iPhone 8 Plus Keeps Crashing or Freezing After iOS Update? Here’s How to Fix It

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If your iPhone 8 Plus suddenly started crashing, freezing, or becoming unresponsive after installing the latest iOS update, you’re not alone. While updates are supposed to improve performance, they sometimes introduce bugs or trigger issues—especially with apps or settings that don’t play nice with the new version. Here’s how to troubleshoot the problem and (hopefully) get your phone back to normal.

Force Restart Your iPhone

If your iPhone becomes unresponsive or freezes randomly, a forced restart can help clear out temporary glitches.

Here’s how:

  1. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
  2. Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
  3. Press and hold the Side (Power) button until the Apple logo appears.

Let the phone reboot fully and see if it’s more stable after restarting.

Close All Background Apps

Apps running in the background—especially ones that haven’t been updated for the latest iOS—can crash or conflict with the system.

To clear them:

  1. Press the Home button twice (or swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause if using AssistiveTouch).
  2. Swipe up on each app preview to close them.

After clearing all background apps, restart your phone again.

Check Storage and Manage Problematic Apps

A full or nearly full storage can slow things down and cause freezing or app crashes. Also, apps that are incompatible or buggy can destabilize your system.

To check storage:

  1. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
  2. Review how much space is left.
  3. If an app is using an unusually large amount of space—or if it’s one you installed recently—consider deleting it.

If you notice a specific app showing up frequently in crash logs, it could be the culprit.

Check Diagnostic Logs for Crashing Apps

You can see which apps are crashing in your iPhone’s system logs.

To check:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements > Analytics Data.
  2. Look for repeated entries tied to a specific app (e.g., Instagram-2024-10-01…).

If you see the same app listed over and over, uninstall it and test your phone without it for a day or two.

Reset All Settings

If certain settings were changed or corrupted during the update, this reset brings everything back to default without deleting your data.

To do it:

  1. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset.
  2. Tap Reset All Settings.
  3. Enter your passcode and confirm.

Wi-Fi passwords and other preferences will be erased, but your photos and apps stay intact.

Restore a Previous iOS Backup via iTunes (Optional Downgrade)

If the freezing and crashing only started after the recent iOS update, and nothing else has helped, you can try restoring your iPhone from a backup made before the update.

You’ll need:

  • A computer with the latest version of iTunes
  • A previous iOS backup saved locally

To do it:

  1. Connect your iPhone to your computer.
  2. Launch iTunes and put your iPhone in Recovery Mode (or DFU Mode if necessary).
  3. Choose Restore Backup and select the most recent stable backup.

Note: This may not work if Apple has stopped signing the older iOS version.

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