How to Force Restart or Reset Your iPhone

Even great technology can fail sometimes. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to revive your device when it’s frozen. If your iPhone isn’t responding and you can’t turn it off and back on, you can force restart it to fix the problem.

A force restart is different from a normal restart. In this situation, you should try a force restart first, but it may not be an option for an unresponsive phone. Also, iPhone designs have changed over the years, and so have the buttons and commands. Therefore, the steps to force restart are different depending on your phone. That means doing a force restart on an iPhone 11 or 12 is different than doing the same on an iPhone 7.

So, here we will show you how to force restart any iPhone, from the latest iPhone 15 to older models like the iPhone 6S.

Force restart on new iPhones (8 and newer)

If you have an iPhone that supports iOS 16 or later (iPhone 8 or later, and iPhone SE 2nd and 3rd generation), follow these steps:

1. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
2. Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
3. Press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo on the screen, then release the button.

Force restart your iPhone 7

The steps to follow on an iPhone 7 are a little different. Instead, they look like this:

1. Press and hold the Volume Down and Sleep/Wake buttons at the same time.
2. When you see the Apple logo on the screen, release both buttons.

Force restart your old iPhone

If you have an older phone, like an iPhone 6 or the first-generation iPhone SE, the process is a little different. Here’s how:

1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time.
2. When you see the Apple logo on the screen, release both.

Force Restart FAQ

What is the difference between a forced restart and a normal restart?

A normal restart is the easier and more standard way to power your iPhone on and off. Try doing this first by holding down one of the volume buttons and the side button, then dragging the power off slider. To turn your iPhone back on, press and hold the side button again until you see the Apple logo. (For iPhone 8 and earlier, hold down the side or top button, then drag the power off slider.) If your iPhone doesn’t respond to that, you’ll need to force restart it.

Restart and reset your iPhone

Resetting your iPhone is a more drastic measure than erasing your device, and we recommend you do this before selling or trading your iPhone in. The restart refreshes it while keeping all your data.

Why does it vary by iPhone model?

Apple has changed the design of the iPhone over the years, and some buttons and commands have moved around. Thankfully, we’ve listed and simplified the different ways to force restart your phone.