Recognising Common Symptoms
It's important to identify exactly how your iPhone is behaving differently. Noting these signs can help you pinpoint the cause.
- Apps taking a long time to open, freezing, or crashing unexpectedly.
- The iPhone itself feeling hot to the touch, particularly during normal use or charging.
- A significant and sudden drop in battery life, even after a full charge.
- Slow response times when tapping icons, typing, or swiping between screens.
- Features like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth disconnecting or failing to connect reliably.
Good to know
Keep a mental note of when these issues started and what you were doing at the time, as this can offer valuable clues.
Checking Storage Space
A full storage can dramatically slow down your iPhone. Let's check how much space you have available.
- Go to Settings.
- Tap
General. - Select
iPhone Storage. - Review the colourful bar graph and the list below to see what is consuming the most space.
Tip
Ideally, you should aim to keep at least 10-15% of your total storage free for optimal performance.
Reviewing Battery Health
An aging battery can lead to reduced performance and unexpected shutdowns. It's worth checking your battery's current health.
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down and tap
Battery. - Select
Battery Health & Charging. - Look at the
Maximum Capacitypercentage. A lower percentage (e.g., below 80%) indicates a significantly degraded battery.
Important
If your Maximum Capacity is very low, it might be time to consider a battery replacement to improve performance and reliability.
Identifying Problematic Apps
Sometimes, a single misbehaving app can be the root cause of your iPhone's woes. We can investigate which apps might be causing issues.
- Go to Settings.
- Tap
Battery. - Scroll down to the 'Battery Usage By App' section.
- Look for any apps that show unusually high battery consumption, especially if you haven't used them much.
- Also consider any recently installed apps that might coincide with the start of the issues.
Good to know
Apps that crash frequently or consume a lot of battery in the background could be buggy or not well-optimised for your iPhone.
Was this guide helpful?
Know someone who needs this? Send them the guide.
JD
Written by
Jordan DicksonFounder, CyberSecurityGuides
Founder of CyberSecurityGuides, writing practical, jargon-free guides that help everyday people recover from and protect against online attacks.
Reviewed by CSG Security Engineers