How do I restart my iPhone?

One reliable piece of wisdom for fixing technical difficulties with computers, smartphones and most other devices is to turn it off and on again – also known as rebooting. This applies to your Apple smartphone as well. If you are experiencing issues with your iPhone it is a good idea to try rebooting it.

Restarting your phone might fix the issue, for example when your iPhone freezes and goes unresponsive. The way to restart your iPhone depends on the model, so we’ll go through the different ways you can try getting back to using your phone.

Force restart: How to force a restart on your Apple iPhone

Say you have encountered an issue with your iPhone and just turning it off and on the regular way doesn’t work. In that case, you need to do something that’s called a forced restart or hard restart

The buttons to press in order to carry out a forced or hard restart depend on the model of your iPhone. We’ll go through the three different options next.

Force restart iPhone SE 2020, iPhone 8 and new iPhones without the home button

  1. Press and release the volume up button.
  2. Press and release the volume down button.
  3. Press and hold the side button.
  4. Wait for the Apple logo to appear and release the side button.
  5. Wait for your iPhone to restart.
  6. Done!

Force restart iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus

  1. Press and hold the power button and the volume down button at the same time.
  2. Wait for the Apple logo to appear and release both buttons.
  3. Wait for your iPhone to restart.
  4. Done!

Force restart older iPhones with the home button

  1. Press and hold the power button and the home button at the same time.
  2. Wait for the Apple logo to appear and release both buttons.
  3. Wait for your iPhone to restart.
  4. Done!

What to do if your iPhone still does not respond?

So you tried forcing a restart on your iPhone but it still does not work or gets stuck when turning it on. There is one thing you can try to fix this issue.

  1. First, start by connecting your iPhone to a computer with a USB cable.
  2. Open Finder if you are using a Mac with macOS Catalina or a newer version OR open iTunes if you are using a Mac with an operating system older than Catalina or a Windows computer:
  3. Find your iPhone on Finder or iTunes.
  4. Repeat the process for force restarting your iPhone as described in the previous section. This time, instead of seeing the Apple logo, the recovery mode screen will appear.
  5. Wait until your computer displays a prompt to update your iPhone and press “Update”. Your phone’s iOS will now be updated or reinstalled.
  6. If the process takes more than 15 minutes, repeat step 4 to re-enter recovery mode.
  7. Wait for the process to end.
  8. Done!

Summary: How to restart iPhone

You should now have some tools to tackle challenging situations and technical difficulties with your iPhone. Make sure to keep a backup of your iPhone in case something happens and your phone freezes or becomes unresponsive. In a worse case scenario, your iPhone might be beyond repair or could require a factory reset. Not having a backup could cause you to lose everything on your iPhone.


iPhone wallpaper

(Image credit: iMore)

It doesn't happen often, but now and then, your iPhone or iPad might have problems that require some intervention.

Maybe an app crashed and bricked up your phone, or your iPad had a little meltdown when launching Stage Manager in the iPadOS 16 beta (opens in new tab). No need to stress too much; these things can happen.

Of course, one of the most effective ways of troubleshooting software issues like this is to reboot your devices. Here's how to reset and reboot every iPhone and iPad model, so you can get back to doing what you want on your devices.

How to reboot iPhone or other mobile devices

If your best iPhone (opens in new tab) or iPad stops responding and you can't force quit apps (opens in new tab) or turn it off by holding down the power button, you may need to reboot your device.

If you're iPhone has Face ID, like the iPhone 13 (opens in new tab), then follow these steps to reboot your device.

How to reboot iPhone with Face ID

  1. Press and hold the On/Off button on the right side of the device.
  2. While still holding the On/Off button, press and hold either of the volume buttons on the left side until the power off slider appears on the screen.
  3. Drag the slider from left to right to turn your device off.
  4. To turn your device back on, hold the On/Off button again until you see the Apple logo appear.

To reboot with a device with Face ID, press and hold the ON/OFF button then press and hold either volume button. Drag the slider from left to right, then turn the device back on with the On/OFF button.

(Image credit: Apple)

How to reboot iPhone 8 or earlier, including iPod touch

  1. Press and hold the Top (or Side) button on your mobile device until the power off slider appears.
  2. Drag the slider from left to right to turn your device off.
  3. To turn your device back on, hold the Top (or Side) button again until you see the Apple logo appear.

To reboot with a device with Touch ID, press and hold the Top (or Side) button then drag the slider from left to right, then
turn the device back on with the Top (or Side) button.

To reboot with a device with Touch ID, press and hold the Top (or Side) button then drag the slider from left to right, then turn the device back on with the Top (or Side) button. (Image credit: Apple)

How to reboot an iPad without a Home button (iPad Pro, iPad Air 4/5, and iPad mini 6)

  1. Press and hold the Top button on the device.
  2. While still holding the Top button, press and hold either of the volume buttons until the power off slider appears on the screen.
  3. Drag the slider from left to right to turn your device off.
  4. To turn your device back on, hold the Top button again until you see the Apple logo appear.

How to reboot iPad with a Home button

  1. Press and hold the Top (or Side) button on the device until the power off slider appears on the screen.
  2. Drag the slider from left to right to turn your device off.
  3. To turn your device back on, hold the Top (or Side) button again until you see the Apple logo appear.

How to turn off your device using the Settings app

On all Apple mobile devices with iOS 11 or later, you can also turn off your device using these steps:

  1. Tap on the Settings app on your iPhone screen.
  2. Select General.
  3. Tap Shut Down.

To turn off your device using the Settings app, select General in the app, then tap Shut Down

To turn off your device using the Settings app, select General in the app, then tap Shut Down (Image credit: iMore)

How to reset iPhone by force restarting your mobile device

If your mobile device is black or frozen and you can't reboot it using the steps above, you might have to force restart to reset iPhone. Doing so won't erase your content or data; instead, you use a force restart when the screen is black, or the buttons aren't responding.

How to reset iPhone 8 or later

  1. Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
  2. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
  3. Press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo.

How to reset iPhone 7 and iPod touch (7th Gen)

  1. Press and hold both the Side (or Top) button and the Volume Down button for 10 seconds.
  2. Wait until you see the Apple logo before you release the button.

How to reset iPad models with Face ID

  1. Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
  2. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
  3. Press and hold the Top button until you see the Apple logo.

How to reset iPad models with Home button, iPhone 6s or earlier, and iPod touch (6th Gen) or earlier

  1. Press and hold both the Side (or Top) button and the Home button for 10 seconds.
  2. Wait until you see the Apple logo before you release the button.

That's all there is to it

As you can see, there are two relatively simple ways to get your Apple device back on safe ground. You can either reboot or reset the device, depending on the situation. If these don't work for you, however, you may need to get in touch with Apple Support.

Updated August 2022: Updated for latest versions of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.

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Bryan M. Wolfe has written about technology for over a decade on various websites, including TechRadar, AppAdvice, and many more. Before this, he worked in the technology field across different industries, including healthcare and education. He’s currently iMore’s lead on all things Mac and macOS, although he also loves covering iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Bryan enjoys watching his favorite sports teams, traveling, and driving around his teenage daughter to her latest stage show, audition, or school event in his spare time. He also keeps busy walking his black and white cocker spaniel, Izzy, and trying new coffees and liquid grapes.

Is there a restart button on iPhone?

To restart your iPhone, press and hold down the Power and Volume buttons until a slider appears on-screen. If restarting doesn't work, you can trigger a "force restart" by pressing Volume Up, Volume Down, and then Power.

How do I restart my iPhone without losing everything?

Method 1..
Shut down the iPhone..
Then, slide the Power switch right..
Wait for a while, restart your iPhone..
Back up iPhone data to iCloud before resetting..
Connect your device such as iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to WiFi..