Update: Added problems related to Wi-Fi, CarPlay, notifications, email, and unresponsive apps.
The latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 10, has a lot going for it. The biggest additions changed how people use their iOS devices — transforming the way they write and send texts, interact with notifications, and use Siri within apps. The latest version of iOS was in beta for quite a while and was made available to the public, meaning thousands of people got to experience iOS 10 prior to its official release. People came to grips with the new features during this period, but there were some iOS 10 problems that Apple didn’t catch.
Fortunately, making the beta available to the public resulted in more bugs, glitches, hardware and software issues being discovered, which gave Apple a chance to fix them before the official release. That said, it’s always convenient to have one place to find any and all iOS 10 problems, which is where we come in. We’ve scoured as many forums as we could to find the biggest problems people have run into while using iOS 10, and provided workarounds and solutions for as many of them as we can.
Problem: Battery drain
Excessive battery drain is a problem for some people using iOS 10, even when the iOS device is being used as it should. The problem isn’t universal, as many people report that their batteries are performing as expected, but if you’re using iOS 10.3.2, you should be prepared to charge your phone more than usual. Forbes has reported on this issue, and this thread from Apple’s own forums is filled with people saying their phones are draining rapidly. A previous iteration of this issue stated the battery indicator would sometimes suddenly drop to 1 percent, then shut down. Needless to say, those affected are not happy.
Potential solutions:
- If you haven’t updated to 10.3.2 yet, consider holding off until this issue has been worked out. If you are using 10.3.2 and are experiencing excessive battery drain, restoring your phone using a 10.3.1 or 10.2 backup may be your best bet at removing the problem.
- Turning off the Raise to Wake feature has been said to help some users. To do this, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and toggle off Raise to Wake to disable the feature.
- We’ve written a few iOS guides that include tips for fixing poor battery life. Here are a few for the iPhone 6S, iPhone SE, iPad Air and Air 2, and the iPad Pro.
- You can find more tips and suggestions in our battery tips roundup for the iPhone.
Annoyance: Raise to Wake feature doesn’t work
Apple’s iOS 10 adds an incredibly useful feature known as “Raise to Wake,” which does exactly what you’d expect — when you pick up your phone, the screen automatically comes on. For some on Apple’s forums, this particular feature has stopped working, or the feature isn’t even available.
Potential solutions:
- This isn’t as widely known as it should be, but if you’re using an iPad Pro, Raise to Wake won’t work because the feature is currently only available on the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, and SE, as those have the M9 motion coprocessor inside the A9 chip. The iPad Pro does as well, but for one reason or another, the feature isn’t there (at least not yet).
- Another thing you can try, if you’re using one of the aforementioned iPhone models, is to check and make sure the Raise to Wake feature is on. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness and toggle on Raise to Wake to enable the feature.
Annoyance: Stutters while switching apps
With the current iteration of iOS 10, there have been a small number of people on the Apple Discussion forums saying that they’ve noticed a bit of stuttering and lag when switching apps (double-clicking the Home button to launch the app switcher). It still works, but it’s not as seamless or smooth as it was in iOS 9.
Workaround:
- If you use multiple apps throughout the day, brace yourself for an app switcher that doesn’t perform as well as it should. Consider closing apps that aren’t being used, or haven’t been used for a while. While in the app switcher, swipe up on an app to completely close it.
Potential solutions:
- Setting a slower click speed for the Home button has been said to help but, of course, you’ll have to adjust to it. To set your Home button’s click speed, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Home Button.
- A future iOS 10 update may contain a fix or improvements for the app switcher. A few people on the Apple forums linked above have said the iOS 10.3 beta has fixed this particular problem.
Problem: Mail app not working
After updating to iOS 10, or one of its subsequent versions, email accounts used in the Mail app may stop receiving new mail, show an error message that claims your password is incorrect, or the email appears as a blank white page when viewed. Re-entering the password does not fix the second issue, or prevent the error from appearing again. People have been having various problems with the Mail app and discussing it on the Apple Discussion forums since September 2016.
Potential solutions:
- Go to Settings > Mail, and under the Threading section turn off Complete Threads.
- Remove all of the affected email accounts and re-enter them. Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts and tap the account you wish to delete. Tap Delete Account at the bottom of the page. To enter and set up new accounts, simply tap Add Account on the previous screen.
- If you have multiple email accounts, consider turning the Mail toggle off for each one to see if it improves the app’s performance. It has also been suggested that turning off accounts requiring a VPN will keep the app from crashing and improve performance.
Annoyance: HomeKit automations don’t trigger/run automatically
In iOS 10, Apple added a new Home app that allows users to control their HomeKit accessories and other smart home devices. However, as seen on these three threads on Apple’s forums, many people have been unable to set up their Homekit devices so that they run automatically. With the Lock/Unlock actions, in particular, users are prompted to control their devices via a notification.
Workarounds:
- Some have found partial success by putting their devices on individual timers, instead of grouping them into Scenes so they all work via one command or action.
Potential solutions:
- There doesn’t appear to be a definitive solution to get Homekit accessories to perform their actions automatically based on a user’s location, as many have expected. It has been suggested that automations such as the Lock/Unlock are designed the way they are as a security measure, perhaps to prevent the action from triggering while the owner is away, or if the owner has their iPhone or Apple Watch stolen.
- iOS 10.3 included and improvement to the Home app that added “support to trigger scenes using accessories with switches and buttons.” iOS 10.3 or a later version may help.
Glitch: Siri will activate when trying to unlock the device
iOS 10 introduces a new way to unlock your iPhone by using the Home button. However, when attempting to use this method, Siri will activate instead, preventing the phone from being unlocked properly. On the Apple forums, this has been said to also happen even if the “Siri on the lock screen” setting is off.
- Just to be sure, check your Siri settings again. Go to Settings > Siri, and toggle the Siri on the lock screen setting off if it’s on.
- It’s possible you’re pressing the Home button for too long. It only takes one press to unlock the screen. Any longer and you may trigger Siri instead if the above feature has been turned on.
- If you have Touch ID enabled, head to Settings > General > Accessibility > Home Button and turn on the Rest Finger to Open setting. This will allow you to simply rest your finger on the button to use the fingerprint reader, instead of having to apply pressure to the Home button. If this doesn’t work immediately, restart your device.
Problem: “Hey Siri” doesn’t work after updating to iOS 10
Following the update to iOS 10, people on the Apple forums have said that any attempts to use the “Hey Siri” voice command to prompt Siri will fail. However, Siri can still be used by holding down the Home button and will function as intended.
Potential solutions:
- Go to Settings > Siri and make sure the “Hey Siri” feature is on.
- Turn Siri and “Hey Siri” completely off and restart your iOS device. Turn Siri back on and set up “Hey Siri” once again.
- Try resetting your settings by going to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. Then, set up Siri once again.
- If you have Bluetooth on, try turning it off and trying Siri again.
- One person found success by separating their iPhone and iPad that both have “Hey Siri” enabled and setup. When both were within range, only one reacted to the voice prompt. When separated, both responded individually.