This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions.
There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
This article has been viewed 7,781,749 times.
Learn more...
Is your iPhone unresponsive? Performing a hard reset (or hard restart) of your iPhone is an easy way to restart your iPhone when pressing buttons or using the on-screen menu items isn't working. Hard-resetting your iPhone requires pressing a certain button combination that varies by model. This wikiHow guide will teach you how to force a locked-up iPhone to restart, and show you what do if you can't reset your phone.
Sometimes you have to know how to hard reset an iPhone, for instance if your phone freezes up for no good reason and you need to give it a prod to get it working again. Of course, you can hope your phone will spring back to life of its own accord, but it's still handy to have this as an option in your back pocket.
The way you do it differs depending on your iPhone model, but all the methods are pretty similar. And we're going to show them to you now. So grab that misbehaving handset and read on to find out how to hard reset an iPhone.
Note: If you're using an older iPhone, you will either have to hold the volume down button and power button together (iPhone 7) or hold the power button and home button together (iPhone 6S or older) to reset.
We've got all the important iPhone how-tos for you here on TG to help you get to know your phone better. To make sure you're up to speed with iPhone basics, check out our guides on how to screenshot on iPhone, how to change passcode on iPhone or how to change the time on iPhone so you can grab screens, swap PINs and alter your clock whenever you need to.
For some more advanced iPhone features, we can show you how to turn off background refresh on iPhone to save some battery, how to turn Live Photos into video to send them to Android users, how to overlay images on iPhone for more creative photo edits, and how to turn on spatial audio on iPhone to listen to your music and movies in 360-degree sound. If you're sick of annoying pop ups, find out how to block pop ups in Safari on iPhone. If you want to end your TikTok addiction, here's how to set time limits on iPhone apps with Screen Time. And if you're going skiing, learn how to disable Crash Detection on iPhone, so your phone doesn't call the ambulance when it shouldn't.
Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee."}), " -0-10/js/authorBio.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Richard PridaySocial Links NavigationAssistant Phones EditorRichard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.
I've done the hard restart - Volume up, Volume down, Hold power button until Apple logo shows - and nothing changes. Same condition as before. I can call my phone and it rings, but nothing on the screen works. What to do now? Please advise!
The other option is to ? Restore your iPhone from a backup file. This will restore your iPhone and then use the backup file to put all the data back on your iPhone. Of course, if you do not have a backup file, on iCloud or a computer, then this does not apply.
If you restore without a backup, then you lose all your data that currently resides on your iPhone. Your iPhone would be restored to factory settings and apps. If you use iCloud then your contacts, photos, calendar events, notes etc. will be restored back to the iPhone once you log on to your iPhone. To check what is backed up on iCloud, use your computer to log on to ? www.icloud.com with your Apple ID and you should be able to see what is backed up.
Your iPhone appears to be frozen due to a software malfunction at this time. Have you attempted to Restore yet? Restore function will set the iPhone to factory settings and clear out any software issues. If you have attempted Restore, then what were the results?
Oh, yes, the reason it is marked as Solved is because VBeckmann clicked the Solved button, so it solved it for them. Only the person who makes the first post in a thread can mark the thread as Solved.
Actually I did find that and did the RECOVERY procedure. It seemed to be doing something for an hour. When it was finished nothing had changed. There was a RESTORE option that I was wary to do. No one has been able to tell me if I lose some data if I go that route - texts, calendar info, contacts, etc.
I chatted with Apple Support today. We did the hard Reset and Recovery Mode UPDATE. Same as I tried before. But still no changes to my frozen iPhone. Three days without is a huge issue! Will try again tomorrow with Apple Care and try the RESTORE option. Not quite sure how to do that from iTunes or iCloud. My iPhone icon does not show on my iMac desktop or in iTunes.
Most cell phone carriers offer generous upgrade plans nowadays, making it easy to snag the latest iPhone without dropping tons of cash. The official upgrade process at the majority of retailers includes a factory reset step, ensuring all your data is wiped clean and preventing any subsequent users from accessing your files.
Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.
If you're experiencing issues with your iPhone, like if it's freezing or glitching, resetting the device to its factory settings may solve the problem. Or, if you're selling or giving away your iPhone, you'll want to reset it so all your personal information is wiped from the device.
Resetting your iPhone to its factory settings will take it back to the basics it came with: no contacts, playlists, pictures, password memory, or anything else you've added since the day you bought it.
But before you begin the process of resetting your iPhone, it's important to back up all your data so you don't lose your important information. After your iPhone has been reset, you can then restore it with your backup.
8. Finally, tap Erase iPhone to delete all content and settings. This could take a few minutes, depending on how much you have stored on your iPhone, but once the deletion is completed, your device will restart as new.
5. iTunes will ask if you want to back up your iPhone's settings before restoring the phone. Depending on what you want to do, click either Back Up or Don't Back Up.
Apple's iPhones are known for their reliability, often lasting years with minimal maintenance when treated properly. However, there may come a time when your iPhone needs a hard reset. Whether it's freezing screen or chasing apps, knowing how to hard reset your iPhone is invaluable.
If your iPhone freezes, it may not even be able to show you the power slider. In this case, you will have to force restart your device. But don't worry! This process won't harm your iPhone at all. Just be aware that if you were working on something, the hard reset will likely erase any unsaved data.
If your iPhone feels slow, freeing up some space could help it run better. Quickly free up space by removing photo clutter with CleanMyPhone. It scans for things like duplicates and blurry pictures, then makes it easy to get rid of them.
In general, both terms describe the same process and have the same effect on the device. It's also important to understand that neither hard reset nor force restart erase your data. At the same time, they can fix many minor iPhone issues.
Now that you know how to reset an iPhone with buttons, we're throwing out the conventional approach of addressing problems before solutions, and diving straight into the toolkit of iPhone troubleshooting methods. Why? Because sometimes, it's just easier to know what fixes are available before diving into the nitty-gritty of the problem.
By mastering these reboot tricks, you can quickly fix most iPhone issues. But why stop there? Let's also learn how to stop these problems before they even start. Here's how to deal with common iPhone issues:
The iPhone gets stuck in Recovery Mode and can't complete the reset. Use iTunes/Finder on a computer to restore the iPhone to factory settings. Connect the iPhone to the computer using a USB cable, open iTunes/Finder, and select the option to restore the device. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
This is most likely a software issue that can occur on older iPhone models due to outdated software and hardware. All you have to do is force restart your iPhone as described above. If this doesn't work, try doing the same thing after charging your phone for a while, as your phone may not have enough power to turn on.
d3342ee215