There have been some reports of an issue in iOS 7.0.4 that the
Control Panel and Notification Center aren’t accessible by swiping up or
down respectively, or will work for a short period of time but
eventually become unavailable.
Problem: Rapid battery drain
Many people are finding iOS 7 is more power hungry than iOS 6 was. There are also a couple of iPhone specific fixes worth considering.
Potential solutions:
- Disable the parallax effect that gives the home screen that 3D look by going to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion.
- Turn off the background app refresh for at least some of your apps by going to Settings > General > Background App Refresh.
- Turn off AirDrop by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and selecting the toggle in the Control Center.
- Go to Settings > Notification Center and toggle off any apps that you don’t want to include.
Bug: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth not working
A lot of people have found that the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions are
not working properly after the update to iOS 7.
They may appear greyed
out in
Settings and either won’t toggle on or appear to toggle on, but turn straight off again.
Workaround:
- You should try rebooting your iPhone and your router, but it is unlikely to permanently fix the problem.
Potential solutions:
- Some people have had success by removing an apostrophe from the
iPhone name. If your iPhone is called something like “John’s iPhone”
then this might work. Go to Settings > General > About > Name and change it to something with no apostrophe.
- Some people have reported success by putting the iPhone into Airplane mode and then going to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings, but the problem may return.
- You could also try going to Settings > Control Center and disable Access on Lock Screen then turn your iPhone off and on again.
- Make sure that your router firmware is up to date.
- Try backing up your iPhone and then restoring it. Check how to factory reset an iPhone for details.
- If nothing is working for you, try contacting Apple or take your iPhone into an Apple Store.
Problem: Keyboard lag
This one seems to be a problem for iPhone 4
owners, but it may not be limited to that model. Sufferers have been
complaining about lag with iOS 7 in general, but also some serious
delays when typing on the virtual keyboard.
Potential solution:
- Go to Settings > iCloud and turn Documents & Data off.
Bug: iTunes Store keeps crashing
Some people have found that the iTunes Store app on their iPhone
crashes when they try to open it. There are two potential fixes to try.
Potential solutions:
- Open the Music app and tap Store in the upper left corner. You
should find that the app now works, although the problem might reoccur.
- Double tap the Home button to open the multitasking menu. Close iTunes Store if it is listed. Now go to Settings > iTunes & App Store and click on your Apple ID then choose Sign Out. Sign in again and open the iTunes Store app and it should work.
Bug: iMessage or FaceTime not working
Many people have encountered issues with FaceTime and/or iMessage not
working after the iOS 7 update. For a number of users iMessage was not
sending messages correctly, some people found that it wouldn’t activate.
There were also complaints about FaceTime calls failing.
Potential solutions:
- Turn FaceTime and/or iMessage off and on again via the toggles in Settings.
- Turn off Cellular Data in Settings > Cellular and make sure you are connected to Wi-Fi, then go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. You’ll have to set up your connection again, but FaceTime and iMessage should now work.
- If nothing else has worked then back up your iPhone and try restoring it.
- Apple addressed the iMessage issues in the iOS 7.0.3 update released in October.
-
Apple addressed the FaceTime issues in the 7.0.4 update released in November.
Glitch: Freezing
Some people have been complaining about random freezing on their
iPhone after the update. It doesn’t seem to be confined to a specific
model.
Potential solutions:
- If it happens in a specific app then double-click the Home button and find the app that froze and swipe it up to close it.
- If that isn’t working then hold down the Sleep/Wake button and the Home Button until you see the Apple logo.
Bug: There is a crazy way to bypass the lock screen
If you’re worried about the security risk posed by the revelation
that people can bypass your lock screen and gain access to some content,
there is a way to close the loophole.
Workaround:
Go to
Settings > Control Center and toggle
Access on Lock Screen to off.
Solution:
Apple has already released an update to deal with this bug and you can get it via Settings > General > Software Update.
Problem: Apps keep logging you out
Many users have encountered issues with apps like Mailbox and
Snapchat logging them out. App developers are working on fixes and seem
to be in agreement that the way iOS 7’s background refresh works is the
problem.
Workaround:
- Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn it off for any apps where you’re finding problems.
Solution:
- You may have to wait for an update from the app developer or Apple to find a permanent fix for this one.
Bug: Loads of unread emails
Some people found that they had hundreds or even thousands of unread
emails after updating to iOS 7. This problem seems to be particularly
common for Gmail users, but it can occur with other email accounts.
Potential solutions:
- Go into your email account on your computer and select all your emails then choose Mark as Read. Now go back to your iPhone and the count should be drastically reduced. It may be quicker to select all, choose Mark as Unread and then choose select all again and click Mark as Read.
- You can also select Edit > Mark All > Mark as Read on your iPhone, but for it to work, you’ll need to download all your emails to the iPhone first, which can take a long time.
Problem: iPhone won’t turn on
A few people have reported that their iPhone won’t turn on at all
after installing the recent update. Plugging in the charger doesn’t seem
to have any effect. In some cases, there’s no recognition when plugging
into a computer and trying to connect to iTunes either. There’s
probably more than one problem at work here, but here are some steps you
can try.
Potential solutions:
- Make sure that you’re using an Apple cable. Apple is working to
block third-party cables and chargers by including an authenticator chip
in its official cables. It’s not likely, but just to eliminate them as
problems, try using a different cable and a different power outlet.
- Try holding down the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button together for at least 10 seconds.
- If you are using an official cable then plug your iPhone in and
leave it to charge for at least a couple of hours before trying the
Sleep/Wake and Home button again.
- Try DFU mode (you can find full steps under Glitch: Stuck on Apple logo at the start of this article).
- If none of these steps works for you then it’s time to call Apple, or, even better, take your iPhone into an Apple Store.
Annoyance: Motion sickness
A lot of people have reported motion sickness issues with the new iOS
7 platform. The parallax effect, bright icons, and all the zooming
transitions can prove to be a bit much and may cause nausea or
dizziness. There are a few things you can try to lessen the problem, but
they aren’t going to fix it entirely because you can’t turn off the
animations right now (it’s possible Apple will address this in a future
update).
Potential solutions:
- Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion.
- Make sure that you are using a static wallpaper via Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness, and then choose from Stills or your own photos.
- It’s possible that larger text will help via Settings > General > Text Size.
- You can also reduce the transparency via Settings > General > Accessibility > Increase Contrast.
Glitch: Speaker not working
There have been a few problems reported with the speakers on Apple
devices after the iOS 7 update. Some people get no audio from the
speaker, some report that audio is only gone when playing media, and for
some people it’s not working with headphones either. There are a couple settings you should check and other steps worth trying before you contact Apple.
Potential solutions:
- If you’re having the problem with an iPad, try toggling the side switch. You can also check under Settings > General > Use Side Switch To and see if it is set to Mute.
- Check under Settings > General > Accessibility > Mono Audio and make sure it’s off.
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button to reboot your device.
- If you find that the headphones work then there could be a problem
with the port. You could try blasting it with compressed air, or even
sucking to see if anything is stuck in there. If you’re going to use a
brush then be very gentle.
Glitch: Media controls not working
Many people have found that the media controls in the Control Center
and on the Lock Screen are not working after the iOS 7 update. Luckily
there’s an easy fix.
Solution:
- A soft reset should deal with this one, so press and hold the
Sleep/Wake button until the red “slide to power off” appears and slide
it. Once the device is off, simply press and hold the Sleep/Wake button
again until you see the Apple logo.
Glitch: Receiving someone else’s messages or contacts
You may find after updating that you end up syncing contacts, or even
receiving messages that belong to another family member. This is
probably because you are using the same Apple ID. Your best option is to
create a new Apple ID for one of you (you’ll still be able to share an
iTunes account).
Potential solutions:
- Go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive and you
can select any number or email that you don’t want to be sharing
messages with. You can also change your Apple ID in here.
- For contacts, the problem is probably caused by sharing iCloud. You can go to Settings > iCloud and choose Delete Account and then Keep on My iPhone. Then use your new Apple ID to set up a new iCloud account just for you.
Problem: Can’t send text messages
A few people have reported issues with sending text messages after
the iOS 7 update. There are a couple of possible reasons for this.
Workaround:
Tap and hold on the message and then select “Send as text message.”
Potential solutions:
- If the issue is popping up in iMessage then it may be because iOS 7 turns the send as SMS option off by default. Go to Settings > Messages and turn Send as SMS on.
- You could also try the steps listed under Bug: iMessage or FaceTime not working.
- If the issue seems to be with sending texts to other types of phone
then it could be because the recipient is still registered with Apple,
or has another Apple device. It may be worth checking if they used to
own an iPhone that they never deregistered, or if they used their SIM
card in an iPhone in the past.
Bug: Can’t download app updates
Quite a few people have found that they can’t download app updates
after the iOS 7 upgrade. There could be multiple apps showing that
updates are available, but they simply don’t start. Turning Wi-Fi off
and on again, or even connecting to iTunes may not resolve the problem,
but there are other things you can try.
Potential solutions:
- Go to Settings > iTunes & App Store and tap on your Apple ID, then select Sign Out.
Double tap the Home button and make sure you swipe up any problem apps
that are running to close them, then reboot the iPhone and sign back in
to iTunes to try the update again.
- If that doesn’t work, try going to Settings > General > Usage and select the problem apps, then delete them, reboot the device, and try to download them again.
Problem: Charger or cable won’t work
Along with the iOS 7 update Apple killed support for many unlicensed,
third-party cables and chargers. This results in users getting the
pop-up message “This cable or accessory is not certified and may not
work reliably with this iPhone.” You can dismiss the message and in some
cases you might find that the cable works anyway, but it probably
won’t. Certified cables have an authenticator chip in them. There is a
workaround you can try.
Workaround:
- Plug the charger into the wall or the cable into your computer, and
then plug the other end into your iPhone. Dismiss the warning. Unlock
your iPhone and dismiss any warning. With the screen on, unplug the
cable and then plug it back in again. Dismiss the warning. You should
find that it charges now.
Solution:
- Buy a cable that’s licensed and part of Apple’s MFi program. They generally have the “Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad” logo on them.
Problem: Camera not working
If you updated to iOS 7 and encountered a problem with your
front-facing camera or your main rear-facing camera then you’re not
alone. Some people report that the main camera keeps freezing or refuses
to load; they just get a black screen. Others are complaining that the
front-facing camera is excessively blurry. This could be down to an app
or it could be a hardware failure. Here’s what to try:
Workaround:
- Close the camera app, double tap the Home button and swipe the
camera app up to close it completely, then reboot your iPhone and try
loading the camera app again. This will work for some, but it doesn’t
mean that the issue won’t return.
Potential solutions:
- Go to Settings > General > Restrictions and make sure Allow: Camera is on.
- If an app is causing the problem then removing it might fix your
camera. Remove third-party apps one by one, reboot the iPhone, and test
the camera. It’s a good idea to start with anything that obviously uses
the camera.
- Take it into an Apple Store and show them the problem. If you’re
still under warranty then you should get a replacement without any
hassle.
Problem: Hate the new calendar app
Lots of people have been complaining about the new calendar app in
iOS 7. It may be a touch too minimalist, or perhaps the tweaked
functionality is causing frustration. There’s no way to get the old
calendar back, but there is another option.
Workaround:
Problem: Can’t scale or move wallpapers
We’ve seen several complaints about the difficulty of scaling photos
for use as wallpapers. It will quite often zoom in on the photo and cut
heads off at the top. We think this is down to the parallax effect.
We’ve got three possible fixes for you to try.
Potential solutions:
- Turn the parallax effect off by turning Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion to on. You should notice much less zooming and be able to crop correctly.
- Create the exact right size of wallpaper and remember that a 200 pixel border all the way round your image will not appear in the central screen.
- Open the photo you want to use and tap on it so the menus disappear,
then take a screenshot (press Home and Sleep/Wake together) and use the
screenshot as your wallpaper.
Problem: Home button or Sleep/Wake button not responsive
A few iPhone owners have found that their Home button, or their
Sleep/Wake button, or both, are less responsive after the iOS 7 update.
It may take several button presses to register, and the fault can be
intermittent, working perfectly sometimes then refusing to respond. We
haven’t found a definite fix, but there are a couple of possibilities.
Potential solutions:
- Go to Settings > General > Accessibility and try toggling Switch Control on and off again.
- Back up your iPhone with iCloud and try restoring it.
- Take it to an Apple Store and show them, although you can expect a
big charge for a replacement phone if you’re out of warranty. It might
be cheaper to try and get a button replacement at a local repair shop.
Glitch: Ringer volume too low
A lot of people have been reporting that the ringer volume on their
iPhone is much lower after the update to iOS 7 and that it’s causing
them to miss incoming calls. This seems to impact various models and
there’s no definite fix that works for everyone, but there are a few
things worth trying that seem to have worked for some people. We’re
going to assume you’ve tried going to
Settings > Sounds and using the volume rocker to turn the volume up.
Workaround: Create your own ringtone using a song and crank the volume up.
Potential solutions:
- Go to Settings > Sounds and toggle Change with Buttons then try and use your volume rocker.
- Try going to Settings > Music and turn Sound Check off.
Glitch: Refreshing apps after switch
A number of people have been complaining about the fact that certain
apps seem to refresh themselves after multitasking by switching to
another app and then returning. For example, Safari refreshes and takes
you back to the top of the page instead of returning you to where you
were, or Facebook dumps you back at the top of your feed instead of
where you were scrolling. Even iBooks sometimes refreshes and takes you
back to the bookshelf before loading back to the page where you were.
This seems likely to be a memory issue, and it could be related to
the time between switching, but it’s not clear. If it is a memory issue,
then that would explain why people with older devices seem to encounter
the problem more. Sufferers have reported that this is not related to
Settings > General > Background App Refresh and changing those settings has no impact.
Workarounds:
- If you switch within a few seconds then the refresh is less likely
to happen. The longer the gap before you return, the more likely it will
refresh.
Potential solutions:
- Some people reported temporary success after a hard reset, others
found that performing a complete restore worked for them, but there is
no consistent fix because for other users a reset or restore has not
solved the problem.
- Apple is apparently investigating, so complain about any issue you
encounter and report details and it might help speed up an update fix.
We’ll keep you posted.
Problem: Unresponsive touchscreen
There have been a few reports of people finding that the touchscreen
on their iPad or iPhone is unresponsive after the iOS 7 update. This
seems to occur intermittently. Sometimes after a call, or when loading
or exiting an app, the screen will just stop registering any touch input
at all. There is a theory that this might be a hidden message about
battery life or some other message that you can’t see which is disabling
the rest of the screen for touch input. That would explain why the
workarounds will only temporarily fix it.
Workarounds:
- Launch Siri and tell it to launch an app for you.
- Press and hold the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button until the
screen goes blank and you see the Apple logo to restart the device.
- Try restoring the device using iTunes.
Potential solutions:
- A fix via an update from Apple seems likely. In the meantime you
should report the issue to Apple or take your device in to an Apple
Store and show them the problem.
Problem: App downloads appear stuck on “Waiting”
Recently, an issue has arisen for users downloading updates for apps.
Rather than the app downloading and installing the update, the app icon
simply displays “Waiting” and never progresses past this point.
Potential Solutions:
- Performing a hard reset. Do this by holding down the Home button and
the sleep/wake button at the same time. It appears to fix the problem.
- Open the App Store and log out of your Apple account. Reboot the
device. Upon restart, log back in, open the App Store, and retry the
download.
- Turned off the Automatic Update option by going to Settings > iTunes & App Store > Automatic Downloads > Updates. Delete the app currently marked as “Waiting” and re-download it from the App Store.
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