Slow browsing problem is when your browser takes very long to load a page or website. Sometimes the symptom is isolated to certain sites/pages if not a widespread issue. Tackled in this post is a relevant issue on the iPhone XR. Read on to learn what to do if your iPhone XR’s internet connection is very slow.
But before we actually move on to our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, then visit our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed some of the most common problems with this device. In case you need more help with your problem, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.
First solution: Power cycle (reboot) your wireless router/modem.
Slow internet connection is oftentimes caused by faulty network equipment and so performing the so-called power cycle on the modem/route is considered among the very first potential solution to try. Performing a power cycle or rebooting the wireless router/modem helps clear out errant data segments inflicted by minor firmware crashes on the network equipment. Here’s how it’s done:
- Press and hold the Power switch of the wireless router/modem to turn it off.
- Once the equipment is already off, unplug the AC adapter from the power outlet.
- After at least 2 minutes, plug the AC adapter back into the power outlet and then press the Power switch to turn the wireless router/modem on again.
Wait until the lights on the equipment become stable, especially the Wi-Fi signal indicator. Your iPhone should then re-establish network connection when the modem/router’s Wi-Fi signal has stabilized. Once it’s reconnected, launch your browser app and navigate through multiple websites and see if loading speed has improved.
ALSO READ: How to fix an Apple iPhone XR that won’t send MMS or picture messages
Second solution: Restart (soft reset) your iPhone XR.
Random system glitches are also among the usual culprits that might have slowed down your iPhone’s browsing speed. To eliminate these flaws, simply perform a soft reset on your device. Doing so will also clear out corrupted files saved on your phone’s internal memory and refreshes the entire operating system. Here is how it’s done:
- Press and hold the Side/Power button and either Volume buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
- When the Slide to Power off command appears, release the buttons.
- The drag the power off slider to the right to completely turn off the device.
- Wait for at least 30 seconds then press and hold the Side/Power button until the Apple logo appears.
Wait until your iPhone completely boots up and retry to connect to the internet to check if the soft reset resolved the slow internet connection issue.
Alternatively, you can clear cache and cookies from the Safari app. While cached files are beneficial when reloading of similar sites and pages, they can also trigger browsing issues including slow browsing if corrupted Internet files accumulate. This is the main reason why it’s also recommended to clear the browser cache and browsing history from time to time. Here’s how it’s done on the Safari app browser on your iPhone XR:
- Tap the Settings app from the Home screen.
- Scroll down to and select Safari.
- Then tap Advanced.
- Select Website Data option.
- Check the total space usage of the website data and then tap Remove All Website Data.
Once it shows a confirmation message that the clearing of cache and browsing data from the Safari app has been completed, restart (soft reset) your iPhone XR. As soon as it boots up, launch the Safari browser app and try browsing different sites and pages to gauge its browsing speed. If it’s still unable to obtain the ideal browsing speed, then you’ve got to move on and troubleshoot further.
Third solution: Disable the Wi-Fi on your iPhone and enable it again.
Refreshing the Wi-Fi connection or turning the Wi-Fi switch off and on can also help fix minor wireless connectivity issues like slow browsing. In this process, corrupted network data and temporary internet files that caused problems when loading up websites are likewise eliminated. Here’s what you should do then:
- From the Home screen, go to Settings.
- Select the Wi-Fi menu and tap the switch to turn the feature off.
- While the Wi-Fi feature is off, restart (soft reset) your iPhone XR.
- Then head back to Settings-> Wi-Fi menu and toggle the switch to enable the Wi-Fi feature again.
Another way to restart and refresh wireless functions on your iPhone is through the Airplane Mode toggle. Many people have found wonders from performing this old tweak whenever something’s not right with their phone’s Internet feature. Here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, go to Settings.
- Select the Airplane Mode menu.
- 3Tap the Airplane Mode switch to turn it ON. Wireless functions on your iPhone will then be disabled.
- Restart (soft reset) your iPhone while the Airplane mode is ON.
- Then head back to Settings-> Airplane Mode menu and toggle the switch again to turn the feature OFF. Then the wireless features on your iPhone XR will be enabled again.
Once your phone shows it’s already connected to the wireless network, open any internet-enabled apps or navigate websites through the Safari app to check if the Internet speed has improved.
Fourth solution: Delete/forget your Wi-Fi network then connect again.
Another possible solution to use when dealing with corrupted Wi-Fi network connection is the so-called forgetting of the Wi-Fi network. This is often what’s needed to resolve issues inflicted by corrupted Wi-Fi network. It basically works by removing the Wi-Fi network from your phone’s network directory and then adding it back to reconnect like it’s the first time. Here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, go to Settings.
- Select the Wi-Fi menu. If the feature is still disabled, tap the switch to turn it on.
- Then you will be prompted with the list of available networks. Select your Wi-Fi network and tap the information “i” icon next to the SSID or the Wi-Fi network name.
- Then select the Forget This Network option.
- When asked to confirm the network deletion, tap Forget.
If you have multiple Wi-Fi networks saved on your phone, better remove them all to prevent them from causing conflict to the Wi-Fi network in use.
Once you’re done deleting/forgetting all saved Wi-Fi networks, restart (soft reset) your iPhone to clear out all errant network caches and to refresh the system.
Once you’re iPhone has rebooted completely, go back to Settings-> Wi-Fi menu then toggle the switch to enable Wi-Fi. Your phone will then scan for available Wi-Fi networks. Select your Wi-Fi network and then follow the onscreen prompts to join or connect to the network again.
Fifth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone XR.
Misconfigured network settings can also trigger slow internet browsing on your iPhone. To solve the problem, performing a network reset often helps. This works by erasing your current network configurations and then restoring the network settings to its default values and options. If you wish to give it a try, then you may refer to these steps:
- From the Home screen, go to Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down to and select Reset.
- Then select the Reset network settings option.
- When prompted enter your device passcode to continue.
- Then tap Reset network settings again to confirm the reset.
Your phone will reboot itself after the reset. Since the process did not only restore the original values and options on your phone’s network settings but also removed the Wi-Fi networks, you need to set up your Wi-Fi network again then reconnect. Launch your browser and see if the internet speed becomes faster after resetting the network settings.
Still having slow Internet connection on your iPhone XR?
The above procedures are usually enough to get rid of software-related factors that might have slowed down your iPhone’s internet connection. But if the problem continues, then it’s likely an issue with your Internet service provider. At this point, you should contact your service provider/carrier to check the current status of your Internet. There might be some temporary outages or temporary network issues affecting network services in your place. In that case, all you have to do is to wait until the outage is over and your Internet connection should be back to normal.
ALSO READ: How to fix audio interference, no sound problems on your Apple iPhone XR
If you suspect that this is a problem with your modem or router, ask your carrier to reset the network equipment from their end. Doing so helps rectify random firmware crashes affecting the modem or router system. If the problem started after installing an iOS update and that it persisted, then this could be a new iOS bug that needs a dedicated fix patch. In this case, you should report the issue to Apple Support so that they can make further assessments on their end.
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