What to do when your iPhone 6s is running very slow after installing iOS 11 update? [Troubleshooting Guide]

It is normal for a device to slow down after implementing a new firmware update especially with big file size simply because it has a lot to process and put into place. Usually it will take hours and multiple reboots for some devices to adapt with the new platform changes until normal operation resumes. However this isn’t always the case with some users of the iPhone 6s after the iOS 11 update installation as it made their respective devices perform very slowly. If by any chance you are one of these people who have ended up having the same issue after upgrading the same iPhone to iOS 11, then this content might be able to help you out.

This post highlights some recommendations and potential solutions to a post update issue on slow or sluggish performance with the iPhone 6s. Feel free to refer to the given procedures and see what difference each of them could bring into your device.

But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your iPhone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page because we’ve already addressed a lot of issues reported by our readers. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need more help, fill up our iPhone problems questionnaire and give us more accurate information about your problem so we can give you the best solution.

How to troubleshoot iPhone 6s that’s running very slow after iOS 11 update

Below are things you can do to try and make your iPhone 6s run fast again. Performance issues that occur after an update can easily be fixed and one of the methods below may be able to help you with that.

Reboot your iPhone (soft reset).

It is always and highly recommended to restart your device after making any changes. In fact, a restart is usually the final step to apply all the recent changes made on your device like when you do a network settings reset and full system resets. The same thing happens when installing new updates. In order to apply the new changes to your iPhone system, the device still needs to restart. That said, ensure that you don’t miss doing so after you install the new iOS update on your device.

  1. To restart or soft reset your iPhone 6s, press the Power button for a few seconds until the Slide to Power off screen appears. Drag the slider to power off your device completely. Wait for about 30 seconds and then press and hold down the Power button until the Apple logo appears.
  2. If your phone is still running slow after the first reboot, then give it another round or two and see what happens afterwards.

This process does not affect any of your iPhone data so you don’t have to worry about losing any information from doing so.

Close background apps.

Background apps can also affect the overall performance of your device in time especially when multitasking with your iPhone. There’s a chance that any of your background apps can crash and if that happens, errors and other adverse symptoms usually instigate. To rule this out, try quitting all your background apps.

For starters, here’s how:

  1. Press the Home key twice from the Home screen. Doing so will open the recently active apps menu.
  2. To close an app, swipe the app’s preview upwards.
  3. Do the same for each open app.
  4. Tap the Home screen when you’re done closing all background apps.

After doing so, give your phone another reboot to refresh the internal memory.

Update your apps.

Apps also receive periodic updates to maintain performance stability and optimization. Developers of third-party apps also push updates after a new iOS update is rolled out. This is to ensure that their apps can blend well and able to keep up with the new platform. Apps that are not updated can slow down your device because they’re not compatible with the new iOS.

To update an app on your iPhone 6s, just go to the App Store, then tap the Update button next to the app or Update All to install multiple apps updates at once.

Again, don’t forget to restart your phone after updating your apps.

Manage your iPhone memory storage.

Your iPhone must have at least 1GB of available storage to perform normally. Less space or insufficient storage can also be the reason why your iPhone is running slowly. So check your iPhone’s current memory status and if necessary, manage your internal storage to free up some space.

To check your iPhone 6s memory, go to Settings-> General-> Storage & iCloud Usage-> Manage Storage. From this menu, you will see a list of apps along with the details on how much space each of these apps is consuming.

If your memory is running low, you can choose to delete unwanted apps and contents like old messages, videos, photos, and other media files that are no longer useful from your phone.

Check for new iOS update to install.

Post update issues are usually addressed by a follow-up update, a minor update version that contains the official fix patch from Apple devs. Considering that your iPhone started to slow down after upgrading to iOS 11, it could be a bug that needs to be rectified. And this is usually one of the reasons why follow-up updates are rolled out too.

To check for available new updates for your iPhone 6s, go to Settings-> General-> Software Update. You will see a notification if an update is available. Be sure to connect your iPhone to the Internet through Wi-Fi for you to be able to update your device wirelessly.

Since the main launch of iOS 11, Apple has already rolled out follow-up iOS versions with iOS 11.2.5 as the latest available version on the 23rd of January this year. One of the key features included in this iOS version is the HomePod support that allows users to transfer Apple ID, Apple Music details, Siri and WiFi settings to the HomePod. It also contains a fix for the ChaiOS text bomb, a malicious link sent in iMessage that’s capable of crashing iOS if you click on it from within the app. And this could be the key to improving your iPhone’s performance too.

Restore or reset your iPhone 6s.

Your last option if nothing helps is a full system restore. You may opt to restore your device to a previous and stable iOS backup or reset to factory defaults. This should wipe out any iOS 11 bug that might have caused your iPhone to become sluggish and perform very slowly since then. You can do a full iOS restore or reset through iTunes or use your iPhone settings menu to reset your device to factory defaults.

To do so, go to Settings-> General-> Reset-> Erase All Content and Settings. If prompted, enter your passcode then confirm reset.

After the reset, you may proceed to the initial setup.

Other Applicable Solutions

  • Clear cache, cookies, and data from the Safari app. If you experience slow browsing with Safari after updating to iOS 11, clearing cache, cookies and data from the app can help. So you should give it a try too. To clear your history and cookies, tap Settings-> Safari-> Clear History and Website Data. Clearing your history will not change your autofill information. To clear your cookies and keep your browsing history, tap Settings-> Safari-> Advanced-> Website Data-> Remove All Website Data.
  • Turn Automatic Downloads. Enabling this feature can also cause your iPhone to slow down especially when there’s a lot to download. To prevent this from happening, you can turn off this feature by going to Settings > iTunes & App Store > and turn all the Automatic Downloads off.
  • Turn off Background app refresh. Controlling which apps can refresh in the background can also help optimize your device performance. With this feature enabled, apps appear to be multitasking all the time by automatically updating in the background whenever they have the opportunity. You can turn off background refresh for all apps or just for certain apps you don’t consider that necessary. To do so, go to Settings-> General-> Background App Refresh-> then tap the switch to turn the feature off. Or, toggle Background App Refresh switch to the right of the app for which you want to turn it off. You will know when it’s disabled if the switch turns grey.

Seek more help

If none of these is able to help and that your iPhone 6s remains very slow since the iOS 11 update, then you may now escalate the problem to Apple Support for further assistance and other options.

Connect with us

If you have other problems with your iOS device including iPhone 6s, you may visit our Troubleshooting Page or complete and submit this form to get further assistance from our support team. Just be sure to provide us with all necessary information, such as your iOS device model, as well as more details about the issue you have with your device. For example, when did the problem start to occur or what you did before the problem shows. This way, it would be easier for us to determine the main cause(s) and help you towards finding the best possible solution available.

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