iOS devices generally show a spinning wheel on the upper left corner on the status bar if there’s an activity. This can mean that there might be data that is downloading at the moment. It can also mean that there’s an outgoing or an incoming message. This is just a small circle located at the top of the screen and can go away after a few minutes.
In some cases, users have reported that they see the small wheel spinning non-stop. This can happen after an iOS update. It can also be an indication that the phone has a non-stop network activity that is going on. This should be resolved as soon as possible because it can drain the battery in no time.
How to Resolve the Non-Stop Spinning Problem
After the new iOS update, many users are worried that there’s a glitch that happened somewhere in the system. Others are worried and they thought that there might be a spyware or virus that has bypassed the iPhone’s security. And some are worried that there’s a secret activity that is going on in the background such as someone trying to steal their credit card information. Apple said not to worry though. This might just be a simple bug that can be fixed in no time.
Read also: Black Screen With Spinning Wheel Fix
Apple’s Document Stated the Following:
The spinning wheel on the status bar can be due to an over-the-air syncing on the network. This can also be due to a network activity that is actively processing something over the network. If you get the small spinning wheel icon constantly, this means that there might be something wrong. The good news is, you can stop this activity if you want.
How to stop the spinning wheel on your iOS device
1. Try to see if your iPhone is updated. Go to your device’s Settings. Next, tap on the General option. Click the Software Update. Just download and install a new update if it is available.
2. Close all the running applications on the background. You can do this by double tapping your iPhone’s Home Button. Close all the apps that you can see by swiping upwards. If the device does not have a home screen in the case of iPhone XS, then tap from the bottom of the screen in an upward direction. You can force close all apps by swiping them all up.
3. Try to activate Siri. You can use the Siri feature by tapping and holding your phone’s home button. You can ask Siri for the nearest restaurant in your area. The point is just to use Siri and ask anything you want.
4. Disable Siri. You can disable Siri and see if it will stop the spinning wheel on your device. You can do this by going into the Settings, then tapping on Siri and Search, and Toggle off Siri.
5. Restart your iPhone. You can do this by going into the Settings, and then tap on General. Just tap on the Shut Down button. Wait for a few minutes before restarting your device.
6. Disable Background App Refresh by going into the Settings of your phone. Choose the General option. Next, click on Background App Refresh and turn this off.
7. Force restart your device.
You can do this by going into the iPhone home button and pressing the side buttons together for at least 5 – 10 seconds. Do this until the Apple logo shows up.
If you are using an iPhone 7, you can press the volume button that is used for the down button and the side button until you see the Apple logo.
If you have iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone XS, or an iOS device where the home button is not available, you can hold the side button and the volume down button for at least 10 seconds.
8. Reset the Network Settings of your iPhone. Go to Settings, Press the General option, Tap on the Reset option, then the Reset Network Settings.
Note that resetting your network settings will not erase all your data. However, your saved Wi-Fi passwords might be deleted in the process. If you can’t still get rid of the spinning circle, call Apple for additional help.
Asking Siri a simple question solved the problem for me thank you very much
wtf it stopped for me too
Hi. Brian all I said was “Siri Blah Blah.” And the spinning wheel stopped spinning. Hey presto. Perhaps Siri gets lonely sometimes. And the AI is bored. 🤣
But thanks dude that really did the trick.
The spinning wheel is only in my New York Times crossword app. I’ve done all the suggested fixes and it’s still spinning.
I have tried all the suggested fixes and nothing gets rid of the spinning wheel
Same problem. Did you resolve your spinning wheel.
Same here. I contacted Apple they weren’t able to help me. They were willing to replace my phone for $29. I called Verizon, they replaced my phone for free. First day was fine, then it started again.
I have the same problem; iPhoneSE (new model), ios 13.4.1. Have tried disabling everything, resetting network settings, etc. It will stay off for a while, but then it comes right back (after a reset).
Ok, so I think it definitely has something to do with SIRI or the dictation portion of iOS. I asked SIRI a question (had to turn it on and calibrate it), and after I closed it (after the answer), the spinning stopped immediately.
I hope Apple fixes this asap! New phone and latest OS!
My iPhone SE is doing the same thing. If I do get the wheel to stop spinning in only a few seconds it starts back up. Very annoying!
Same goes for me.
I turned off Wifi calling! It helped me!
It always comes back when I use talk to text in I message. I can get it to stop by talking to Siri, that is until I use talk to text again. There you go Apple so fix it.
Thank you James – your obersation appears to be exactly what happens to me.
As you say, please may we have a fix Apple.
Watching you tube Half way , then appears the circling and later it is ok
Clearing safari cookies fixes this everytime for me.
Just got a brand new iPhone SE 2020 because of this problem on my 6S. Good until I did the update now the spinning wheel will not stop the same as my old phone. This is ridiculous I just spent $800 on 2 new phones !!! I read online that holding the right button and the volume down and then pressing cancel works do I feel like doing this every 2 minutes absolutely not!!!
i shut off Siri & Search and no more spinning wheel.
Holy crap! It’s happening to my SE (2020) too ever since I updated to iOS 14. Can’t stop it. Is this issue only affecting the latest SE model? Did you resolve your issue? And what carrier are you on. I’m trying to zero in on this issue. I have AT&T.
I have a 2020 SE, and I use Verizon and I have the same problem. Seems to be tied to using dictation. Goes away when I completely shut down my phone and restart. But then the spinning wheel comes back as soon as I use dictation. F.
NOTHING works for long until I disabled dictation. Now I have a new phone I cannot talk to. 🤬Thanks APPLE!
Where do you go to disable dictation? I’ve been complaining about this since day one and it’s draining my battery they gave me a new phone but of course the same problems is there
Can not get the spinning to stop! My phone is 3 days old. I’ve done all the recommended things and still nothing stops it. My battery goes down quickly! Is this using data as well?
Resetting network settings worked for me, iPhone SE 2020.
After finally getting a tier 2 tech at Verizon, and trying all the above, the answer for my iphone 2020 SE finally was….delete facebook app. The Siri trick only worked for awhile this has stopped it. Not a fix if you want facebook on your phone, I do not.
Delete Facebook solved my problem
this is happening to my iphone 8se, can’t get it to stop, just a short time, shows everytime i get a text or send one, can only shut it off and turn back on till i get another text. if this don’t get fix, i will buy an android phone, no more iphones. i have straight talk, never had a problem before this iphone 8se
I’m having this problem on my iPad. Restarting helps only for awhile. Sooo frustrating
So I called apple multiple times about this. They always had me reset the phone to factory settings and restore from my back up. This was happening on an iPhone 8. When I got the new SE it started happening right away!!! I called apple and FINALLY someone had an answer. They said that there must be some glitch on my phone and every time it backs it up, it saves this glitch. His only suggestion was to back up as much as I could in iCloud. Reset my phone to factory settings. And I would have to manually re-load all my settings and my apps. Do not restore it from a back up. I have not sat down to dedicate the time to do that. I hope this helps people.
iPhones are garbage I’m going to buy an android device. I’m glad I sold my Apple stock and now it’s in the toilet. Apple= over rated junk
It worked! Resetting network settings did the trick. I did that, turned the phone off and then back on. I did have to re-enter the WiFi password, but the wheel finally stopped spinning. Thank you!
Same issue A new SE 2020. It happened when I loaded iOS 14.3. As soon as I dictate either email or text the spinning won’t stop. I have to shut down and restart the spinning wheel stop until I dictate again. Have tried every single suggestion including reset etCetera
I have an iPhone 7+ and was having the same issue.
I checked my battery; it was at peak performance.
I checked iPhone storage to see which apps were using too much power.
I finally checked every app in the list under iPhone storage to see which apps were active or needed to be offloaded to iCloud.
There were two apps that I had accidentally started to reinstall by mistake and paused them. They were continuously attempting to reinstall on my phone and this was eating up all of my battery power.
Once I allowed them to reinstall, the network activity stopped spinning and went away on my iPhone.
I did offload them to the iCloud since I don’t use them now. It saves space for what I need to use daily.
i have an iphone 7 and tried everything above…this is what solved for me THANKS. I did have an app i offloaded then tried using but paused the download. I unpaused and let it download and now no more wheel.
Right. Best solution is, continue with the downloads or updates you paused on your home-screen during the transfer process of backed-up files from old phone to a new phone. Or better just delete the paused App totally from the new phone home-screen and the spinning is over. Trust me
Hi Brian. All I said was Siri blah blah, and the spinning wheel stopped spinning. Hey presto. It worked. Perhaps Siri gets lonely sometimes, and the AI is bored. Fancy getting stared at all day and being constantly prodded, with a thumb or two. My wheel would be spinning too. 😂
I have followed all the instructions for my iPad….works well, shuts the spinning wheel off, but as soon as I turn it back on, or change from home WiFi to work WiFi or back…it starts again….sucking the life out of the battery …20 minutes it goes from 100% to 63%….
What do I do now?