How to disable Liquid Glass effect in iOS 26?

lobsterghost1 wrote:

BartelsMedia wrote:

I already reduced transparency but it still looks broken to my eyes. it is distracting and overly unpleasant.

How to switch off LiquidGlass entirely, please?

There is no on/off switch for liquid glass. If you've reduced transparency, that's all you can do.

I quite like it and with all things which change it often takes time to adjust when things look different. But adjust you'll need to do.

Sometimes what you need to do is say no over and over and if enough people agree with you, Apple may revert some things. I've had success with that in the past....not often, but it does happen. Here the effect is reducing contrast and legibility in support of 'coolness'. We don't always have to accept it without making a fuss, and for sure sending LOTS OF FEEDBACK.

Here is how to remove the Liquid Glass effect in iOS 26

1. Start on your iPhone home screen (locked)
2. Tap and hold on your Home Screen
3. Tap "Customize"
4. Tap the time and the customize option screen will pop up
5. At the bottom of your screen you can toggle from "Glass" to "Solid"
6. Then tap the "x" or anywhere else on the screen
7. Finally select "Done" in the top right hand corner of your screen

Donot_Haveone wrote:

lobsterghost1 wrote:

BartelsMedia wrote:

I already reduced transparency but it still looks broken to my eyes. it is distracting and overly unpleasant.

How to switch off LiquidGlass entirely, please?

There is no on/off switch for liquid glass. If you've reduced transparency, that's all you can do.

I quite like it and with all things which change it often takes time to adjust when things look different. But adjust you'll need to do.

Sometimes what you need to do is say no over and over and if enough people agree with you, Apple may revert some things. I've had success with that in the past....not often, but it does happen. Here the effect is reducing contrast and legibility in support of 'coolness'. We don't always have to accept it without making a fuss, and for sure sending LOTS OF FEEDBACK.

You can make a fuss if you want. You're just totally, utterly, completely wasting your time making a fuss on this user to user only forum, which Apple doesn't participate nor read for user feedback.

If you want to make a fuss and know that Apple hears you, you use this link, where Apple will actually read what you have to say --> Product Feedback - Apple

AppleAnswerDude wrote:

1. Here is how to remove the Liquid Glass effect in iOS 26

Start on your iPhone home screen (locked)

2. Tap and hold on your Home Screen

3. Tap "Customize"

4. Tap the time and the customize option screen will pop up

5. At the bottom of your screen you can toggle from "Glass" to "Solid"

6. Then tap the "x" or anywhere else on the screen

7. Finally select "Done" in the top right hand corner of your screen

This is fine, but really only affects the lock screen, not the home screen as it relates to the liquid glass effect overall.

BartelsMedia wrote:

I already reduced transparency but it still looks broken to my eyes. it is distracting and overly unpleasant.

How to switch off LiquidGlass entirely, please?

There is no on/off switch for liquid glass. If you've reduced transparency, that's all you can do.

I quite like it and with all things which change it often takes time to adjust when things look different. But adjust you'll need to do.

Donot_Haveone wrote:

I never saw any toggle for glass versus solid on my iPhone 12 mini

There is one on the wallpaper clock. That confusion was explained earlier. Set your thread order under post 1 from Rank to Oldest.

Marocr wrote:

Agreed. Liquid Glass is atrocious! There must be a way to disable this mess. Did any one consider those who have visual impairment? I say NO. Come on Apple. Find the solution.

Saying "Come on Apple" and "Find the solution," leads one to believe you have no idea you are only speaking with other users on a user to user only forum, which no one from Apple participates? No one here is in any way associated with Apple, so directing Apple to do anything here will get you nothing.

You can share your thoughts with Apple here --> Product Feedback - Apple

sjtill wrote:

I can deal with most of the Liquid Glass issues, but I cannot tolerate the sub-screen when I am dialing my phone, with Favorites/REcents/Contacts/Keypad/Voicemail. It cover-up the delete button and the "dial" button. It's totally nuts. I haven't seen anyone address this issue. Talk about "Accessibility". I spent half an hour trying to call a phone number and I can't do it because of this outrageously dysfunctional "feature".

Settings, Display & Brightness, Display zoom, Default (not large)

Diamond-Carrots wrote:

I agree, the new UI is really hard on the eyes, and the weird effects that come into play when you turn on the accessibility settings is very unpleasant!

Tell Apple:

Product Feedback - Apple

Marocr wrote:

Agreed. Liquid Glass is atrocious! There must be a way to disable this mess. Did any one consider those who have visual impairment? I say NO. Come on Apple. Find the solution.

if you had read the other threads….

Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text size, reduce transparency

Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text size , increase contrast

Settings, Accessibility, Motion, Reduce motion

Stephanie465 wrote:

I just returned an iPad and kept my old one running, 18.6 etc.

So sad!

😭

Don’t feel sad Stephanie465.

You’ll need to provide ⇢ Product Feedback.

If enough requests are made, your feedback might help with future development, like a toggle in the settings.

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

Hello~ Have you force restart PO’ed your iPhone?

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

Your iPhone is busy indexing this new update …give it a bit.

~Katana-San~

This is not the Apple team, this is a user to user forum.

You can make a suggestion to Apple here -

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Stephanie465 wrote:

I advise don’t update to 26 stay on 18.6 etc. there is no going back. It is very challenging. I think it was a mistake that they did. I don’t know many users that are happy about the update. It would be wise of Apple to give an option to continue to run 18 and get updates and security patches and not migrate to 26.

I did not buy a new device because of 26. I just returned an iPad and kept my old one running, 18.6 etc.

So sad!

😭

No one I know is upset about iOS 26. I actually quite like it.

If you want to know more about Liquid Glass and things you can do to tone it down, read this --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Hi Apple Team,

I’m writing this with deep frustration.

iPadOS 26 introduced the so-called “liquid glass” visual style, and I honestly have no idea how such a decision passed internal testing.

This update has seriously damaged the usability of my iPad, to the point where prolonged use causes immediate eye strain.

The rendering looks blurry, smeared, and unstable — especially during typing.

The interface feels like it’s constantly shimmering or shifting, which was never an issue on iPadOS 17/18.

Please, do a simple Google search or visit Reddit for five minutes:

Thousands of users are reporting the same problem.

This isn’t a niche complaint.

It is a system-wide regression that directly affects users’ ability to work, study, and create.

Let me be clear:

We do not need “liquid glass”, depth effects, or over-processed animations.

We need the option to revert to the crisp, stable, functional interface you have used for over a decade.

Right now the most frustrating part is this:

👉 You released a visually broken OS

👉 You removed the option to revert to the previous version

👉 And you expect users to simply endure it

This is not acceptable.

Please bring back the ability to downgrade.

Or at the very least, provide a toggle to completely disable the new liquid-glass effects.

Not everyone wants an over-styled interface at the cost of eye comfort.

This is one of the few times in my long Apple history that I feel the company has actively harmed the user experience.

Thank you — but seriously, please fix this.

We just want our stable interface back.