs of performance degradation. Aside from slow or sluggish responses to user commands, you might also see other relevant symptoms transpiring on your device. These would include but not limited to slow apps responses, apps crashes, random restarts, frozen and unresponsive screen.

Before you think of buying a new phone, there are still a few workarounds you can try on, which may be able to help speed up your iPhone 6s Plus and get it back to its normal performance. Read on to learn what could have possibly caused your iPhone 6s Plus to show similar symptoms and how to get it back to its normal speed.

I will walk you through in troubleshooting your new iPhone 6s Plus that’s currently experiencing this problem. But before anything else, if you have a different issue with your device, visit the troubleshooting page we’ve setup for the iPhone 6s Plus. We list down every problem we address each week in that page so try to see if we’ve already addressed your concern before. If we did, try to use the solutions we suggested and if they won’t work, then you may contact us by filling up this form.

Common factors that can slow down your iPhone 6s Plus

Aside from age and usage history, there are also other factors that can trigger relevant performance issues to occur in your iPhone device. It turns out that the root cause of the problem lies within the software.

Explicated below are the common factors that cause your iPhone 6s Plus to underperform and show other symptoms such as lags, random crashes and reboots, as unresponsive display.

Step 1. Your iPhone may be running out of storage space.

Slow performance can be an indication of memory problem like insufficient memory. For example, your iPhone might be already running out of storage and is no longer able to accommodate new contents or processes. This is likely the case when you are fond of downloading complex apps and contents to your device like gaming apps, as well some videos and audio files and keeping them stored even when they are no longer needed.

Memory issue may also transpire when you often multitask with your device, or use multiple apps at the same time. Doing so will likely cause iPhone’s memory to overflow and therefore will no longer be able to process other tasks or users requests in queue. As a result, your device will become sluggish, keeps lagging, unresponsive, or sometimes, crashing.

Multimedia messages and other complex contents like photos, videos, and gaming apps that have been stored and piled up on your iPhone’s file directory and sub-folders must therefore be deleted or moved to other storage media so as to free up storage space on your iPhone. Files of these types can consume a huge amount of space of your iPhone’s internal storage and triggers your device to underperform over time.

Step 2. Multiple apps running in the background.

Although the iPhone 6s Plus integrates a powerful chip, opening and using of several heavy applications simultaneously and leaving them running in the background can somehow affect its overall performance. Even brand new devices can slow down a bit in this case.

Running of multiple heavy apps at the same time can cause the processor to become overloaded with processes and inputted requests. When this happens, the rest of these remaining processes will be stacked in queue for an extensive period of time.

To prevent this from happening, closing of any unused apps running in the background is highly recommended. To close apps that are running in the background, tap the Home key twice and then slide an app upwards to end or quit it. Do the same thing on the rest of the apps. Once you’re done quitting all apps, tap the Home key again to complete the process and go back to the Home screen.

Step 3. Software bug or faulty apps.

Faulty applications and software bugs can also cause your device to perform slow or misbehave. Some apps, particularly third-party tools usually contain some scripts or program codes that are not compatible with the iPhone’s existing iOS structure. As a result, certain features or iPhone functionality may not work as it should. But there are also times when a stock or built-in application can go rouge and trigger your iPhone to show similar symptoms or act strange.

If you suspect that the problem is triggered by a faulty application, then you might as well do something on the problematic app to get your iPhone back to its usual state and perform as fast as it should. In cases like this, forcing the faulty app to quit can be a potential solution you can try on. Restarting the iPhone can also help rectify any minor software glitches including this. But if a simple reboot won’t do any good, then you may resort to performing a force restart on the iPhone 6s Plus by pressing and holding the Power button and Home buttons simultaneously for at least 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears. Wait for the phone to complete the reboot process and then try to see what happens afterwards.

Step 4. Reset All Settings.

If your iPhone remains slow after trying everything above, you can try to Reset All Settings on your iPhone. Doing so can help eliminate corrupted settings files or misconfigured apps settings which can cause performance issues to manifest on your device.

All your apps will reset to their default settings after the process without removing any apps or data from your device. This means that you will need to sigh into your apps again, after the reset. And because of that, this should only be done if you already have exhausted all of your other means but to no avail.

If you want to give it a try, go to Settings-> General-> Reset-> Reset All Settings. Wait for your iPhone to restore back to its factory default settings. You should see a significant improvement on your iPhone’s processing speed after the process.

Step 5. The iPhone software requires update.

There are also other cases where an iPhone begins to underperform, become sluggish, often lags, crashes or unresponsive due to an out-dated platform. In other words, your device software requires update to maintain at its high performance level.

Software updates are generally rolled to optimize a device’s software. In fact, Apple is releasing software updates periodically to ensure each of their patented devices does not stagnate when it comes to features and functionalities. Updates also contain official fixes to certain bugs found in the current version of iOS your device is running on. Hence, keeping your iPhone software up-to-date is highly recommended.

Recommended Workarounds and Essential Tips to speed up your iPhone 6s Plus

If you are certain that no damage is existing to any of your iPhone’s hardware components, which may have caused the device to perform slow, then you may proceed with the following procedures.

Start by rebooting your iPhone. It’s the simplest yet most efficient solution to deal with software-related issues transpiring in mobile devices including your iPhone 6s Plus. Turning off your iPhone purges the memory of your iPhone and gives it a fresh clean start. After the reboot, you will see a noticeable increase in speed on your device.

Step 1. Properly manage your iPhone’s internal storage.

As mentioned earlier, memory issues can be the main reason as to why your iPhone is performing slower than usual. So you might as well consider heading over to your iPhone settings and check the current memory status of your device. And if necessary, remove or uninstall any unwanted data including apps, old messages and other unnecessary documents. To do so, navigate to Settings-> General-> Storage & iCloud Usage-> Manage Storage menu. On the following screen, you should see details on which apps or processes are taking up the most of your phone’s internal storage.

If you see any apps that are unusually operating or consuming too much of your iPhone’s memory, then carefully assess and diagnose these apps and do what needs to be done. You can free up loads of cached data on certain apps on your iPhone by deleting the apps and then re-installing them. This process can be applied to some entertainment apps like Twitter and Spotify.

Step 2. Clear browser cache, history and data.

Accumulated history files or cached data may also be the culprit as to why your iPhone is slowing down. You can tell if the problem is isolate with the browser if the symptoms occur while using certain browser app like Safari on your device. If so, then clearing the browser’s cache can potentially get the problem fixed and get your iPhone back to its normal processing speed.

To clear cache on your iPhone’s Safari app, open Settings-> Safari. Once you are in the Safari screen, locate the options to Clear History and Clear Cookies and Data. Select these options to clear browsing data. Menu options may vary depending on the Safari app version or application you are using on your phone. After the clearing process is complete, you should notice the difference in the page loading speed.

Please note though that clearing the browser data will also erase your current website preferences and settings. So be sure to take note of them before you start.

Step 3. Delete all unnecessary MMS and complex contents that are no longer used.

Multimedia contents can occupy a huge storage space of your iPhone. This is why you should delete these types of contents especially if they are no longer be necessary. Multimedia files or MMS are usually stored in the Messages app directory. To delete some of them, open the Messages app, search for old messages or threads, then swipe right to the desired message thread, and tap Delete to remove it.

An alternative way to ensure all old messages including MMS are removed from your device, you can configure your iPhone to automatically delete all messages received in a certain period of time. To use this option, go to your iPhone Settings menu, tap Messages, scroll down and change the expiry of video and voice messages from Never to After 2 minutes or as you prefer. With this option set, all video and voice messages you received will be deleted automatically after the specified time duration.

Step 4. Update your iPhone software.

Your iPhone 6s Plus software is upgradable to iOS version 10.2. To check and see if this update is available or already installed on your device, head over to Settings -> General-> About. Alternatively, you can use iTunes to determine or find the iOS version installed on your device. Should you prefer the iTunes method, follow these steps:

Notes: You will need a computer, either Mac or Windows to proceed with the process. Be sure to have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer.

  • On your computer, open iTunes.
  • Connect your iPhone to the computer.
  • Wait for iTunes to detect and recognize your iPhone.
  • Click to select your iPhone from the list of available devices shown in the upper-left corner of the iTunes screen.
  • Go to the Summary or Settings section to check the software version of your iPhone.
  • Click the Check for Update button to check for available software updates for your device. If an update is available, follow the onscreen prompts to proceed with iOS update download and installation.

Step 5. Disable Background app refresh, automatic downloads, and reduce motion.

There are also some cases where an iPhone tends to perform slower due to some activated features like background app refresh, automatic downloads and reduce motion. See how each of these features works and why can they possibly affect your iPhone’s performance and speed processing capability, when enabled.

  • Background App Refresh – this feature allows contents to refresh automatically when your device is connected to a Wi-Fi or Cellular network. To access and configure this option, go to Settings-> General-> Background App Refresh. Toggle the switch to turn the feature OFF.
  • Automatic Downloads – with this feature enabled, file downloads are permitted to take place automatically on your device. This denotes that your iPhone processor remains busy even when your device is idle, thereby causing it to perform slower over time. You can disable Automatic Downloads for specific applications.
  • Reduce Motion – this feature enables screen animations or moving backgrounds. Although this is a cool feature to use, it’s also among the factors that can make your device processor overloaded. To manage this feature, go to Settings-> General-> Accessibility-> Reduce Motion. If you don’t feel the need to use the feature, then toggle the switch to turn it OFF.

Step 6. Try using alternative solutions or online tools to speed up your iPhone 6s Plus

You may also try using other alternative solutions or software that are specifically designed to speed up your iPhone 6s Plus. You can find a lot of these tools from the App Store, for purchase or for free. And if you wish to give this a try, you may head over to the App Store and look for the best software for your device.

Ask for further support

If none of these methods is able to bring your iPhone 6s Plus back to its normal speed, then I suggest contacting your device carrier or Apple Support for further assistance and other recommendations.  Otherwise, you may now consider buying the new iPhone 7 or 7 Plus as your next option instead.

Connect with us

We are always willing to help fix your problems with your Apple device. Browse through our existing troubleshooting posts or you may contact us directly by completing this form and hitting the Submit button. Make sure you provide all the necessary information about your phone and the problem so that it would be easier for us to help you.

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