iOS 11 Error: how to fix them

iOS 11 troubleshooting begins right here

You can fix many iOS 11 problems by downloading the iOS 11.2 update today, which fixes the extremely problematic phone restarting error many experienced after December 2.

But the software still isn't flawless for some users, likely in part because of how rushed this update was. While all of the discovered errors are rather minor (your phone does still work), there are a lot of random problems.

Don't fret, this is routine for Apple's yearly iPhone and iPad update. Your biggest hurdle is that with so many devices, so many carriers, and so many various settings you may have ticked that others don't, there are minor problems you and you alone might face with iOS 11.

From issues getting the new iOS 11 update downloaded and installed on your device and problems the new operating system seems to have caused for your device to things just not being quite how you want them, we’ll take a close look at all the problems with iOS 11 and what you can do to try getting past them.

Watch our iOS 11 overview video for a rundown of the key features Apple's latest OS introduces.

1. iPhone Crashing again and again

iPhone users running iOS 11.1.2 may have run into a problem where their devices crashes and restarts. This issue started on December 2 and is related to notifications created on the device, like daily reminders or alarms. If you're experiencing this issue, the simplest solution is to try updating to iOS 11.2, which was released early to address this very problem. If you're struggling to install the update because your phone crashes, you may try an alternative fixes, which involve disabling local notifications or adjusting the date to a time before December 2.

2. A with a question mark box is replacing 'i'

There's no 'i' in iPhone – at least for some people who have updated to iOS 11. They're seeing the letter 'i' be replaced by an 'A' followed by a question mark box symbol. No, it's not a Super Mario 1-up, it's an autocorrect error.

Apple patched this issue with iOS 11.1.1. If you're not updating, you can follow these steps:

Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement.
Tap the plus sign in the top right corner
For Phrase, type an upper-case "I". For Shortcut, type a lower-case "i."

Apple fixed this widespread enough iOS 11 problem with iOS 11.1.1 and it should stay cleared up in the latest 11.2 update as well.

2. Your iOS 11 camera settings keep changing

This is one we got from a TechRadar reader via Twitter: your camera settings reset as soon as you close out the default camera app. That's annoying, right?

The good news is that, as we explain, this is meant to happen. It's actually an easily missed feature introduced with iOS 10 and a part of iOS 11, too.

You can keep modes (like video or square), filters and studio lighting effects, and live photos locked if you visit the Preserve Settings in the Camera settings menu.

3. Can’t connect to a Wi-Fi network

One user has reported that their iPhone no longer allows them to join their personal Wi-Fi network, and they probably won’t be alone in this.

Some preliminary steps to try resolving this issue would be to reset your phone, reset the Wi-Fi router (even if other devices are clearly connected to the internet through it) or forget the Wi-Fi network on your device and rejoin.

You can also attempt to reset the network settings of your device by going to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings – don’t worry, this fix shouldn’t erase anything on your phone.

However, the user who posted this issue tried many of these fixes to no success, so it may be a case of reverting back to iOS 10 and waiting for a fix to come from Apple.

4. Poor battery life with iOS 11

It seems that every new version of iOS invariably comes with a whole host of complaints that older iPhones have their battery life severely impacted. If your battery is dying early and it’s not simply because you’re spending more time playing with all the new features and learning all the new iOS 11 tricks, there are a lot of things that could be at the root of it.

Older apps may not be playing nice with iOS 11. You can check to see if that’s the case by going into Settings > Battery and seeing which apps are using the most battery. If any apps that you hardly use are draining it like crazy, you might want to disable them until they get more iOS 11-friendly updates.

It may also just be that it takes a little time for iOS 11 to get comfy with your device. This process could take a few days, so you might want to just wait it out. In the meantime, you can turn off GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth when you’re not using them. You should also lower the brightness of your screen and disable apps refreshing in the background (Settings > General > Background App Refresh).

5. Some apps are gone or not working properly

If you’ve been dragging along some old apps from phone to phone for a while now without updating them (either because you don’t update them or because the creator won’t update them) they may not work well with iOS 11. If they’re old enough, or still 32-Bit, they won’t be compatible with iOS 11.

If you haven’t updated yet, you can use our guide to determine which apps will work with iOS 11.

6. Your iPhone’s suddenly filling up its storage

Some users have reported that the update to iOS 11 began to slowly increase the system storage on their device until the device was almost full, even on the latest iPhones. This error doesn’t appear to be linked to specific apps, but rather just the storage that the system itself takes up. This is an issue that has cropped up even in the Beta for iOS 11. Issues like this come and go, and it's not clear if it has been resolved for most users, but at least one user has reported that iOS 11.2 resolved their problem.

7. The Home button is slow to wake up the device

Multiple Apple users have posted that, after updating their old iPhones to iOS 11, their lock screen freezes for around 10 seconds, appearing to stall out or slowly load up before letting them use their device. Nothing could be more tedious than waiting around for 10 seconds just to check a notifications now and then. This is the type of problem that may resolve itself over time, as the new operating system gets familiar with your device and files. If the issue hasn't resolved itself, it may be time to look at updating to 11.2 if you haven't already, or using an old restore point to go back to iOS 10.

8. Your device is overheating

There are plenty of reasons a phone can overheat, and complaints seem to crop up around new software updates. Maybe it’s iOS 11’s fault, or maybe it just that your phone is working hard. In any case, you can temporarily address the overheating by turning the phone off, keeping it out of the sunlight or other heat sources (like the top of your computer) and exposing as much surface area as possible to the air (which means taking it out of any case and potentially propping it up. It’s worth noting that charging your device won’t help cool it down any, so wait until it’s cool to plug it back in.

If your habits haven’t changed and your device is continuously overheating when it didn’t usually before, it may be time for you to consider restoring an earlier backup of your device. A short battery life may be annoying, but overheating can seriously damage your device, and iTunes won’t restore a fried CPU.

9. Power button isn’t working

If something goes wrong with the update and your power button stops working, you can shut your device down in the menus. To do this, go to Setting>General, and scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, where you’ll see a “Shut down” option that will give you a slider on screen to turn your device off. This is especially handy if you are trying to restart or power down the phone because something else is going wrong, such as overheating.

10. iOS 11 won’t let you send email with Outlook/Exchange

Apple has acknowledged a bug that’s preventing some iOS 11 users from sending emails through certain Microsoft-run servers. The error message says “Cannot Send Mail. The message was rejected by the server.” If this is the case for you, you're likely running on an older versions of iOS 11. The problem has been fixed as of iOS 11.0.1, so updating should resolve the issue.

11. Visual Voicemail isn't working

Some users of the iOS 11.2 beta noted that Visual Voicemail wasn't working for them. And, unfortunately, it appears that the issue continues to persist, having been around even since the early days of iOS 11. If you're experiencing this problem, restarting the phone may help, or restarting the app. Some users have reported success by calling to listen to their voicemail and letting the phone listen to the whole voicemail, then exiting the relaunching the app.

12. Music controls missing from lock screen

Having music controls handy right on the lock screen of the device is great for music lovers. Pausing and switching songs shouldn't involve unlocking and navigating your phone in the modern day. But, issues with music controls have been popping up all around iOS 11, including in Beta testing. Apple has a fix though, and it's iOS 11.2. If you're experiencing this issue and not on the latest version of iOS, try updating to resolve the problem.

13. Calculator spitting out wrong answers

Another problem associated with earlier versions of iOS 11 might not have been noticed by many, but it could be bad news for anyone relying on their phone to do calculations. The built-in calculator app struggled with numbers that were input quickly, and could misunderstand what users were inputting. Once again, updating to iOS 11.2 should resolve this hiccup.

14. Control Center isn’t how you want it, lacks features you want, or has features you don’t want

Control Center is Apple’s handy new way of controlling many aspects of your device, whether that's disconnecting from Wi-Fi or quickly switching songs. You may have heard all about what Control Center can do only to find that it doesn’t have all those features right there and ready for you when you install iOS 11. Or it may seem cluttered with tools you don’t think you’ll ever use. Luckily this is an easy fix, as you can customize the iOS 11 Control Center by going to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls.

15. Control Center keeps on popping up while playing games

As handy as Control Center is intended to be, Apple made sure you could easily access it simply by swiping up from the bottom of your device’s screen. Unfortunately, this can mean you accidentally swipe it onto the screen when you’re in the middle of using an app or playing a game. You can disable this access method while in other apps by going to Settings > Control Center and disable the ability to access it within apps.

In a worst case scenario, an error while your phone or tablet is updating to iOS 11 could effectively brick it, meaning it won’t start up. Fewer things more frightening can happen to a device packed with photos and videos and memories. But, if you’ve been listening carefully, you’ve already made a backup of your phone. You should be able to use this to restore your phone to its state before you tried installing the update, or whichever start it was in when you created the backup.