Is your smartphone frozen or unresponsive? Here's how to reset your iPhone
We’ve spent years with the iPhone, and discovered countless tips and tricks to get the most out of it, but it’s always good to know the basics. Something everyone needs to know is how to reset an iPhone. The steps were exactly the same on every device up until the iPhone 6S Plus, but things changed a little with the release of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and then changed again with the iPhone X.
If you upgraded from a previous iPhone model to the iPhone 8 or the latest iPhone XS Max, but have never needed to reset it, you may be at a loss as to how to begin the process. Don’t worry, we’re here to explain how to reset your iPhone, when you should restart it, and how to force a restart when your phone is not responding. We also lay out the differences between a restart, a soft reset, and a factory reset.
HOW TO RESET YOUR IPHONE (SOFT RESET)
The easiest way to reset your iPhone is the inverse of turning it on. This method is often referred to as a “soft reset,” meaning you won’t lose any data and nothing will be deleted from your phone. The best time to perform a soft reset is when your phone is running a bit slower than usual, an app isn’t opening or working properly, or some other relatively small problem has occurred, but your iPhone is still responsive.
Step 1: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the Slide to Power Off slider appears. On the iPhone 6 and later models, you’ll find the Sleep/Wake button on the right side of the phone. On the iPhone SE, iPhone 5S, and earlier models, the Sleep/Wake button is found on the top.
Step 2: Rest your finger on the slider, then swipe to the right.
Step 3: Once there is nothing on the screen and it goes black, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button again until the Apple logo appears.
Alternatively, provided you have iOS 11 or later installed, you can go to General > Settings and scroll to the bottom where you’ll find Shut Down. When you tap Shut Down, you will see the Slide to Power Off slider. You can then proceed to Step 2 above.
HOW TO FORCE RESET YOUR IPHONE
Another way to reset your iPhone is to do what Apple officially calls a “Force Restart.” Once again, no important data will be lost. A “force restart” is recommended when your iPhone is completely unresponsive. Examples of this include times when your iPhone’s screen turns black (despite it being powered on), the screen freezes, or your iPhone encounters an issue during startup.
The exact way to perform a force restart differs between older iPhone models and the iPhone 7 and later. Instead of a traditional Home button, the newer iPhones have a Home/Touch ID sensor, which isn’t used to trigger a force restart, and, as we discussed in our iPhone X features rundown, Apple did away with the Home/Touch ID sensor in the iPhone X entirely in favor of the new Face ID.
