How To Force Restart or Hard Reset your iPhone [SIMPLE METHODS]

Today through this simple guide, I will explain to you how to force restart or hard reset your iPhone. Are you not able to switch on your iPhone? If it fell from your hand or got submerged in water for a long time, it may have been damaged. It is possible that the iPhone won’t start for something so simple as being out of battery power.

Perhaps some of our tech-savvy readers are wondering how a force restart differs from a regular restart? Normally, we can turn on our iPhones by turning them on. Why force restart it?

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Understanding Force Restart on iPhone

When you restart your iPhone, all the apps and iOS will be turned off. When apps and services are running in the background, their current state will be saved before they are turned off.

However, when we carry out a force restart or hard reset on iPhone, the power from the device’s battery will be shunted which provides juice to the entire hardware of the iPhone. In contrast to a normal restart, a force restart causes all active background applications and services to stop abruptly.

You can illustrate this difference by switching off the TV with the remote and turning it off with the main socket, and pulling out the plug.

It is important to note that force restarts abruptly stop the background services. Consequently, some applications or services could be corrupted. This will not cause any havoc on your iPhone, but you may later experience issues such as app crashes, which is not always the case on iOS, but users complain that it does occur.

When Should You Force Restart or Hard Reset your iPhone?

Following are my suggestions for when you should consider a hard reset or force restart for your iPhone.

Your iPhone is frozen and unresponsive.
There is still battery charge in the iPhone, but it cannot power on after being turned off.
Your phone fell from your hand, took an impact, and turned off.
After coming into contact with water, the device is no longer working properly.

Steps to Force Restart or Hard Reset your iPhone

The following are easy steps along with hotkey combinations to force restart or hard reset any iPhone model.

Force Restart iPhone 11/12/13 Series

When I mention series, this means it includes all the variants of that generation. For example, the iPhone 11 series includes the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and the Pro Max models. These models have a similar hardware design and key layout.

Likewise, you can force restart or hard reset your iPhone X/XS and XR via the same process.

In order to force restart the above mentioned iPhone models,

Press and release the Volume Up button.
After that, similarly, press the Volume Down button and let it go immediately.
Now, long-press the side button [the one that you use to switch on/off your iPhone].

force restart iphone

Wait until the Apple logo appears, and then release the side button. You have successfully executed the force restart.

Force Restart iPhone SE 2^nd Generation

With Touch ID, this iPhone is probably the only Apple model that maintains the older design rather than incorporating Face ID.

Press and release the Volume Up button.
Again, press the Volume Down button and let go.
Now, press and hold the side button until the Apple logo shows up.

force restart iPhone SE 2nd generation

As soon as the iPhone logo appears, it will boot into the home screen. This means you have successfully force restarted the iPhone. All should be well now.

What if Force Restart Doesn’t Do Anything?

Unfortunately, it may happen for some users that force restarting the iPhone will not yield any result and it doesn’t respond. It is advisable then, to get in touch with Apple Support or take the iPhone to your nearest Apple service center (authorized) and have it inspected by professionals.

This concludes the guide on how to force restart or hard reset the latest iPhone models you may use. We hope it has been helpful.

How to reset your iPhone?

When you factory reset an iPhone, it is critical that you back up your data and sign out of your Apple ID before wiping the device completely clean.

Backing up your iPhone to the iCloud is simple:

To begin, back up your iPhone to the iCloud to ensure that you don’t lose any previously stored data.

Open the Settings app and choose your name and Apple ID from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen.
On your Apple ID page, choose “iCloud.”
Click on “iCloud Backup” at the bottom of the list. The “Back Up Now” button will automatically back up all of your data to iCloud.

Log out of your Apple ID account:

Signing out of your Apple ID is critical if you are selling or giving away your phone, to ensure that no one else may access your account.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone and touch your name and Apple ID at the top of the page.
Tap “Sign Out” at the bottom of this page, which will take you to the next page.
It is possible that you may be required to enter your password. As soon as you have entered your password, press “Turn Off” in the top-right corner of the screen.

Reset your iPhone to its factory settings:

Choose Settings > General > Reset from the main menu, then choose to Erase All Content and Settings from the drop-down menu. Make a backup of your iPhone beforehand so that you can recover your data if anything happens.

Scroll down to “General” in the “Settings” menu and press it.
Tap “Reset” at the bottom of the “General” page.
You may factory reset your iPhone by selecting “Erase All Content and Settings” from the Reset page.
Following that, you’ll be asked to enter your password, after which your smartphone will ask you to confirm that you wish to wipe everything. To confirm, press the “Erase” button.
Although it may take a few minutes, depending on how much data you have saved on your iPhone, your device will resume as if it were brand new after the deleting process is complete.