Facebook Freezes On iPhone When Clicking Pictures (iOS 15)

Facebook freezes when clicking pictures

Facebook freezes when clicking pictures


Is Facebook freezing on iPhone or iPad when you click a photo to watch it full size? Does the screen become unresponsive and there’s no way to get out of fullscreen mode without force closing the app?

This appears to be another iOS 15-related bug that first occurred on the new iPhone 13 models but now seems to be iPad predominant!

Facebook Freezing When Clicking Pictures

The issue was reported to us by Jenna on our iOS 15.0.1 review page:

“When I click on a photo in Facebook to see it full size, once the photo is open I can’t close it. It’s like the screen doesn’t recognize touch anymore…Using iPhone 13pro, have already updated to 15.0.1 and still experiencing the problem.”

It’s been also confirmed by Daria:

“Facebook freezes when I click on a photo here too. iPhone 13 Pro”

Facebook Freezes When Clicking Comments

facebook freezes when clicking comments
A new variation of this bug is occurring on iPads updated to iPadOS 15. Numerous reports from iPhoneTricks.org readers mention that Facebook is freezing when Comments are clicked:
Alisha:

“I’m using an iPad Pro with the latest iPadOS 15.1 update. I cannot read any comments or look at pictures other than just scrolling through. Any picture I open or comment I try to read will freeze.”

Jan W.:

“When I try to tap on comments in Facebook the app locks up and the only option is to close it.”

How To Fix Facebook Freezes On iPhone

Apply the following tips to troubleshoot this issue:

1. Force Close Facebook

how to force quit facebook on iphone
To manage to unfreeze your iPhone you have to swipe-up from the bottom of the screen to bring up the App Switcher. Next, swipe-up on the Facebook card to force quit the app.

Re-open Facebook and the app should work normally. Avoid tapping on a photo to view it in full size, because you risk to make the app unresponsive again!

Tip: Instead of closing Facebook you can use the App Switcher to pen another app. Immediately return to Facebook and frozen screen should be solved. Workaround provided by Robin.

2. Restart iPhone / iPad

Next up, you can reboot iPhone or iPad. A fresh start will clear any minor glitches that could cause the annoying Facebook freezes.

How to: You can turn Off device and switch it back ON a few seconds later, or apply the force restart trick and reboot in a single step.

3. Reinstall Facebook

how to offload facebook on iphone
Facebook Freezes when clicking pictures can be solved by deleting and reinstalling the app. I recommend you to use the offload feature, to allow iOS to automatically restore your data when the application is installed back.

How to: Browse for Settings -> General -> iPhone Storage -> Facebook -> Offload App -> Reinstall.

Workarounds For Facebook Freezing On iPad

4. Turn On Full Keyboard Access

enable full keyboard access to fix facebook freezing

  • Open Settings and go for Accessibility.
  • Tap on Keyboards, available in the Physical and Motor section.
  • Turn On Full Keyboard Access.
  • Credits: Thanks Aurora for the tip.

Update: Enabling Full Keyboard Access will mess up typing in other apps. To fix this you have to change keyboard combinations that involve ‘home’ and ‘space bar’:

  • Go for Settings -> Accessibility -> Keyboards -> Full Keyboard Access -> Commands
  • Scroll for ‘Activate’ and change it from space bar, to something unusual, like ‘alt’ + ‘~’ or anything similar. (Do the same for ‘Home’)

Credits: Thanks again Aurora for the workaround to the workaround!

Thanks again to Aurora, you can fix this with a workaround to the workaround

5. Browse Facebook In Safari

commenting on facebook in Safari
Until this annoying bug gets officially fixed via an iPadOS 15 or Facebook software update, you can browse the web platform of this social media platform! This can be easily done in a web browser:

  • Open Safari and type Facebook.com in the address bar.
  • Use your log-in credential to Sign In.
  • Browse your timeline, expand photos, comment to posts everything should work when bypassing the Facebook app

  • Credits:
    Thanks Esa Viitala for this tip.

Temporarily Fix For Facebook Freezes On iPad

disconnect Bluetooth keyboard to stop Facebook freezing
Apparently, a Bluetooth keyboard or any other Bluetooth connected device causes the Facebook freezing issue. Disconnect the peripheral or accessory and the FB app will start working normally.

Fact: Of course, this fix isn’t ideal but it gets the job done until we get a permanent patch from Facebook or Apple.

Credits: Thanks John for discovering this and sharing the workaround in the comments section.

Have you managed to fix Facebook freezes when tapping a photo to watch it in full size? Did any of the tips provided above help out? Do you have a better solution? Use the comments section and share your feedback.

Related: Other common Facebook issues happening in iOS 15 are:
FB Messenger videos flicker during playback.
Facebook Stories not uploading, stuck at the ‘Finishing Up…’ phase.