Hello,
My iPhone 15 pro is currently running the beta of iOS18.3. I like it but Voiceover focus seems to be going all over the place at random.
Sometimes, when I search for an app using Braille screen Input, as I usually do, the wrong item gets opened & or clicked, multiple times in a row.
I've also had it where my phone wouldn't ring when it was supposed to, despite not being in, "Do Not Disturb."
I have done resets of all settings, multiple times & they work, but only temporarily. To that end, I'm highly considering restoring my phone then jumping back up to the beta of 18.3, out of necessity.
My phone has also been getting super hot lately. Last week, it got so hot on the left side, near where the buttons are, that I thought it was going to burn me, but thankfully, it did not. thus, I've been using it completely caseless, for the passed week or so. I do have a screen protector, so I'm good there.
I have an Apple watch series 7, which is running WatchOS 11.3 & does this thing, where it will "silently crash." Basically, Voiceover constantly plays the, "screen refresh" sound but the user cannot do anything, including simply touch the screen to see what's happening. Another thing its done, is repeat over & over, "Notification center, Notification center, Notification center" or similar. I've counted it & each time this happens, it does it at least 10 times, before stopping. Disabling & re-enabling Voiceover helps, but only temporarily.
If I did restore my phone & watch, it would need to be done today, as I work tomorrow & need them for my job.
I also have an 11-inch iPad pro, from 2021 which is exhibiting some of the same issues & has horrible battery life. I sometimes use it for my job as well & find that these days, it's nearly impossible to get through my entire shift on a single charge & I only work 4 hours.
Thus, I'm seriously considering restoring it as well.
Based on the information provided above, how do you recommend I proceed?
By KE8UPE, 6 January, 2025
Forum
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Comments
It's Beta Software
If this is a production device then you really, really shouldn't run the beta. Yes I know it often works, but still, this is a gamble you shouldn't make when there's money on the line.
That having been said. My quick take is yes, that sounds bad, and you should—quick as possible—wipe and reinstall, with the stable version, and set up the minimum viable system for you to get through the working day. You can add as necessary. Wiping your devices will certainly put them in a known-good state and clear any problematic preferences or corrupted files, but you'll have to do the work to put things back to how they were, unfortunately.
Good luck.
As indicated in my post
Hi,
that's great advice but as indicated in my post, my watch is running WatchOS 11.3 & I won't be able to setup the watch again unless I re-upgrade to the beta of IOS 18.3, or wait to restore until both updates are available publicly.
Ah Sorry, Missed That
I'd say there's still scope for a clean install. If you take a full backup first, it's cost-free—try it and if it worked you've identified the problem as being your existing config. Nothing about what you've described is normal or expected. So it's worth a try.
Similar Advice
If you can, I would downgrade to iOS 18.2 and set up your device as new (unless you have a backup from 18.2 that you can use). As for pairing watchOS 11.3 with iOS 18.2, this *might* work. I did something similar when watchOS 11.1 Beta accidentally got installed (due, presumably, to my disabling the beta updates after the 11.1 update had been downloaded and my not deleting it) and my iPhone was still on iOS 18, and surprisingly it let me no problem. Another thing you might do is wait to see if there are new betas today and try those first.
IOs18.2.1 is out!
I just received word from 9to5mac, via Mastodon that IOs18.2.1 is out.
I haven't seen anything from AppleVis about this update, so now I'm really unsure how best to proceed?
If you've got beef,…
If you've got beef, downgrade. You need a working phone.
Also, i'm running 11.3 on my watch with 18.2 on my phone and it is working fine. I mainly did this to skip over the 11.2 issues outlined on apple watch but, it should be fine if you downgrade.
It might be that when you do downgrade, you find there is a 18.2 backup in the cloud. You should make a point of backing up before getting onto beta though, it saves a lot of strife.
watch and iPhone
The watch can not brought back to previous OS unless you send it to apple. Iphone yes, probably iOS 18.2.1 because Apple removes one after update comes out. For you hope iOS 18.3 beta 2 comes out today and same for watch 11.3 beta 2. I always only install beta when it is in the letter A as Apple or RC.
devices restored
Good Morning,
Here's an update, post restore.
the phone does not get as hot but still gets warm, which is ok.
the watch got stuck at 77% while charging. I know the phone has an, "optimize battery " setting, but haven't seen one on the watch.
Does the watch have this option? I've never seen it get stuck like that. It did eventually finish charging, but its just really weird.
KE8UPE
Do a restart of the watch. It might help. It happen several times to me. Hope the restart helps.
Watch has Optimized Charging
The Apple Watch does indeed have Optimized Charging, though it shouldn't kick in immediately after a restore or setting up as new. On the Watch, go to Settings> Battery> Battery Health and turn Optimized Charge Limit off.
Also Remember
Post restore you will have a load of background indexing going on, which will settle down after a while, but in the meantime your battery readings and usage are all off. So give it some time.