This article explains how to force restart a frozen or unresponsive iPhone. To do this, you need to press a combination of device keys that varies by iPhone model. If after restarting the iPhone the problem persists, refer to the last section of the article to find out how to restore the device's operating system by connecting it to the computer.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Force Restart iPhone 8 and Later Models
Step 1. Press and release the "Volume Up" button
It is located at the top of the left side of the device.
This method is compatible with the following iPhone models: 8, 8 Plus, XR, XS, XS Max, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max and SE (2nd generation)
Step 2. Press and release the "Volume Down" button
It is located along the left side of the device, under the "Volume Up" key.
Step 3. Press and hold the side button
It is located along the right side of the phone. Hold it down until you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.
Step 4. Release the side button as soon as the Apple logo appears on the screen
This way, you should be able to restart even an iPhone that no longer responds to any commands.
If for any reason the device does not restart, try to recharge it for about an hour, then repeat the procedure described above again. If even after charging the iPhone you are unable to restart it following the given steps, please refer to this article method
Method 2 of 4: Force Restart an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus
Step 1. Press and hold the "Volume Down" and "Sleep / Wake" keys at the same time
The "Volume Down" button is located along the left side of the device, while the "Sleep / Wake" button is located at the top of the right side. Hold down the indicated keys until you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.
Step 2. Release the indicated keys as soon as the Apple logo appears on the screen
If the forced restart of the device was successful, the iPhone will restart normally and work fine.
If for any reason the device does not restart, try to recharge it for about an hour, then repeat the procedure described above again. If even after charging the iPhone you are unable to restart it following the given steps, please refer to this article method
Method 3 of 4: Force Restart an iPhone 6 or 6s Plus or SE (1st Generation)
Step 1. Press and hold the "Sleep / Wake" and "Home" keys at the same time
The "Sleep / Wake" button is located at the top of the right side, while the "Home" button - the large round button - is located at the bottom center of the screen. Keep them pressed until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
Step 2. Release the indicated keys when the Apple logo appears on the screen
If the forced restart of the device was successful, the iPhone will restart normally and work fine.
If for any reason the device does not restart, try to recharge it for about an hour, then repeat the procedure described above again. If even after charging the iPhone you are unable to restart it following the given steps, please refer to this article method
Method 4 of 4: Fix a Crashed iPhone
Step 1. Connect the iOS device to the computer
If the iPhone is completely frozen and no longer responds to commands or after restarting it, the Apple logo or a solid color screen remains visible on the screen, try connecting it to a PC or a Mac to try to fix the problem without losing the data it contains. Start by connecting your device to your computer using the USB cable you use to charge the battery.
Step 2. Open a Finder window (on Mac) or launch iTunes (on PC)
If you are using a Mac with the Catalina operating system or a later version, click on the two-colored icon depicting a smiley on the system Dock to open a Finder window. If you are using a Windows computer or a Mac with an older version of the operating system, launch iTunes from the "Start" menu or the "Applications" folder.
Step 3. Locate the iPhone icon
If you are using a Finder window, click on the name of the iOS device that appeared in the left pane of the window in the "Locations" section. If you are using iTunes, click on the iPhone icon that appeared in the upper left corner of the window (on the right of a drop-down menu).
Step 4. Enter iPhone recovery mode
The procedure to follow varies depending on the model of the device.
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iPhone equipped with Face ID:
press and release the "Volume Up" key, then press and release the "Volume Down" key. At this point, hold down the button located along the top of the device until the iPhone restarts in recovery mode.
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iPhone 8 or later:
press and release the "Volume Up" key, then press and release the "Volume Down" key. At this point, hold down the right side button until the iPhone restarts in recovery mode.
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iPhone 7/7 Plus:
press and hold the top button (or the right side button on some models) and the "Volume Down" button at the same time. When the device restarts in recovery mode, you will be able to release the indicated keys.
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iPhone with physical "Home" button, iPhone 6 and earlier models:
press and hold the "Home" button and the button located along the top (or right side) of the device at the same time. When the device restarts in recovery mode, you will be able to release the indicated keys.
Step 5. Click the Update button that appeared on the computer screen
It is placed in a pop-up that will appear within that of Finder or iTunes as soon as the iPhone enters recovery mode. In this way, the program will try to restore the correct functioning of the iPhone without erasing the data it contains.
- If these steps solve the problem, the iPhone will restart normally.
- If the download of the update takes more than 15 minutes, the iPhone's recovery mode will be disabled automatically. In this case, repeat step 4 of this section to reactivate recovery mode, then try updating your device again.
- If the iPhone update was successful but the problem persists, you can try to fix the situation by doing a factory reset of the device. In this case, follow the instructions described up to this point, but click on the button Reset rather than Update. Remember that all data on the iPhone will be erased, so use this solution only as a last resort.
Step 6. If your iPhone does not restart and the problem persists, contact Apple Technical Support
Apple advises its customers to contact their service center if they encounter any of the following problems: the device screen remains black or a solid color is displayed; the screen turns on but the device does not respond to commands; only the Apple logo remains visible on the screen. To access Apple technical support, visit this website https://getsupport.apple.com, select your device model and follow the instructions that will appear on the screen.
