Alex Ruben
How To Fix iPhone Lagging Issues After Installing iOS 26 Beta in 2025
Running a beta iOS version is kinda like walking a tightrope — sure, there’s cool new features, but it’s also usually more buggy and slower than usual. If your iPhone’s been feeling sluggish or laggy after upgrading to iOS 26 Beta, don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Sometimes, it’s just little software conflicts or settings that got knocked out of whack during the update. This guide walks through some common fixes that tend to help speed things up without resorting to drastic measures. Basically, you’ll get your device running smoother, or at least better than before.
How to Fix iPhone Lagging Problems After iOS 26 Beta Update
Disable Content & Privacy Restrictions
Sometimes, restrictions or parental controls can inadvertently slow things down, especially if they’re overly aggressive or glitchy in beta builds. Turning them off is worth a shot.
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down and tap on Screen Time.
- Tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Toggle off Content & Privacy Restrictions.
This helps if some restrictions were causing background processes to hang around or interfere with performance. On some setups, this disabled some background checks that were bogging down the system. Not sure why it works, but on one device it helped immediately, on another, it took a reboot for it to settle.
Turn Off Location Services
Location services can be pretty heavy on resources, especially with beta software that’s still being optimized. Disabling them temporarily might give your phone the breather it needs.
- Go back to Settings.
- Select Privacy & Security.
- Tap on Location Services.
- Switch it off.
Keep in mind, if you need GPS for maps or other apps, this might be a temporary step. It’s more for troubleshooting sluggishness. Sometimes, this helps clear up background location tasks that are stuck and hogging CPU cycles. Expect a slightly less responsive GPS, but your phone should find some speed relief.
Disconnect Active VPNs
VPNs are cool for privacy but can sometimes be the reason your iPhone gets laggy in beta. They add extra overhead to network traffic, and if the VPN app or profile’s acting up, it can cause hiccups.
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down and tap General.
- Tap on VPN & Device Management.
- See if any VPN profiles are active. If they are, disconnect or delete them to test.
This is a common stopgap, especially if toggling VPN on/off helped on other devices or earlier iOS betas. Noticed that, on some setups, VPNs kept the device trying to route all traffic through a server that was either lagging or misconfigured, leading to overall sluggishness.
Perform a Hard Restart
Minor software hiccups often get fixed with a reboot. No magic, but it’s surprising how often a simple restart clears out temporary gremlins.
- Press and hold the Power button (or side button + volume button on some models) until the slider appears.
- Slide to turn off.
- Once off, hold the Power button again until the Apple logo shows up.
It’s kind of weird, but on some machines, this actually helps the UI feel snappier. Not sure why, but sometimes the system needs a fresh start after a beta upgrade.
Disable Background App Refresh
If your phone is updating or checking apps in the background while you’re trying to do other things, that could slow it down.
- Open Settings.
- Go to General.
- Select Background App Refresh.
- Turn it off entirely or pick certain apps to disable.
In my experience, cutting down on background tasks lets the UI become more responsive, especially on beta builds that aren’t totally optimized. It’s a quick fix that might make a noticeable difference.
Reset All Settings
If all else fails, resetting system settings can wipe out lingering mis-configurations without deleting your photos or data. It resets Wi-Fi passwords, display settings, and preferences but keeps everything else intact.
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down to Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Reset.
- Select Reset All Settings.
This might bring back some speed by clearing out settings that got broken or stuck during the beta install. Remember, you’ll have to redo Wi-Fi connections, but it’s usually painless.
Extra Tips & Common Issues
Other tricks might also help, especially since beta iOS versions are all over the place performance-wise:
- Make sure your iPhone is on the latest beta build — sometimes newer updates fix performance bugs.
- Clear out storage — delete apps or files you don’t use anymore. Beta software really hates a cramped device.
- Consider waiting for a more stable release if performance is really bad. Beta is beta, after all.
Wrap-up
In the end, a mix of toggling settings, restarting, and disabling resource-heavy features usually helps get things running a bit more smoothly. The beta stuff still isn’t totally polished, so expect some weirdness. When everything else fails, perhaps a fresh install of a newer beta version or waiting for a more stable release might be the way to go. Fingers crossed this helps some brave beta testers out there get their iPhones back to snappy.
Summary
- Disable Restrictions to free up resources
- Turn off Location & VPN if possible
- Restart the device
- Turn off Background App Refresh
- Reset all settings if needed