How to fix an Apple iPhone XS that’s randomly freezing and crashing after updating iOS [Troubleshooting Guide]

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Installing the latest software update for your iPhone is recommended despite the risk of having a problematic device afterwards. Generally, software updates are rolled out to serve good purposes like bringing in new features, enhanced functions and fix patches for security enhancements. But there are just some factors that can turn these update benefits into post-update problems. Fortunately, these problems are attributed to the software hence they are possible to fix.

Highlighted below are some tweaks and suggested solutions to deal with a post-update issue on the iPhone XS that is randomly freezing and crashing after installing the latest iOS version. Read on to find out to do to find out what went wrong and how to fix it to make the phone back up and running smoothly again.

Now, before anything else, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already provided solutions to hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Odds are that we may have already provided a solution to the problem you currently have so try to find issues that are similar with yours on that page and feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

First solution: Clear all background apps.

Symptoms depicted by random crashes and freezes are often tied to rogue apps and corrupted files. Apps that are prone to becoming rogue or corrupted after an update are those that are suspended or running in the background for too long. If you happened to open or use a lot of apps on your iPhone and haven’t closed them yet, then any of them must have gone rogue and eventually affects the phone’s overall performance. In that case, try clearing all or force close running apps on your iPhone XS with these steps:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe your finger up and then pause.
  2. Swipe right or left to navigate through apps previews and find Netflix.
  3. Then swipe up on an app preview to clear background apps individually.

Do the same to clear all background apps on your iPhone XS.

Second solution: Force restart your iPhone XS.

If clearing background apps doesn’t help, then you can try a soft reset next. Performing a soft reset or restarting the phone helps get rid of minor software errors from random bugs and corrupted files from the recent system update. It’s a simple yet very effective solution to various types of software-related problems in mobile devices. And here’s how it’s done:

  1. Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
  2. Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
  3. Finally, press and hold the Side/Power button until the Apple logo appears.

Performing a soft reset is also a way of clearing cache and temporary data that are clogged in the phone’s internal memory and system partition. This does not affect any saved data on the phone so you don’t have to back up files beforehand.

Third solution: Install pending updates for apps.

Apps that aren’t updated usually end up acting up following an iOS transition. You might have missed to install some important updates for your apps, particularly those that weren’t configured to auto-update. In that case, manually installing app updates would be necessary. If your iPhone has stable Internet access, ample of memory space and battery life, follow these steps to check for, download and install pending app updates on your iPhone XS:

  1. Tap App Store from the Home screen.
  2. Scroll down to and then tap the Updates tab to show the list of apps with pending updates.
  3. Tap the Update button next to the name of the app to update apps individually.
  4. Tap the Update All button on the upper-right to update all apps simultaneously.

Wait until all your apps are finished updating and once they’re done, reboot/soft reset your iPhone XS to apply the recent apps changes. This should refresh the apps and phone system as well.

Fourth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone XS.

The new update might have override some settings on your iPhone and that eventually resulted to some errors or conflict. As a result, the system is beginning to become a bit shaky and thus the symptoms emerge. To clear this out, wipe all customized settings and then restore the default options or original values on your iPhone XS with these steps:

  1. From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll down to and tap Reset.
  4. Select the option to Reset all settings.
  5. If prompted, enter your device passcode.
  6. Then tap the option to confirm all settings reset.

After the reset, your device should reboot by itself. Wait until it boots up and then enable necessary options and features including Wi-Fi, to use them again on your phone. This reset doesn’t cause permanent data loss as it won’t affect internal data saved on the phone storage.

Fifth solution: Reset and restore your iPhone XS in iTunes (master reset).

Restoring the system’s default settings (factory reset) is usually needed to fix recurring issues that are attributed to system errors. The problem could be very complex that it would require a full system reset. But before you do so, don’t forget to back up all your important files to iCloud or iTunes because they will also be deleted along with other saved apps, settings, and other downloaded contents on the phone. Once you’re all set, follow these steps to reset and restore factory default settings on your iPhone XS through iTunes.

  1. Open iTunes on a computer. Be sure to use the latest iTunes version to avoid system conflicts. Your computer must also be running on an operating system that’s compatible with your iPhone XS platform or iOS version.
  2. Connect your iPhone XS to your computer using the supplied USB cable or Lightning cable.
  3. If prompted on your iPhone to Trust This Computer or to enter the device passcode, follow the onscreen instructions to continue.
  4. Select your iPhone XS when it shows up in iTunes.
  5. Navigate to the Summary section on the left panel and then click the Restore [iPhone] button.
  6. If prompted, read and review the information to confirm iOS restore. iTunes will then instigate the system reset and then download the latest software version for your iPhone.

Follow the rest of the given instructions to finish wiping data and restoring factory default settings on your iPhone XS in iTunes.

If your iPhone XS is still freezing and crashing, then restoring the phone software can be considered among the last possible solutions to try on. You can do a recovery mode restore first through iTunes. If that’s not successful either, then you may resort to performing a DFU mode restore. DFU or Device Firmware Update mode restore is regarded as the deepest type of system restore done on an iPhone. It puts your phone in a state where it’s still able to communicate with iTunes on a computer even without loading the operating system. This denotes a chance for you to fix the problem despite having a corrupted iOS. A more detailed walkthrough on how to perform a recovery mode restore and DFU mode restore on the iPhone XS can be found on the Tutorials page of this site. For more information, visit the iPhone XS Troubleshooting page then navigate to the tutorials section.

Seek more help

If your iPhone XS continues to freeze or crash after applying the above workarounds, contact Apple Support to report the problem and ask further assistance. Doing so will prompt the support team to tag it among other post update problems to assess and determine if fix patch is needed. Or you can also take your device to an Apple-authorized service center nearby and ask an iPhone technician to examine it for any indication of hardware damage.

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