How to Fix Bad iOS 12 Beta Performance

If you start noticing slowdown, random reboots, or lockups on iOS 12 beta, we’re here to help. In this guide we’re going to help you speed up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and avoid a downgrade to iOS 11.

Apple’s new iOS 12 update is aimed at improving overall performance, especially on older devices like the iPhone 5s.

While we probably won’t see the full extent of those improvements until the official release this fall, there’s a chance iOS 12 beta could speed up your device and fix performance issues. There’s also a chance the iOS 12 beta causes performance problems on your device.

iOS 12 beta testers have encountered a variety of problems in the weeks since the update’s arrival. iOS 12 beta problems range from small bugs to serious performance issues including freezes, UI lag, and random reboots.

If you start noticing these issues you might be tempted to move back to a more stable version of iOS. Apple is signing off on iOS 11.4 giving you one potential downgrade option. While some of you are better off on an official version of iOS, others might want to hang around on pre-release software.

If you want to continue testing iOS 12 beta, you’re on your own until Apple releases the next version of the beta with bug fixes and improvements. Fixing performance problems on your own can be tricky, but there are a few proven remedies that’ve worked for us and many others in the past.

Restart Your Device

Restarting your device can have a profound effect on its overall performance. This is especially true if you haven’t turned it off in awhile.

If your device becomes sluggish while running the iOS 12 beta, try a simple restart. Power the device down, wait a minute, and then power it back on.

Free Up Storage

If your device is struggling, now would be a great time to check your internal storage space. If your iPhone or iPad is running out of internal storage, you should perform some cleanup. Reducing the amount of clutter on your phone could do wonders for its performance.

Fortunately, iOS 12 makes it easy to cleanup what you no longer need. If you’re indeed running out of space, here’s how to quickly get a handle on your data.

• Go to Settings.
• Tap General.
• Scroll down to iPhone Storage (iPad Storage if you’re using an iPad).

If you’re in the right spot you should notice a bunch of information about the data stored on your device. iOS will also make some recommendations based on your utilization of your storage.

Use this information to make some decisions about the files you’re currently storing on your phone or tablet. If you’ve got a ton of Messages you no longer read, but still want to keep them, you should think about using Messages in iCloud.

If you’ve got a ton of music you no longer listen to, photos you no longer want, or movies you no longer need on internal storage, think about deleting them to free up space.

For more on quickly freeing up storage on an iPhone or iPad, you’ll want to take a look at our in-depth guide.

Disable Widgets

Widgets are fairly prominent in iOS 12 and if you don’t use them, you should try turning some or all of them off to see if it improves your devices speed and performance.

Disabling widgets is easy on iOS 12. Here’s how to do it:

• Swipe to the right while you’re on your device’s home screen.
• Scroll all the way to bottom of your widgets and select Edit.

If you’re on the correct screen you should see many of the apps on your device listed in a few different rows. The apps with red “-” signs next to them are your active widgets. The ones with a green “+” sign next to them are your inactive widgets. To deactivate a widget, here’s what you need to do:

• Tap the red circle with the white line next to the widget you want to disable.
• Tap Remove.

We recommend starting with widgets you never use. If that doesn’t have the impact you want, you should go down the list and disable the rest and check your device’s performance.

Stop Background Refresh

If you don’t use Background Refresh or know what it is, you might try disabling it to see if it’s the cause of your device’s slowdowns.

When Background Refresh is enabled, many of the apps on your device will get updated with new information while idling in the background. The feature can be a resource hog and shutting it down could ease the strain on the processor.

If you’re up for it, here’s how to disable Background Refresh on iOS 12:

• Go to Settings.
• Tap on General.
• Select Background App Refresh.
• Toggle Background Refresh off.

If you’d prefer to keep the feature active for some of your apps, you can also disable apps on a case-by-case basis.

On the Background App Refresh screen you’ll see a list of your applications. If Background App Refresh is toggled on, you’ll be able to toggle apps on and off individually.

Reduce Animations

If you start noticing choppy animations during your run on iOS 12 you can try reducing them.

Reducing the Motion Effects on your device could help negate some of the choppiness. Here’s how to reduce Motion Effects on your iPhone or iPad go to:

• Go to Settings.
• Go to General.
• Tap Accessibility.
• Toggle Reduce Motion on.

If you toggle Reduce Motion on you’ll disable some animations like the bubble effect in the Messages app. We imagine most of you can live with this if it fixes your performance issues.

You should also try reducing transparency and the blur effects on your device. Reducing these could help lessen the strain on your processor and thus improve performance. Here’s how to do that.

• Go to Settings.
• Go to General.
• Tap Accessibility.
• Tap Increase Contrast.
• Tap the toggle to turn on the Reduce Transparency.

Update & Delete Your Apps

App performance can be problematic on pre-release software like iOS 12 beta and you might notice apps crashing with greater frequency. You might also notice additional bugs. There’s no way to ensure a perfect experience on beta software, but you can do a few things to help your cause.

First, make sure you keep your apps updated. iOS 12 support updates won’t arrive until the official version of iOS 12 emerges this fall, but these updates could help stabilize the software in the interim.

If you’re still dealing with issues, try reinstalling the app causing the problems. Delete the app from your device (hold down the icon until you get the little X) and then re-download it from the App Store.

Download the Latest iOS 12 Beta

Apple will gradually improve iOS 12 over time and you can expect future iOS 12 beta releases to include fixes for bugs and, if we’re lucky, performance.

Keep your eyes out for new iOS 12 beta releases on Monday and Tuesday around 12PM Pacific. New betas typically come once every two weeks and once every week as we get closer to the release.

Install iOS 12.5.6 for Better Security

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If you're on the fence, here's one of the best reasons to install iOS 12.5.6 right away. iOS 12.5.6 has a vital security patch on board and it will protect your device(s) from harm. If you want the details, head over to Apple's website. If you missed the iOS 12.5.5 update, it brought three security patches to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. You can learn more about the trio on Apple's security site.  If you missed iOS 12.5.4, you'll get that update's important security upgrades with your iOS 12.5.6 update. If you're interested in the particulars, head on over to Apple's website for more. If you skipped iOS 12.5.3, you'll get its security patches with your upgrade. Both of its patches were related to WebKit. If you want to learn more about them, head on over to Apple's security site.  If you skipped iOS 12.5.2, you'll also get its security patch with your upgrade. You can read more about it over on Apple's website.  If you also skipped iOS 12.5, you'll also get its patch with your upgrade. Apple's outlined the update's patch in detail on its security site.  If you missed iOS 12.4.9, you'll also get its four security patches with your upgrade. You can read more about those right here.  If you skipped iOS 12.4.7, you also get the update's three security patches (two for the Mail app and one for Wi-Fi) with your upgrade to iOS 12.5.6. If you're running software that's older than Apple's iOS 12.4.4 update, you'll want to download iOS 12.5.6 in the near future because it brings iOS 12.4.4's security patch to your device. You can read about it right here. If you're running software older than iOS 12.4.2, you'll get an its patch with your upgrade. You can read about the security contents of iOS 12.4.2 right here.  If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.4.1, you'll get iOS 12.4.1's security patch with your iOS 12.5.6 update. You can read about that patch right here.  If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.4, you get iOS 12.4's patches with your iOS 12.5.6 update.  iOS 12.4 brought 19 security patches to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. If you're interested in the specifics, you can read about them on Apple's security site.  If you're running software older than iOS 12.3, your iOS 12.5.6 update carries iOS 12.3's security patches on board. The iOS 12.3 update brought 23 patches and you can read about all of them right here on Apple's site.  If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.2, you'll get iOS 12.2's security patches with your version of iOS 12.5.6. iOS 12.2 brought a whopping 41 security patches to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. You can read more about the iOS 12.2's patches over on the company's website.  It's important to note that Apple's iOS 12.2 update patched up an exploit that allowed websites to use motion sensors to "fingerprint" devices. The exploit, discovered by researchers in Europe, uses JavaScript to snag data from a device's accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer when the user visits an infected website. If the attack is successful, a device can be tracked around the internet.  Fortunately, Apple's patched up the issue. If you skipped it, you'll probably want to move to iOS 12.5.6 soon. If you're on software older than iOS 12.1.4, you get four important security patches including fixes for a widespread FaceTime eavesdropping bug that lets you call someone via FaceTime and hear the audio coming from their phone before they pick up the phone. If you're on software older than iOS 12.1.3, you get some additional patches with your version of iOS 12.5.6. Again, they're baked into your upgrade. Apple lists a grand total of 23 patches on board iOS 12.1.3 and you can read about all of them over on Apple's website.  If you're on software older than iOS 12.1.1, you should install the iOS 12.5.6 update on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch today.  The iOS 12.1.1 update brought 17 patches for potential security exploits. They'll will help protect your phone. You can read about them here. If you're running software older than iOS 12.1, you'll get 24 patches from that update with your version of iOS 12.5.5. If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.0.1, your iOS 12.5.6 update brings two additional patches. Both patches are for potential lock screen exploits. Long story long, if you store sensitive data on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you have some really good reasons to upgrade to iOS 12.5.6 today.

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