The Most Annoying iOS 16 Issues on Your iPhone and How to Fix Them « iOS & iPhone :: Gadget Hacks

The iOS 16 update for iPhone brings many new and exciting options, most of which improve the overall user experience. Some of the features and changes fix frustrating issues of iOS 15 and older, and some of these “fixes” can seem annoying if you’re used to doing things a certain way.

Thankfully, many of the upgrades can be easily discontinued or quickly reverted to iOS 15, thanks to multiple customization options that didn’t exist before. Here’s how you can turn off some of the things that are preventing you from enjoying your iPhone to the fullest. It only takes a few seconds and you’ll forget those annoying features were ever there!

1. Prevent your side button from ending calls

On iOS 15.7 and earlier, pressing the side button on your iPhone would end a phone call or FaceTime instantly, whether you meant to end the call or not. The same issue appeared with audio calls in third-party apps like Facebook Messenger, Google Voice, and WhatsApp.

On Android, pressing the lock button locks the screen and prevents you from accidentally touching buttons with your face. You may have ended calls prematurely after switching to iPhone if you got into the habit of clicking that button.

Apple fixes this issue in iOS 16. You can finally reprogram the side button to just lock your screen — and not end a call. Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Tap and then toggle on “Prevent call from ending”.

2. Uncheck selected photos and reminders

If you don’t want Apple to show you recommended photos and reminders on your iPhone, there’s now a way to turn that off.

Featured photos and memories can be a nice way to commemorate events, but sometimes they’re too personal, or you just don’t want to see them for some reason. To turn them off on iOS 16, go to Settings -> Photos, then turn off “Show Recommended Content”. When it’s on, featured photos and reminders automatically appear on your iPhone in places like For You and Search in Photos and Home Screen Widgets. Before iOS 16, it was always on and couldn’t be turned off.

3. Show or hide the battery percentage of the status bar

While the battery percentage option in the status bar has remained an option on Touch ID models, Apple removed it when Face ID launched, but iOS 16 is finally bringing it back. Unlike Touch ID models, Face ID-equipped iPhones have the numbers inside the battery icon, not next to it.

There’s a small issue with the design though: when you’re on, you can see the battery percentage in numbers, but the battery icon shows the battery is full even when it’s not. It can fool you that your battery is full even when it is almost empty if you ignore the numbers. You can see what I mean in the middle screenshot below.

If you are one of those users who miss the battery percentage in the status bar, go to Settings -> Battery and then toggle on “Battery Percentage”. If you’re more annoyed that the battery icon looks full when it’s not, you can turn it off or update your iPhone to iOS 16.1, which will fix the problem (right screenshot below). In any case, you can always see the battery percentage in classic style by dragging down the control center (swipe down from the top right of the screen).

4. Remove the “New Search” button from your home screen

The new search button on the home screen has received mixed reviews. While some find it convenient, others find it superfluous. It does the exact same thing as swiping down from anywhere on the home screen. It’s also where you can accidentally tap on it, and if you do you’ll have to tap and swipe a few times to go back if you had no intention of searching for something.

On the other hand, many iPhone users didn’t even know it was possible to swipe down to access search, so having a visible option for that somewhere on the screen makes sense.

If you want to remove it and swipe down further to search your iPhone, go to Settings -> Home Screen, then turn off “Show on Home Screen” under Search.