A new release of iOS always brings with it a flurry of screams from users about things that are not working or broken. iOS 18 seems to have unleashed an unprecedented amount of user issues.
I’ve been running iOS 18 since the early betas, and I’ve seen my fair share of bugs. Battery bugs and laggy user interface have followed me on the journey. I still think that my daily driver iPhone 15 Pro Max should have better battery life and be a bit smoother and faster.
Also: Is iOS 18 tanking your iPhone battery? Here’s why and what you can do
But I’m just one person. Nothing beats being able to tap into millions of users through the power of social media.
And it didn’t take me long to find a veritable treasure trove of bugs thanks to Reddit, X, and Apple’s own support forum.
Along with complaints about poor battery life and laggy user interface — the evergreen complaints for every new iOS release — there are many other bugs.
There’s the Messenger bug related to sending Apple Watch faces, which isn’t all that commonplace — after all, how many people send one another watch faces? — but this one is particularly nasty as it can result in data loss.
Also: iOS 18 is bricking some iPads. Here’s what to know before you install it
Thankfully, showstopper bugs like that are rare. More common are the annoying bugs that just put a speed bump in your way.
Here are a selection of the bugs that I’ve seen reported:
- Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity issues.
- Screen sensitivity issues — either “ghost touches” from over-sensitivity or a lack of responsiveness.
- Siri misbehaves, from ignoring requests to answering them incorrectly.
- Photos app weirdness.
- Control Center is impossible or difficult to access, cannot be customized, or generally buggy.
- Screen rotation issues.
- Issues with putting apps into folders.
- AirPrint connectivity issues.
There are many more bugs, but this seems to cover 95% of what I’ve come across.
Now, if you’re plagued by one or more of these bugs, you probably wonder if any solutions have bubbled to the surface.
Don’t hold your breath. Some people suggest a reboot or deleting and reinstalling an errant app, deleting user settings (using Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings), while others have gone as far as wiping their handsets and reinstalling everything, but none of that seems to be all that successful, so my advice is to save your time and effort.
Also: 6 iOS 18 settings I changed immediately – and why you should too
Bottom line, these are bugs that are hard-baked into iOS, and the only way they are going to get fixed is with future software updates.
The good news is that a minor update in the form of iOS 18.0.1 is likely to land imminently and sweep up some of the bigger bugs, and iOS 18.1, which includes features such as Apple Intelligence, will come in October.
