HOW TO Troubleshoot your iOS issues

1 Find the app

If an app causes problems and is still open, close it and try opening it again. If it’s unresponsive, force it to quit. Double-click the Home button (or swipe up from the bottom and hold a second on iPhone X) to open the app switcher.

2 Force the app to quit

Swipe horizontally to find the app, then swipe upwards on its preview to force the app to quit. On iPhone X, hold your finger on an app’s thumbnail until red minus buttons appear, then swipe upwards on the one you want to quit.

3 Shut down

If restarting the app doesn’t fix the problem, shut down your device by holding the Sleep/Wake button and using the slider to turn it off. Once it has fully shut down, start it up as normal and then check for updates in the App Store.

4 Back up to iCloud

Before trying anything more involved, make a backup of your device. To do so using iCloud, connect to Wi-Fi, then go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and enable this feature. Start a manual backup and let it finish.

5 Back up to iTunes

To back up using iTunes instead, open iTunes on your Mac, connect your device, click its icon at the top left, then click Back Up Now. Once the backup is complete, eject the device and then disconnect it from your Mac.

6 Remove the app

First, try iOS 11’s ability to manually offload apps, which only deletes the app from your device, not its data. If that doesn’t work, hold a finger on the app’s Home screen icon till it jiggles, tap the X that appears on it, then tap Delete.

7 Reinstall the app

In the App Store, tap Today in the bottom bar, then your profile image at the top of the page, and then Purchased. Tap Not on this iPhone/iPad, locate the app in the list of past purchases, and tap the download icon to reinstall the app.

8 Reset settings

Turn off Find My iPhone/iPad in Settings > [your name] > iCloud. If you have a Watch, it’s wise to unpair it now. Before trying a full factory reset, consider using Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings as your next step.

9 A full erase and restore

Next, reset your device in Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. Reinstall the app and see if it works. If it does, reset again, restore from your last backup and try again. If the issue returns, seek the developer’s help.