How to force restart a stuck iPhone X – CNET

Taps on the screen go unnoticed. Panicked swipes aren’t registered. Frantic button presses are ignored.

If your iPhone is stuck, frozen or otherwise unresponsive, a normal restart may not solve its ills. Your next step is a force restart. Fear not: This doesn’t erase anything on your iPhone.

If you recently upgraded to an iPhone X (or an iPhone 8 or 8 Plus), however, then you might have discovered that the old force restart method no longer works. And if you never knew or can’t remember the old method, then let us review.

Force restart on an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus

Press and hold both the side and volume down buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.

Force restart on an iPhone 6S (or earlier)

Press and hold both the home and the side (or top, depending on the model) buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.

Force restart on an iPhone X or iPhone 8

Apple changed the way to make emergency calls on the iPhone X and iPhone 8. Because this maneuver involves pressing and holding the side button and one of the volume buttons, the force restart routine changed as a result. Force restarting an iPhone X or iPhone 8 requires a three-button procedure:

  • Press and release the volume up button.
  • Press and release the volume down button.
  • Press and hold the side button until the screen turns off and then turns back on. You can release the side button when the Apple logo appears.

Last option: Reinstall iOS

If your iPhone is really messed up and won’t start up, you may need to reinstall its operating system. To do that, connect your iPhone to your computer and start iTunes. Next, perform a force restart of your iPhone but don’t let go of the button(s) when the Apple logo appears. Instead, keep holding until you see the recovery mode screen — the screen with the iTunes logo and Lightning connector. 

When you see this screen on your iPhone, you should then see a window in iTunes on your computer to Restore or Update your iPhone. Click Update and iTunes will reinstall iOS — and will do so without erasing your settings, apps and data.

If Update doesn’t work, you’ll need to opt for Restore, which will erase all of your data and reinstall iOS and then prompt you to restore a backup in iTunes or iCloud that you hopefully created in the recent past.

Read more: How to back up your iPhone