How to fix an iPhone X that is overheating after updating to iOS 12 [Troubleshooting Guide]

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Overheating problem is one of the widespread concerns by many iPhone owners following a major iOS update implementation. It started to be a common dilemma since the first iOS version was released and continues to manifest among other post-update problems from the recently rolled out iOS version 12.

Apparently, it’s a software-related issue which can be remedied at home by some workarounds. This context highlights a few generic solutions to a similar issue transpiring on the iPhone X device after the iOS 12 update implementation. Read on to find out what options to try whenever you’d bump into a post-update overheating problem on the same device.

For those who are looking for a solution to a different problem, drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most common issues with this phone. Browse through the page to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you still need our help, contact us anytime through our Android issues questionnaire.

First solution: Close all running apps then restart your iPhone X.

If you haven’t closed some apps while updating to iOS 12, then chances are that any of the background apps had crashed during the update and eventually went rogue. And rogue apps can cause massive power draining and overheating. To make sure this isn’t the root cause of the problem, close all running apps on your iPhone X with these steps:

  • Swipe up from the bottom of the screen then pause when your finger reaches the middle of the screen. A few seconds, all of the app preview cards will appear.

Be sure not to swipe too fast and pause on the right place and time, otherwise, you will be routed back to the Home screen instead.

  • Alternatively, you can long-press any app in the multitasking interface until the red circle with minus (-) sign inside appears on the upper-left of each card. From here you can just tap the minus sign to close individual apps. Or you can also swipe up on the cards when the red minus signs appear to force close the apps.

Restart your phone afterwards to clear and refresh its memory for smoother performance.

  • To restart or soft reset your iPhone X, press and hold the Side/Power button and either Volume button for a few seconds. Then release both buttons when the Slide to Power off command appears. Drag the Power off slider to the right to power off your phone. After 30 seconds or so, press and hold the Side/Power button until the Apple logo appears and then release.

Allow your phone to complete its bootup sequence and launches the Home screen.

Second solution: View and manage apps battery usage.

Some third-party apps may go rogue and cause rapid power draining after a major system transition. To find out which apps are to blame, view the battery usage details on your iPhone X and see which from your apps are consuming the most of your iPhone battery and eventually trigger the device to overheat. Here’s how to access this information:

  1. Navigate to Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap on Battery.
  3. Wait until the Battery Usage details populate.
  4. Then tap on the Show Activity tab to view the breakdown of foreground and background power usage.
  5. To see the breakdown of usage by percentage, tap on Battery Usage.
  6. To get a broader look at power consumption over time, tap on the Last 10 Days tab.

You can also check the current battery health status of your iPhone X. This is one of the iOS 11.3 beta features. It shows details on the maximum capacity of your battery relative to when your device was new along with an indicator of the level of performance the battery currently supports.

If you see any app or service that is using more power than normal, then that app is likely the culprit and therefore needs to be managed or uninstalled, if needed.

Third solution: Install pending app updates on your iPhone X.

One way to prevent apps from acting up after an iOS update is to keep them up-to-date. App developers usually push minor updates soon before or after a major iOS version is rolled out by Apple. If you haven’t configured your apps to auto-update, then you might have missed to install some updates for your apps. In that case, check for any pending app updates then update your apps manually instead. Here’s how:

  1. Tap to open the App Store from the Home screen.
  2. Tap the Updates icon at the bottom right of the screen. A list of apps with pending updates will populate.
  3. Tap the Update button next to an app to update individual apps. Otherwise, tap the Update All button on the upper-right to update all apps at once.

Wait until all your apps are finished updating and then restart your phone to apply the new changes.

Fourth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone X.

Before performing a master reset, you can try to reset all settings to clear all system settings and restore the defaults. The new update might have automatically altered your phone settings and unfortunately results to some conflicts that caused rapid battery draining and overheating. To clear this out, reset all settings on your iPhone X with these steps:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll to and tap Reset.
  4. Tap Reset All Settings from the given options. This will clear all customized system settings and restore the defaults or original values.
  5. If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue.
  6. Then tap the option to confirm settings reset.

Allow your phone to finish resetting all customized settings without affecting any data and personal information saved on the phone memory.

Fifth solution: Restore your iPhone X in iTunes via Recovery Mode.

A recovery mode restore can help fix major software errors including those that are inflicted by software updates. This may lead to data loss, so creating backups is recommended before you proceed. You will also need to secure a computer to get started. Furthermore, make sure your computer is running on the latest operating system and has the latest version of iTunes. Then follow these steps to instigate a recovery mode restore on your iPhone X through iTunes:

  1. Connect your iPhone to your computer using the supplied USB cable then launch iTunes.
  2. Wait for iTunes to recognize your phone.
  3. When your iPhone is connected, do a force restart. To force restart your iPhone X, press and quickly release the Volume Up button then press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side/Power button until the Recovery Mode screen appears. Do not release the button when the Apple logo appears because you need to put your iPhone in recovery mode.
  4. Shortly after successfully entering recovery mode, iTunes will prompt you with an option to Update or Restore your iPhone X. Choose the option to Restore to wipe out all existing data from your device and then reinstall the latest iOS version.

Once it’s done restoring, refer to the setup wizard to set up and configure your iPhone X as new.

If your iPhone X continues to overheat even after performing a recovery mode restore, you have one last option and possible solution left to try on. At this point, you can proceed and resort to a DFU mode restore. This will put your iPhone X in a state wherein it’s still able to communicate with iTunes on a computer even without activating the bootloader. Thus you still can fix more complex software issues including those that caused your device to overheat. We’ve outlined a simple tutorial on how to perform a DFU mode restore on an iPhone X. If you need help with the steps, feel free to visit our iPhone X Troubleshooting page then navigate to the tutorials section to find the topic.

For further assistance and other recommendations, contact your carrier or Apple Support instead. Reporting post-update issues gives way for the creation of necessary fix patches, thus it’s imperative.

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