How to fix an iPhone 7 Plus that keeps freezing and lagging after updating iOS [Troubleshooting Guide]

Freezing and lagging symptoms are usually tied to a shrinking memory in mobile devices, from wear-and-tear. However, there are some factors that can trigger similar symptoms to occur earlier than expected even on smartphones with high storage capacity. Malicious software, errant apps, and buggy updates are usually among the main triggers.

In worst cases, sluggishness and constant freezes occur as symptoms of hardware damage. Should this be the case, the best possible way of resolving the issue is through service. On the other hand, software-related performance issues depicted by constant lags and freezes can be remedied at home by some workarounds.

Highlighted in this post are among the suggested methods to troubleshoot and fix a similar issue on the iPhone 7 Plus, particularly those that instigated following the latest iOS update installation. In case you’re here to get more inputs on how to deal with the same problem on your iPhone 7 Plus, feel free to refer to these subsequent walkthroughs.

But before anything else, if you have another issue with your phone, drop by our troubleshooting page as we have already addressed hundreds of issues reported by the owners. Odds are that there are already existing solutions on our website or at least, there are similar problems we already fixed. So, try to find ones that are similar or related to your problem. If you need further assistance, however, feel free to contact us by filling up our iPhone issues questionnaire.

First solution: Clear all background apps then reboot/soft reset.

Apps you’ve used and not closed will stay open and running in the background. Apps in this state are on standby and may benefit users for multitasking by flipping towards the app preview. If you haven’t closed background apps during the update, then there’s a chance that any of them crashed and thereby caused other apps or your iPhone system to act up. As resolution, force closing or clearing background apps can be a remedy. Here’s what you should do then:

Press the Home button twice quickly. Doing so will launch a new screen containing a list of recently used apps that aren’t closed.
Swipe up on an app’s preview to force close or clear individual apps. Do the same to clear the rest of background apps.

After clearing background apps, reboot or soft reset your iPhone 7 Plus to dump errant cache from the internal memory and refresh the system. Here’s how to soft reset your iPhone:

Press and hold the Power button for a few seconds until the Slide to Power Off command appears.
Then drag the power off slider to the right to shut down your iPhone completely.
After 30 seconds, press the Power button again until the Apple logo appears.

Alternatively, you can do a force restart on your iPhone 7 Plus. This is an alternative way to reboot a frozen iPhone. Here’s what you can do if your iPhone display is stuck or not responding:

Press and hold both the Power and Volume Down buttons for about 10 to 20 seconds and then release both buttons when the Apple logo appears.

These methods won’t affect saved data on the internal memory, hence you won’t lose any important files in the process.

Second solution: Install pending app updates.

Apps may have gone rogue from the recent iOS changes can also cause the device to act up like this. Installing pending updates for your apps can be the key to rectifying these errors. Like iOS, app updates also offer bug fixes. Here’s how to check for and update apps on your iPhone 7 Plus:

Tap the App Store icon from the Home screen.
From the App Store main screen, tap the Updates icon at the bottom right. A list of apps with pending updates then shows up on the screen.
Tap the Update button next to an application to update apps individually or tap the Update All button on the upper right of the screen to install all pending app updates at once.

Reboot your iPhone after updating all your apps to ensure that all new software changes are properly implemented.

Third solution: Reset all settings.

Resetting all settings on your iPhone 7 Plus can be the key to fixing the problem if invalid system settings are the underlying causes. Some iOS updates override current settings on a device, which may therefore yield to errors. To clear this out, you can reset your iPhone settings and restore the default values. By doing so, you can re-configure individual options according to your previous preferences, before the symptoms occur. Here’s what you should do then:

Tap Settings from the Home screen.
Tap General.
Scroll to and tap Reset.
Select Reset all settings from the given options.
If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue.
Then tap to confirm settings reset.

Reboot your iPhone when the settings reset is finished then configure necessary options and enable features you want to use on your device.

Fourth solution: Manage and free up memory space.

As mentioned earlier, insufficient memory storage space is typically the underlying cause. While the iPhone 7 Plus has bigger storage capacity, it’s not impossible for the internal memory to shrink earlier especially if you’re fond of adding complex apps and multimedia contents. To check and manage your iPhone’s internal memory, follow these steps:

Tap Settings from the Home screen.
Tap General.
Tap iPhone Storage.

Read the details on the iPhone section, showing how much storage space is used and the total available. If the available storage is lower that 1GB, free up additional storage space by deleting unused items from the device like unnecessary apps, music, photos, videos, and messages. Or you can also move important files to your computer through iTunes.

Fifth solution: Reset and restore factory defaults/master reset.

A factory reset is among the last options to consider when dealing with persistent issues in mobile devices, particularly those that are attributed to complicated system errors. It’s possible that the new update had caused fatal system errors that might have halted your iPhone from performing at its best. A factory reset will erase everything from your iPhone system including complicated errors and malware. Should you wish to proceed, be sure to back up all your important data as they will likewise be wiped out in the process. Whenever you’re all set, follow these steps to factory reset/master reset your iPhone 7 Plus through settings:

Tap Settings from the Home screen.
Tap General.
Scroll to and tap Reset.
Select Erase all content and settings from the given options.
If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue.
Then tap to confirm settings reset.

If your iPhone 7 Plus display is frozen or unresponsive, then you’ll need to do the alternative reset through iTunes. To get this done, you’ll need to secure a Windows or Mac computer, with iTunes software installed. Be sure to use the latest version of iTunes and your computer must be running on a later or latest OS version to avoid issues tied to system incompatibility.

Seek more help

You can escalate the problem to Apple Support for further recommendations if none of the prior solutions is able to fix the problem and your iPhone 7 Plus is still freezing and lagging. That way they can thoroughly scrutinize the issue and flag it among other post-update issues to address in the next update. Alternatively, you can take your iPhone to an Apple authorized service center in your place and have it diagnosed by a technician. Your iPhone may have acquired some sort of physical or liquid damage that eventually led to these symptoms.

Connect with us

If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the 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 Plus. 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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