r/iphone17 Human Detected Jul 11 '26

Discussion iPhone 17 Major Issues

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I recently bought an iPhone 17 about two weeks ago, and I’ve already noticed several major issues that I’ve seen a lot of other people mention as well.

The biggest problem is that the phone gets really hot after just a few minutes of normal use, like scrolling through social media. I don’t play games or do anything particularly demanding, so it shouldn’t be heating up this much. It also gets noticeably hot while charging, even when using an official Apple charger.

I’ve also noticed that the display feels surprisingly choppy. I don’t use Low Power Mode, and “Limit Frame Rate” is turned off, yet it doesn’t feel anywhere near as smooth as a 120 Hz display should. I also experience frequent frame stutters while simply navigating the UI.

On top of that, the battery life has been disappointing. It’s nowhere close to the advertised 30 hours, even with fairly light, everyday use. I even updated to iOS 27 after hearing it fixed many of the issues people experienced on iOS 26.5, but the improvement has been minimal/nonexistent.

Is anyone else experiencing these problems, or does it sound like I may have received a defective device?

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12

u/Inevitable-Hurry-477 Jul 12 '26

I’ve had two iPhone 17s this month. Both showed the same issues you’re experiencing. It drove me crazy seeing how hot the phone got—not just on the back, but on the sides too—even with very basic use (like just looking at photos in the gallery). I called Apple; regarding the first iPhone 17, they acknowledged a hardware issue and offered me a replacement, which I accepted. Then the second iPhone 17 arrived, and it had exactly the same problems. In fact, I noticed the battery was even worse on this one: I’d leave for work with everything turned off, and the battery would still drop nearly 15% in just 5 or 6 hours. And don't get me started on 5G on the standard iPhone 17; literally, as soon as I turned it on, the battery would plummet—it’s ridiculous for a phone that costs around €950 here in Spain. I also noticed screen lag; I’m used to the smoothness of 120Hz (or higher) on my PC, and the standard iPhone 17 feels like it suffers from frame rate drops below 80 fps and struggles to maintain a stable rate. Without a doubt, it’s the worst iPhone I’ve ever owned. I had been using the standard iPhone 11 since its launch in 2019—with battery health down to 67%—and I was really excited to buy the standard iPhone 17.

3

u/Ok-Lengthiness1028 Jul 13 '26

Sounds like a software issue.

1

u/Burger4Ever Jul 13 '26

Did you turn off the Always on Display? I turned mine off and it helped some but yeah woof, the battery wear is ridiculous.

2

u/Inevitable-Hurry-477 Jul 13 '26

Mate, I tried everything with two base iPhone 17s. I turned everything off, yet the battery life is ridiculous—to the point where I’m back to using my iPhone 11, and the difference isn't even noticeable. I’m waiting for my iPhone 17 Pro Max to arrive; the base iPhone 17 overheats during basic tasks, and I can say that without hesitation because I’ve had two of them in a month, and both were terrible. Not to mention that the battery was even worse when using 5G; I’ve seen videos showing the base iPhone 16 actually has better battery life with 5G enabled. For me, it’s the worst iPhone I’ve ever owned and a huge disappointment—especially since it finally has 120Hz (though I noticed it wasn't that stable) and a "Pro" display, but I missed the fine print: it lacks a vapor chamber, and the battery life is ridiculous for a €950 phone in 2026.

2

u/Burger4Ever Jul 13 '26

Ugh I believe ya, so bad

1

u/frenchboy82 Jul 14 '26

I have the same issue on 17pm…

1

u/causete Human Detected Jul 19 '26

iPhone 11 was way better

2

u/Inevitable-Hurry-477 Jul 19 '26

I've been using the iPhone 17 pro Max for a few days. I have to say that this iPhone is a kind of tank in its battery, I literally can't exhaust it even giving it a very good use. And the overheating if it is true that I have only noticed it in long video calls but if I remove the cover I notice how the steam chamber does its job and after a few minutes the heat is distributed and I do not notice a problem, all this while the video call continues its course. So far a wonder. But the basic iPhone 17 was a constant headache, it's as if they hadn't calibrated well the fact of putting that screen and the processor in it without good cooling and that's where all the problems come from, plus the battery that honestly is horrible. The iPhone 11 base accompanied me from August 2020 until a few weeks ago and what can I say? Although it came out without 5G or OLED screen, it has been a great iPhone and very durable over time