With the removal of the Home button in recent years, and as people upgrade to newer gesture-based iPhones, more people than ever ask how to restart and force restart iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 Pro models.
So, without further ado:
How to restart your iPhone X, XS, XR, 11, 12, or 12 Pro:
- Press and hold either volume button and the side button until the power off slider appears.
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Drag the slider, then wait 30 seconds for your device to turn off.
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To turn your device back on, press and hold the side button (on the right side of your iPhone) until you see the Apple logo.
If your screen is black or frozen, you might need to force restart your device. A force restart won’t erase the content on your device. You can force restart your device even if the screen is black or the buttons aren’t responding.
How to force restart your iPhone:
• iPhone 8 or later (including iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro): Up, down, hold: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then just press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo (which should happen in a few seconds).
• iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPod touch (7th generation): Press and hold both the Top (or Side) button and the Volume Down buttons until you see the Apple logo.
• iPhone 6s or earlier, iPad with Home button, and iPod touch (6th generation) or earlier: Press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons until you see the Apple logo.
And, that’s how easy it is to restart and force restart iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 Pro models.
Because doing the finger Macarena is just so much easier!
Your posts are an automatic 1 star vote,
Right there with your objectivity!
No, his characterization is perfectly fitting. For one, how stupid is having critical buttons opposing each other? This is especially so with the iPhones increasing in size & weight…it’s natural to compensate a force on the opposite side (ask Issac about equal and opposite reactions). Apple sacrificed common sense design per example above and basic ergonomics with the button changes a number of yrs ago. I wonder why? Second thought, I don’t wonder.
As well, users need a dedicated article for restarting/force restart! This is a result of choosing profit over “it just works.” Dump the Macarena…this operation should be (again) mindless. Yeah, I know…a first world-problem.
never needed to force-restart an iPhone. I wonder how frequently that finger dance is required?
I have to restart several times a year. As is, this isn’t a problem. But if I wasn’t able to figure out how to restart, that certainly would be one. You can’t look up restart instructions if your phone is frozen.
Apple has forgotten that public understanding of a product is part of the product. This is why these constant pointless changes in how things work are so destructive.
My focus shouldn’t have piggy-backed on the start/shut down function. The bone-headed issue relates to numerous times a day when shut off is confused up/down volume and visa-versa. Maybe I’m just a clumsy handler, but I am aware of the design foible almost everyday. Maybe I need to really focus (no I don’t think so–it should take no/little deliberation), so I don’t end up with another screen shot, or turn it off, when I really want the volume increased.
Does it really affect me? No, but because it’s Apple and I’m art/design passionate, speaking per ultimate, best, a-level design and ergo’ foci, it’s not. It’s a design sacrifice based on manufacturing costs.
Wow, who knew?
(Me)
I find the up, down, hold sequence the stupidest ever. It would be so much easier if Apple kept just 2 button combination and holding for long enough. I guess there was no Steve Jobs to object to the stupidity and Tim Cook possibly never knew or cared.
I read regularly your posts. You write shortly but explained very well. More power to you