Your iPhone is frozen, stuck, or refusing to restart from the screen. A force restart uses the hardware buttons to reboot it without erasing anything. Start with the quickest restart path that still works, then move to the force restart or recovery steps when the phone stops responding.
1. Start with a normal shutdown when the screen works
If your iPhone still responds to touch, use the regular shutdown path first. Open Settings > General > Shut Down, drag the slider, wait 30 seconds, then press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.
You can also open Control Center, touch and hold the Power button in the top-right corner, drag the slider, then turn the iPhone back on with the Side button.
2. Force restart 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.
- 4.Release the Side button when the Apple logo appears.
Use this same sequence for current iPhone models and iPhone SE 2nd generation or later.
3. Hold the Face ID button sequence long enough
On an iPhone with Face ID, the force restart sequence is Volume Up, Volume Down, then Side. Keep holding the Side button until the Apple logo appears, even when it takes longer than 10 seconds.
Do not stop at the power-off slider from Settings > General > Shut Down, because that path is a normal restart, not a force restart.
4. Restart with buttons when your iPhone responds
On iPhone X, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, or later, press and hold either Volume button and the Side button until the power-off slider appears.
Drag the slider.
Wait 30 seconds for the device to turn off.
Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.
5. Use the side button restart on supported older designs
On iPhone 8 or iPhone SE 2nd or 3rd generation, press and hold the Side button until the power-off slider appears.
Drag the slider.
Wait 30 seconds for the iPhone to turn off.
Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.
This is a standard restart, so use the force restart sequence in section 2 when the phone does not respond.
6. Skip older force restart advice on current iPhones
Do not use Side plus Volume Down for current iPhones; that older force restart method applies to iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus only.
Do not use Home plus Side or Top for current iPhones; that older force restart method applies to iPhone 6s and earlier only.
For current iPhones, press Volume Up, press Volume Down, then hold Side until the Apple logo appears.
7. Move to recovery mode when restarting fails
Connect your iPhone to your computer with a USB cable.
Open Finder on a Mac, or open the Apple Devices app on a PC. If the PC does not have the Apple Devices app, or the Mac is running macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes instead.
Keep the iPhone connected.
For iPhone 8 or later, including iPhone SE 2nd generation or later, press and quickly release Volume Up, press and quickly release Volume Down, then hold the Side button until the Connect to computer screen appears.
Locate your device on the computer.
Choose Update first when that option appears, then use Restore only after updating has not worked.
Recovery mode is a computer-assisted repair path, not the same thing as a normal force restart.
8. Reset a forgotten passcode from recovery mode
Turn off the iPhone.
Connect a cable to your Mac or Windows PC.
Connect the cable to the iPhone and quickly hold the button for your model: the Side button on an iPhone with Face ID, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or iPhone SE 2nd or 3rd generation; the Volume Down button on iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus; the Home button on iPhone 6s or earlier, including iPhone SE 1st generation.
Keep holding that button while the Apple logo appears.
Release the button only when the computer and cable image appears.
On Mac, open Finder, select your iPhone under Locations, then choose Restore.
On Windows, open Apple Devices, select your iPhone in the sidebar, choose Trust when necessary, select General, then choose Restore.
9. Check managed iPhones at work
This fixes organization-owned iPhones that are managed by an administrator, not personal iPhones.
Ask your workplace or school IT admin whether the iPhone is managed.
Have the admin send the mobile device management Restart Device command to a supervised organization-owned device.
For a personal iPhone, use the local force restart steps instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does force restarting an iPhone erase anything?
No. A force restart is just a restart triggered by hardware buttons. Recovery mode restore is different and erases the iPhone.
Why did holding the side button and volume button only show the slider?
That button combo opens the normal power-off slider on supported models. For a force restart, press Volume Up, press Volume Down, then hold only the Side button until the Apple logo appears.
How long should I hold the side button?
Hold it until the Apple logo appears. On iPhone with Face ID, Apple says this takes longer than 10 seconds in some cases.
What should I do if force restart does not fix it?
Use recovery mode with Finder on Mac or the Apple Devices app on PC. Choose Update first when that option appears, and use Restore only after updating has not worked.