You'd think that by now, Apple would have ironed out every single wrinkle in iOS 18. We're well into 2026, and yet, a quick scroll through any support forum feels like stepping back into 2024. People are still yelling about their batteries dying by lunchtime. It's wild. Honestly, I’ve seen fewer complaints about vintage cars than I have about some of the issues with iOS 18 that just won't seem to stay buried.
Apple recently moved to a year-based numbering system for their updates, which means we’ve technically seen "iOS 26" roll out, but a massive chunk of the world—nearly 70% according to Statcounter—is still clinging to iOS 18.7. Why? Because the newer versions feel like they’re being held together by digital duct tape. But staying on the "stable" 18.x branch doesn't mean you’re living in a bug-free paradise. Far from it.
The Battery Drain That Never Dies
It’s the classic. You update, and suddenly your iPhone 15 Pro feels more like a heated brick than a smartphone. In the first 48 hours, that’s normal—indexing photos and rebuilding the Spotlight database takes juice. But we’re seeing reports of users months into the update who are still losing 20% of their charge while the phone sits on a nightstand.
There’s this weird bug where "Home & Lock Screen" activity shows up as the top battery consumer. How does a static screen eat 40% of your power? It's basically a ghost in the machine. Apple’s official stance is usually "check your battery health," but when someone with 96% capacity is seeing their phone die at 50% randomly, that’s not a hardware failure. That’s a software mess.
One thing that’s genuinely annoying: the "Liquid Glass" feature in the newer updates. It was supposed to be this revolutionary UI overhaul, but it's such a resource hog that it makes the transition back to iOS 18 feel snappy by comparison. Even so, iOS 18 has its own lag. The keyboard stutters. You type a sentence, and the letters appear three seconds later like they’re traveling through a long-distance tunnel.
Connectivity and the Blue-Tooth Blues
If you’ve tried to connect your AirPods lately and ended up just staring at a spinning wheel, you’re not alone. Bluetooth stability has been a recurring nightmare. There’s a specific issue dubbed "WhisperPair" that security researchers at Malwarebytes have flagged. Essentially, it exposes Bluetooth devices to potential tracking, but for most of us, the bigger problem is the connection just... dropping.
- WiFi Drops: Your phone shows full bars, but nothing loads.
- The "Incorrect Password" Loop: You know the password is right. Your Mac is connected. Your iPad is connected. But your iPhone insists you're wrong.
- CarPlay Ghosting: This is the worst. You’re driving, using Maps, and the whole system just goes black.
Fixing this usually involves the "nuclear option"—Reset Network Settings. It’s a pain because it wipes all your saved WiFi passwords, but it’s often the only way to kick the system back into gear.
The Apple Intelligence Letdown
Remember the hype? Siri was supposed to become our digital best friend. Instead, "Siri 2.0" has been delayed so many times it’s becoming a meme. We were promised on-screen awareness and deep app integration. Instead, we got a "smarter" Siri that still struggles to set a timer if you have a weak cellular signal.
A lot of the internal frustration at Apple—reported by folks like Mark Gurman—stems from the fact that the backend for these AI features is split. There's a "legacy" system for basic tasks and a "new" system for advanced ones. They don't talk to each other well. This results in Siri getting "confused" mid-sentence. You ask for a weather report, it starts to answer, then suddenly asks if you want to call your mom. It’s bizarre.
Security is the Real Reason to Worry
Here is the part where I have to be the bearer of bad news. While many of us stay on iOS 18 because it feels more "reliable" than the buggy mess of iOS 26, we’re leaving the door wide open for hackers.
Just this month, Apple confirmed that two critical WebKit vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild. These aren't "maybe" bugs; they are "someone is currently using this to steal data" bugs. The catch? Apple is increasingly pushing the fixes only to the newest OS versions. If you’re sticking with iOS 18, you’re essentially staying in a house with a broken lock because you like the wallpaper better.
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It’s a tough spot. You want a phone that works, but you also want a phone that’s safe.
How to Actually Fix These Issues with iOS 18
If you aren't ready to jump to the newest version yet, you have to get aggressive with your settings. You can't just leave it on default and hope for the best.
1. Force a Restart (The Right Way)
No, not just turning it off and on. You need the "Hard Reset" combo. Volume Up, Volume Down, then hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears. Do not slide to power off. Hold that button like your life depends on it. This clears out temporary cache files that a regular reboot ignores.
2. Kill Background App Refresh
Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Turn it off. Seriously. You don't need Facebook or LinkedIn updating in the background at 3 AM. It’s one of the biggest contributors to the "Home & Lock Screen" battery drain.
3. The Accessibility Back Button Glitch
There’s a weird bug where the back button in Settings gets mislabeled. If you go into Accessibility, then back out and go into the Apps menu, the back button will still say "Accessibility." It’s harmless but annoying. The only real fix is to force-close the Settings app and start over.
4. Manage Your Storage
iOS 18 hates being full. If you have less than 10GB of free space, the system starts to "swap" memory to the disk, which is way slower. This is why your keyboard lags. Delete those 4K videos of your cat. It'll help.
5. Check Your Privacy Settings
Some of the connectivity issues are caused by "Private WiFi Address." If your home network is acting up, go to your WiFi settings, tap the "i" next to your network, and toggle Private WiFi Address off and then back on. Sometimes the "handshake" between the router and the iPhone gets corrupted.
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6. The Battery Health Reality Check
If your battery health is below 80%, no amount of software tweaking will help. At that point, the lithium-ion cells are physically degraded. The software will "throttle" your CPU to prevent the phone from shutting down unexpectedly. That’s why it feels slow. If you're at 79%, just get the battery replaced. It’s cheaper than a new phone and fixes 90% of the lag.
The reality of issues with iOS 18 in 2026 is that we’re dealing with a fragmented system. Apple is racing toward an AI-first future, and the "old" reliable software is getting left in the dust. It’s frustrating. You pay a thousand dollars for a device, you expect it to work perfectly for more than two years.
Next Steps for Your iPhone:
Check your battery health immediately. If it's above 85% and you're still seeing massive drain, back up your phone to a Mac or PC (not just iCloud), wipe it completely, and do a "Clean Install." It’s a nuclear move, but it’s the only way to strip out the legacy bugs that accumulate through years of over-the-air updates.