I updated to iOS 26. I didn't install any beta, just the official. one. And this iPad is lagging so much. It's not like it's freezing completely, but some animations are just clunky and uncomfortable to watch (exiting and entering apps). I don't know what to do. Should I go back to iOS 18? I don't even know how. Should I wait for Apple to release something to fix it?
[Edited by Moderator]
Original Title: My iPad lags on iOS 26
iPad Air, iPadOS 26
Or, just give it 3-4 days to finish indexing the files from the update that are being performed in the background. There is also optimizations work going on for your photos with object detection algorithms. Those background processes do consume CPU resources, but that should be completed shortly. Best to leave it plugged in when not in use.
Or, just give it 3-4 days to finish indexing the files from the update that are being performed in the background. There is also optimizations work going on for your photos with object detection algorithms. Those background processes do consume CPU resources, but that should be completed shortly. Best to leave it plugged in when not in use.
afekt wrote:
iPad Pro M1 Terabyte model here, and after updating to iOS26 has brought sticky screens, stop-motion movement, unusable websites, and Safari feels like Mozilla Netscape circa 1998. The new experience of overheating where the back is hot to fry an egg, apps freeze, windows stick, and notes now make me angry. I open to write, no keyboard, try and close it - tap, tap, tap, TAP! OK, swipe away notes, to move on… oh wham!, the AI writing tools pop up out of nowhere! Where’s my keyboard again. OK overheating again, alert it has stopped charging. I need some fresh air. OK, Let’s get back to work, swipe, swipe, OK why can’t I get past my lock screen- no face id launching, no keyboard. Swipe! This is the new experience now, no restart the iPad up from a hard shut down. OK, back, wait where is my virtual keyboard again?
and my Apple Pencil will not connect. Apple needs to fix this or they will have larger groups of customers getting louder and frustrated that their expensive iPad Pro has become a relic. If this was just an oddity on my device, it would be one thing, but my neighbor and my sister-in-law now ( both with M3) have stuck screens and hot plates to brew coffees on. Both for the first time have experienced overheating.
p.s. this actual form field was stuck and my keyboard again again, so I had to post then edit my message here to fix some typos. 😤
I have an iPad Pro M1, 1TB, successfully updated to iPadOS 26.0.1 - and haven't experienced the difficulties that you have outlined here. That said, clearly something is wrong with your iPad.
If your iPad is not operating as expected, try a forced-restart - as this will often clear an isolated software issue:
Force restart iPad (models with Face ID or with Touch ID in the top button)
If your iPad doesn’t have the Home button, do the following:
If the problem persists after performing the restart, it may be necessary to reset your iPad settings. While this reset will not cause any loss of data, as a precaution, it is always wise to ensure that you have a current iCloud or iTunes backup before performing the reset:
How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support
When you are happy to proceed, you can perform the reset from iPad settings:
Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings
If the problem still doesn’t clear, the next step is to reset the iPad to factory settings - which will install a fresh copy of the most recent version of iPadOS supported by your iPad:
Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support
Otherwise, you would be best advised to seek assistance directly from Apple Support. You can contact the Support Team using the Support link at top-right or bottom-left of this page. Alternatively and perhaps easier, you can initiate and manage your support cases using the excellent Apple Support App. If not already installed on your iPad, the App can be downloaded from the App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-support/id1130498044
You might also visit the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) - where the technicians will be able to test and assess your iPad - and you can explore your available options:
GregSlabaugh wrote:
Mine too. I have a 2024 M4 IPad Pro - very often the screen is unresponsive when I tap to select a contact to send a text message, to tap submit on certain forms, and many other locations. My ipad is almost unusable
Aside from a hardware fault, there is no technical reason that your iPad Pro M4 should perform sub-optimally with iPadOS 26.0.1 - at the time of writing, this being the current production release of iPadOS 26.
If your iPad is not operating as expected, try a forced-restart - as this will often clear an isolated software issue:
Force restart iPad (models with Face ID or with Touch ID in the top button)
If your iPad doesn’t have the Home button, do the following:
If the problem persists after performing the restart, it may be necessary to reset your iPad settings. While this reset will not cause any loss of data, as a precaution, it is always wise to ensure that you have a current iCloud or iTunes backup before performing the reset:
How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support
When you are happy to proceed, you can perform the reset from iPad settings:
Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings
If the problem still doesn’t clear, the next step is to reset the iPad to factory settings:
Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support
Otherwise, you would be best advised to seek assistance directly from Apple Support. You can contact the Support Team using the Support link at top-right or bottom-left of this page. Alternatively and perhaps easier, you can initiate and manage your support cases using the excellent Apple Support App. If not already installed on your iPad, the App can be downloaded from the App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-support/id1130498044
You might also visit the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) - where the technicians will be able to test and assess your iPad - and you can explore your available options:
Hello~ I agree with *David M Brewer*. You can’t downgrade to a lower iOS as it’s not supported anyway. You may find that a restart or forced restart helps…
Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
~Katana-San~
Katana-San wrote:
Hello~ I agree with *David M Brewer*. You can’t downgrade to a lower iOS as it’s not supported anyway. You may find that a restart or forced restart helps…
Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
~Katana-San~
There is a misconception about doing a source restart. You should only do a force restart if the device or computer is not responsive. If you can still restart or shut down is the better way to go. If you do a force restart on on a device or computer that is still responsive you can corrupt the hard drive if something in the background is being written to the hard drive. Best to restart the normal way if you can.
Restarting did the trick! It now run’s smoothly.
hmibrooklyn wrote:
There are few, if any, bugs that affect absolutely all users and configurations. When a problem is reported widely, it is a safe bet that there is some general issue, and the universal common factor is the OS. One of the reasons that tech support often asks for system logs is to search for other common factors.
But the fact that not everyone is affected or affected the same way, doesn't rule out OS issues.
The way to determine that is to Factory Reset the device and do not restore from a backup to test. You then have a device that contains the software as if it were new. That is a direct comparison to everyone else with a default setup, so any issue you experience that is unique to you, points to a local network or hardware problem.
This video was posted above by someone else; I'll try to quote the actual post in a few, but THIS made a significant improvement on my iPad....
Disabling "Windowed apps" - which of course is the DEFAULT that is enabled with iPadOS26..... that helped with my biggest issue.
I still need to test & play with it more, but it seemed to help with my biggest complaint, which is when I'd swipe up & hold to get to app switcher, it would hang, stumble & stutter for about 1-2 seconds. Doesn't sound like much, but it was def enough of a lag / delay to be painfully obvious and extremely time wasting & annoying.
[Edited by Moderator]
To fix this issue (temporarily), it’s best to go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Turn on Reduce Transparency. If continues, do a factory reset.
l2ez4_41 wrote:
Dear Apple Support Team,
I hope this message finds you well.
I am writing to request the re-enablement of iOS 18 signing for my device. My iPad model is iPad13,18 (10th generation Wi-Fi). After updating to iPadOS 26.1, my device has become significantly slower. Despite several days passing, the performance has not improved. Additionally, my iPad has 4GB of RAM, which is not sufficient for the smooth operation of iOS 26.1.
Therefore, I would like to request the possibility to downgrade back to iOS 18, as it was previously signed and is still available via OTA. I kindly ask for your assistance in re-enabling the signing for iOS 18 for my device.
Thank you very much for your support and understanding.
Please understand the Apple Support Community is a user-to-user technical forum. Contributors here are all end-users, just like you. Other than the site Moderators, Apple neither monitor nor participate here. As such, if you hope to reach Apple through these forums, you will be disappointed.
Apple invite submission of comments and requests via its Product Feedback portal. If you would like Apple to reconsider is policy and/or technical decisions, this would be the most appropriate channel through which to make a request:
LotusPilot wrote:
l2ez4_41 wrote:
Dear Apple Support Team,
I hope this message finds you well.
I am writing to request the re-enablement of iOS 18 signing for my device. My iPad model is iPad13,18 (10th generation Wi-Fi). After updating to iPadOS 26.1, my device has become significantly slower. Despite several days passing, the performance has not improved. Additionally, my iPad has 4GB of RAM, which is not sufficient for the smooth operation of iOS 26.1.
Therefore, I would like to request the possibility to downgrade back to iOS 18, as it was previously signed and is still available via OTA. I kindly ask for your assistance in re-enabling the signing for iOS 18 for my device.
Thank you very much for your support and understanding.
Please understand the Apple Support Community is a user-to-user technical forum. Contributors here are all end-users, just like you. Other than the site Moderators, Apple neither monitor nor participate here. As such, if you hope to reach Apple through these forums, you will be disappointed.
Apple invite submission of comments and requests via its Product Feedback portal. If you would like Apple to reconsider is policy and/or technical decisions, this would be the most appropriate channel through which to make a request:
Feedback - iPad - Apple
To add too… once Apple pulls downgrading to the previous iOS firmware it’s gone forever. I think Apple gives user 24 hours to be able to revert to the previous iOS firmware.
aaa1155 wrote:
Same problem here as others seem to be experiencing … iPadOS 26 has made Safari on my M1 iPad Pro completely ususable.
Sounds like you are having a network issue. Do you have a VPN installed?
No trouble browsing with Safari on my end. Have you tried resetting your Network Settings at Settings > General > Transfer or Reset [Device] > Reset > Reset Network Settings. This will reset your WiFi password, so it will need to be entered again the first time you log into WiFi.
I'm having similar issues with lagging scrolling, turning pages in Kindle, delays between tapping a button and the action its supposed to trigger, etc.
So far, restarting is usually a solution, but it's temporary, as the lags will be back in a day or two.
It’s not just you, it’s really quite bad. I’m honestly not sure how it passed QC.
The ProRes display on my new-ish (6 months) iPad Pro is slowing to a CRAWL at about 26-48 FPS (it varies slightly) while scrolling, animating, or even just swiping between Home Screen pages. This is a far cry from the 120 it should be (and was previously). Seems like a segment of code was poorly written somewhere in the UI thread because it does speed back up every few seconds before slowing again.
Some have mentioned a reset or wipe may fix it, since my iPad is for development purposes I have wiped it numerous times and the issue persists, so YMMV.
[Edited by Moderator]
iPad Pro M1 Terabyte model here, and after updating to iOS26 has brought sticky screens, stop-motion movement, unusable websites, and Safari feels like Mozilla Netscape circa 1998. The new experience of overheating where the back is hot to fry an egg, apps freeze, windows stick, and notes now make me angry. I open to write, no keyboard, try and close it - tap, tap, tap, TAP! OK, swipe away notes, to move on… oh wham!, the AI writing tools pop up out of nowhere! Where’s my keyboard again. OK overheating again, alert it has stopped charging. I need some fresh air. OK, Let’s get back to work, swipe, swipe, OK why can’t I get past my lock screen- no face id launching, no keyboard. Swipe! This is the new experience now, no restart the iPad up from a hard shut down. OK, back, wait where is my virtual keyboard again?
and my Apple Pencil will not connect. Apple needs to fix this or they will have larger groups of customers getting louder and frustrated that their expensive iPad Pro has become a relic. If this was just an oddity on my device, it would be one thing, but my neighbor and my sister-in-law now ( both with M3) have stuck screens and hot plates to brew coffees on. Both for the first time have experienced overheating.
p.s. this actual form field was stuck and my keyboard again again, so I had to post then edit my message here to fix some typos. 😤
My iPad is slow and laggy after iPadOS 26 update
