How to Fix iPhone 15 Pro Max Freezing Problem

Does your iPhone 15 Pro Max keep freezing and stop responding, randomly and unexpectedly? Does it freeze when you try to answer a call, play a game, watch something or open an app? When your iPhone 15 Pro Max is frozen, the display either gets completely stuck or works sporadically. Touch inputs might not work or may register in incorrect locations, and the physical buttons may be nonfunctional as well. This article describes how to unfreeze iPhone 15 Pro Max and make it responsive again.

QUICK ANSWER

To fix a frozen iPhone 15 Pro Max screen, you will need to force-restart the device. To force restart your iPhone 15 Pro Max, press and quickly release the volume-up button. Then the same for the volume-down button. Then hold the side power button until you see the Apple logo appear on-screen.

Note: information in this article apply to iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

If your new iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max screen locks up and ignores your touch commands, it can become quite a challenge, especially if you’re unsure how to address the issue. Fortunately, there are numerous solutions to unfreeze your device.

This article has two main purposes. The first is to offer ways to unfreeze the iPhone 15 Pro Max so that it can be responsive. The second purpose is to give tips to ensure that the iPhone 15 Pro Max does not freeze again.

iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are Apple’s newest flagship iPhones. Most people seem to be happy with their new devices, however, it seems that there are also users having various issues. We have previously reported on iPhone 15 Pro overheating and plugged but not charging.

Quit all apps

Force quitting the problematic app is often the solution when a particular application is causing your iPhone 15 Pro Max to freeze. Of course, it is possible that you may not be able to do this if your screen does not respond to touch gestures (see the next section). Here is how to quit the app:

1. Swipe up from the bottom edge and pause at the center of the screen. This will open the app switcher.
2. Close all apps until nothing remains by swiping up on all of them.

If this solves the problem, then an app was causing the issue. As you start using your iPhone again, if your iPhone 15 Pro Max freezes again, try to identify the app. You can do so by paying attention to when the freezing occurs. Make a note of whether it happens consistently while using a specific app or if it’s more random. An app can cause your iPhone 15 Pro Max to freeze if it is not ready for iPhone 15 or iOS 17. If you can identify the app, then you can do the following:

• Delete the app: Press and hold on the problematic app icon on your iPhone’s Home screen. Tap Remove App when the quick action menu appears. Next, tap Delete App > Delete to uninstall the app on your iPhone 15 Pro Max.
• Update the app, if there is an update. An update may fix the issue if the developers were aware of the problem. Open the App Store. Tap your profile on top right of the screen and then Update All.
• Report the problem to its developers.

Restart your iPhone

If your iPhone 15 Pro Max is still freezing, restart your device. Under the hood, your iPhone isn’t that much different from a Mac or Windows PC, and you may have already encountered problems with those devices that are solved by a simple reboot. The same is sometimes true with an iPhone.

1. Press and hold the right-side button and either of the volume buttons until the Slide to power off control appears.
2. Drag the slider from left to right.
3. Wait at least 30 seconds for your device to fully power down.
4. Press and hold the button on the right side of your iPhone until you see the Apple logo appear.
5. Your device will boot up and return to the lock screen after a few seconds.
6. Swipe up and enter your passcode to unlock your device.

Alternatively, you can go to Settings >General >Shut Down.

Force restart your iPhone 15 Pro Max

Of course, if your touchscreen is acting up, you may not be able to move the power-off slider properly to shut down your iPhone 15 Pro Max. In this case, you’ll need to resort to a forced restart, which is basically like rebooting your iPhone without powering it down first. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Press and quickly release the volume up button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume down button.
3. Press and hold the side power button.
4. Release the power button when the Apple logo appears on-screen.

Force restarting will likely unfreeze your iPhone 15 Pro Max. After the phone is working again, to ensure this does not happen again, please go over the Quit all apps section above again to see if an app is causing the problem.

Update your iPhone 15 Pro Max

If the steps above didn’t unfreeze your iPhone 15 Pro Max, the next thing to do is update your phone to the latest version of iOS. If you can interact with your iPhone well enough to get into the Settings app, then tapping General > Software Update is the fastest and easiest way to do this. Otherwise, you’ll have to update your iPhone through your Mac or a Windows PC

Reset all settings

If the issue continues, try resetting all settings on your iPhone 15 Pro Max. A corrupt setting could cause this issue. "Reset All Settings" allows you to revert all system settings to their default factory configurations. It’s important to note that this action doesn’t delete your personal data, such as photos, messages, apps, or other content. However, it does reset settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wallpaper, Notifications, Apple Pay Card, Privacy, etc.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
4. Tap Reset.
5. Tap Reset All Settings.

Factory reset your iPhone

If updating your iPhone doesn’t resolve any software-related issues that could be causing your iPhone 15 Pro Max to freeze, then the final option you can try is restoring your iPhone back to factory settings.

This will erase everything on your iPhone, returning it to its original out-of-the-box state. It’s the best way to confirm that the problem you’re encountering is actually hardware and not software, but of course, you’ll lose everything on your iPhone unless you already have a backup, or you’re able to make a new one.

If you’re using iCloud Backups, you should already have an automatic backup made sometime in the last 24 hours — as long as your iPhone was connected to Wi-Fi and plugged in at some point during that time. Otherwise, you’ll have to try making a new backup to your Mac or PC.

Unfortunately, if your iPhone 15 Pro Max is completely unresponsive, you’ll only be able to do this if you’ve previously connected your iPhone to your computer. Otherwise, your iPhone will prompt you to "Trust" what it sees as an unknown computer, and you won’t be able to confirm that security prompt to grant access to the data on your iPhone.

Nevertheless, even if you can’t get a recent backup, you may still want to go ahead and perform a factory reset anyway. Depending on the apps you use and the kind of data on your iPhone, a backup may not be as critical since your important data may already be stored in other cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud Photo Library, or Google Photos. However, we don’t recommend assuming this is the case — make a backup if at all possible, and be prepared to lose at least some of your data if you choose to proceed with a factory reset without a backup.

To restore your iPhone back to factory settings, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
4. Tap Erase All Content & Settings.

Contact Apple Support

If these methods are having no impact, and your iPhone 15 Pro Max screen is still freezing, then it will likely be a hardware issue. It’s therefore a good idea to contact Apple Support — especially if you don’t have a backup. This is likely a safer final resort than factory resetting your iPhone since Apple may be able to fix the issue — which could be hardware-related — without having to erase your iPhone.

Just keep in mind that there’s no guarantee that this will be the case. If your iPhone has a serious hardware problem, Apple may swap it out with a replacement unit, and it will be up to you to restore your data onto the new iPhone; Apple has no more power to back up your iPhone than you do, as the company takes your privacy and security very seriously, so even its own technicians and engineers can’t override the trusted computer prompt to get at your data.