iPhone Users Complain of App Slowdowns and Performance Drops After Installing iOS 11

Following the release of a new version of iOS, there are typically complaints about battery problems, issues with apps, and minor bugs, and the launch of iOS 11 has proven to be no exception.

On reddit, numerous users who have installed iOS 11 claim to be experiencing much slower app performance, app crashes, and other similar issues. The initial reddit post calls launching apps "an absolute chore," a sentiment echoed by dozens of additional comments.

iphone8ios11

Ever since I upgraded, launching apps is an absolute chore. Safari, Reddit, ESPN, Yahoo, texts, etc all have a terrible time opening. They either crash back to home, freeze and require closing the app or take well over a minute to load. I never had a single issue with my 7+ before last night and now suddenly it's like this phone is stuck in quicksand. I've never had to hard reset this phone before but I've had to do it twice in the past two days.

Users are complaining that their phones "just get stuck on apps" and that a hard reset is the only way to fix the problem. Reddit, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Messenger, Safari, and more are all affected apps. Sometimes, apps refuse to open just launching from the Home screen, while at other times, apps launched from Notifications won't work, and there are issues with Bluetooth.

I've been using the beta and it's been super fine for me. But now on the GM I get all the same issues. Apps don't launch, or if they finally do they crash. Things are freezing and crashing. Sometimes just bringing up CC stalls my phone and makes it unresponsive. Something in the update broke the Bluetooth controls connection and now I can't use the skip button from my transmitter (which worked in the beta) to change songs.

The Now Playing widget in the Control Center is also a chief complaint, with multiple users unable to control songs on Spotify and Apple Music using the widget, and some users say their battery life has taken a serious hit since updating.

Not all customers who upgraded to iOS 11 are seeing these issues but based on the reddit thread, it seems a fair number of people are having problems. App updates and subsequent iOS 11 updates are likely to resolve these issues over time, but customers who want an immediate fix can try some of the methods reported to work on reddit

Some reddit users claim that resetting their settings (Settings --> General ---> Reset --> Reset All Settings) fixed all of the app issues, while others have restored their devices and set it up as new to solve the problem. Others have backed up and restored and had better results. From one reddit user on backup and restore:

Exactly. I think people think this is a placebo effect but it really does work. Brought my 6S from a sluggish beast to more or less the same performance I had in iOS 10.

Multiple iPhone models appear to be affected, with redditors reporting issues on the iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and other earlier models. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus do not appear to be affected, and there are few complaints about iPad Pro models.

Related Forum: iOS 11

Popular Stories

Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Apple Reportedly Plans to Unveil at Least Five New Products Next Week

Sunday February 22, 2026 9:48 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple will have a three-day stretch of product announcements from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4. In total, he expects Apple to introduce "at least five products." Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A week ago, Apple invited selected journalists and content creators to an "Apple Experience" in...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3.1 Update for iPhones Coming Soon as 'Apple Experience' Nears

Sunday February 22, 2026 5:29 pm PST by
Apple's software engineers are testing iOS 26.3.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.3.1 should be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, and it will likely be released within the next two weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.2.1 with bug fixes and support for the second-generation...
tim cook data privacy day

Tim Cook Warned by CIA That China Could Move on Taiwan by 2027

Tuesday February 24, 2026 4:03 am PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook was among a handful of top tech executives who attended a classified CIA briefing warning that China could attack Taiwan by 2027, according to a sweeping investigative report by The New York Times ($). The previously unreported briefing was apparently held in a secure room in Silicon Valley in July 2023. The meeting is said to have been arranged at the request of the...

Top Rated Comments

Ds6778 Avatar
110 months ago
Lmao at the “reindexing” stop making excuses for apples lack of attention to detail.
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
110 months ago
Your phone is reindexing. Relax and let it do its job.
For a week?
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
d5aqoëp Avatar
110 months ago
This simply can’t be true. Apple’s software is perfection. Those complaining might have mixed up Touchwiz with iOS 11.
/s
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonmspencer Avatar
110 months ago
Planned obsolescence? Yeah, iOS11 is super slow. I love my iPhone, but seems like a sales tactic.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
110 months ago
Your phone is reindexing. Relax and let it do its job.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citi Avatar
110 months ago
It's re-indexing. The first 2 days my phone was super slow, now it's moving much faster. Of course, maybe I'm just used to the slowness now. :-)
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)