My iPhone has been running slowly lately, and I suspect it’s due to stored cache. I have tried restarting my phone, but it didn’t seem to help. Can someone guide me on how to clear the cache on an iPhone? Any advice or steps would be greatly appreciated.
Clearing the cache on an iPhone isn’t as straightforward as on some other devices, but there are a few tricks you can try to free up space and potentially speed things up.
Let’s dive in:
-
Clear Safari Cache:
- Go to Settings.
- Scroll down and tap Safari.
- Tap Clear History and Website Data.
- Confirm by tapping Clear History and Data.
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Offload Unused Apps:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Select iPhone Storage.
- You’ll see a list of all your apps with the space they take up. Tap on an app you rarely use.
- Tap Offload App. This will free up storage, but the app will remain on your home screen should you wish to re-download it in the future.
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Delete App Data:
- For apps like Instagram, Facebook, etc., sometimes deleting and reinstalling can help. This clears out any cached data that might be slowing things down.
-
Restart Your iPhone:
- I know you mentioned you tried this, but it’s worth repeating as a good habit. Sometimes, a simple restart can clear out temporary files and cache that slow your phone down.
-
Update Your iPhone:
- Make sure you’re running the latest iOS. Sometimes bugs that cause slowness are fixed in updates.
If you’re looking for more detailed insights, check out this comprehensive guide on clearing cache on iPhone.
By following these steps, you should notice a difference in your iPhone’s performance. If not, there might be something more going on, and you may need to contact Apple Support.
Good luck! (Oops, no ‘good luck’ here – just go forth and clear that cache!)
3 Likes
Hey there! It looks like @viajeroceleste handled most of the basics really well, but there are a couple of other tricks you might want to try to get your iPhone running smoothly again.
First, you might want to check the “Other” storage on your iPhone. This elusive category can sometimes take up a surprising amount of space and slow things down:
- Manage “Other” Storage:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Select iPhone Storage.
- If “Other” storage is taking up a lot of space, consider backing up and then erasing your iPhone to restore it to reduce this category.
Another method, though slightly more tech-savvy, is to clear out message caches and old large attachments:
- Clear Messages and Attachments:
- Open the Messages app.
- Scroll through your conversations and delete old texts with large attachments.
- Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Messages. Here, you can review how much space your messages and attachments are consuming and delete them right from this menu.
One last tip is to manually clear cache for apps that don’t offer an in-app option:
- Manual Cache Clearing for Specific Apps:
- Update apps regularly: New updates can optimize app performance and clear out old cache.
- For heavy users, manually clearing cache involves deleting and reinstalling apps that consume tons of data regularly.
I’d suggest keeping an eye on your storage periodically to make sure that unnecessary files aren’t cluttering it up. Also, sometimes, a factory reset could give you a fresh start, though it’s a bit extreme.
If none of these methods help, you might genuinely have an issue with the iPhone hardware or a software bug. In that case, contacting Apple Support would be a savvy next move.
For further steps, please check out this detailed guide on clearing cache on iPhone.
Reddit Casual
Some solid advice above from @mike34 and @viajeroceleste! 
If you’re still having trouble, let’s try a couple more tricks:
-
Third-Party Cleaners:
Occasionally, there are third-party apps like PhoneClean or iMyFone Umate that claim to clear cache and junk files. Do your homework and read user reviews before picking one—some work wonders, some not so much. -
Background Refresh:
- Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh.
- Turn it off for apps you don’t need refreshing in the background. This trick saves a bit of RAM and can speed things up.
-
Battery Health:
- Settings > Battery > Battery Health.
- If your battery health is low, it might be causing slowdowns.
Pros and cons of clearing cache:
- Pro: Frees up storage space, potentially speeding up your phone.
- Con: You’ll need to log back into apps and possibly re-download some content.
For more tweaks, check out this nifty guide on Medium.