- An iPhone that keeps restarting after iOS 26 update is a serious but uncommon problem.
- If you can, back up your iPhone’s data to iCloud or your computer so you don’t lose all your personal data if catastrophe strikes.
- Here are the most common troubleshooting steps you can try to fix an iPhone that keeps restarting after iOS 26 update.
Does your iPhone keep restarting after iOS 26 update? An iPhone that is stuck in a restart loop is unusable. You see the black screen with the wheel in the middle, but as soon as your iPhone turns on, it turns back off on it’s own.
If your iPhone keeps crashing after upgrading to iOS 26, don’t worry, there are some simple steps you can take to troubleshoot and fix the problem.
Why Does My iPhone Keep Restarting on iOS 26?
Your iPhone keep restarting on iOS 26 because of a software problem. I decided to write this article after a friend messaged me asking for help. His iPhone began restarting randomly after he updated to iOS 26. This problem isn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.
If you’re seeing the black screen with the white wheel in the middle of your iPhone, or if your iPhone just keeps restarting, you’re in the right place. We’ll start with the simplest fixes and get more complicated as we go.
Back up your iPhone
The first thing you should do if your iPhone keeps crashing after iOS 26 update is to back up your device. If your iPhone is continuously restarting so frequently that it’s not usable at all, this step may not apply to you. But if you can, back up your iPhone to iCloud or your computer because, if your phone’s hardware is failing, you might not get many more chances to safeguard your data and could lose everything stored on your iPhone.
How to fix iPhone keeps restarting after iOS 26 update
Force-restart your iPhone
If your iPhone is stuck in a loop of endless restarts after iOS 26 update, you might be able to break the cycle by performing a hard reset. Press and quickly release the volume up button, then quickly press and release the volume down button, then press and hold the side button. Release the Side button when the Apple logo appears on the screen.
Make sure your iPhone is running the latest iOS 26 version
It’s possible that a critical bug or some other incompatibility in your current version of iOS 26 is causing your iPhone to keep restarting. Luckily, Apple releases bugs for software issues all the time, and this problem may have been resolved by the time you read this article! To check if a new iOS 26 update is available, go to Settings and then tap General. Tap Software Update. If there’s an update available, install it.
Determine If An App Is Causing Your iPhone To Restart
It’s very rare for an app to cause an iPhone to restart or turn on and off repeatedly. For the most part, the software on your iPhone is shielded from problem apps. That being said, there are over 1.9 million apps in the App Store and they’re not all perfect.
If you installed an app just before your iPhone entered a restart loop, uninstall that app and see if the problem resolves itself.
If not, you can still check a log that your iPhone generates to see if there’s an easy-to-spot problem. Open the Settings app and then tap Privacy & Security. Tap Analytics & Improvements and then tap Analytics Data. Here you’ll see a long list of reports. They’re not especially easy to read, but you should scan the most recent reports to see if a specific app is mentioned more than once. If so, it might be causing critical errors. Uninstall the app and see if that solves your problem.
Even if you don’t have any leads on a problematic app, you should still make sure they’re all up to date. Open the App Store app and tap your account icon at the upper-right. If any apps require an update, you should see a section called Available Updates. Tap Update All.
Reset all your settings
Your iPhone manages a lot of settings — everything from WiFi passwords and network configurations to location and privacy settings. While it’s not likely any of these settings are causing your iPhone to randomly restart, it’s a possibility.
The most likely culprit is your network settings, so you should reset that first and see if it solves your problem. Open the Settings app and then tap General. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone, followed by Reset. Finally, tap Reset Network Settings and confirm you want to do this.
If that doesn’t solve your problem, then you can come back to the Reset menu and choose Reset All Settings. This will erase a broader range of personalized settings, so save it for a close-to-last resort.
Reset your iPhone to factory conditions
If absolutely nothing has made your iPhone stop restarting, you’re down to your final option before contacting Apple for customer support: Reset the iPhone to its factory conditions, erasing all apps and data stored on it. If the problem is caused by any sort of software glitch, this will fix your iPhone.
When you factory reset your iPhone, remember not to let iOS automatically restore your apps and data right away. Start with a “factory fresh” iPhone and see if the restarting problem is fixed. If it is, you might try to restore your data. If the problem returns, you’ll need to factory reset your iPhone and then manually reinstall apps from scratch — do not restore from a backup, because the glitch causing the problem is somewhere in your data. You’ll need to start fresh.
Contact Apple for customer support
If you’ve tried all these troubleshooting steps and your iPhone still keeps restarting on iOS 26, it’s likely the problem is not software related, but you have a hardware problem. That’s not something you can solve on your own, so you should contact Apple’s customer support and see if the phone needs to be serviced or replaced.
You can also visit your local Apple Store to get help. If you choose to do so, make sure you have an appointment with the Genius Bar so you don’t have to wait in line for long.
iPhone: Not Restarting Any More!
By this point, I hope we’ve fixed the problem that caused your iPhone to keep restarting after updating to iOS 26. I’d like to hear your experience in the comments section below, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
