How to reset your iPhone, restart it, and wipe it clean

If you plan to upgrade to the latest iPhone, such as the iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro, you may want to reset your old phone before throwing it away or giving it away. As iPhone users, we’ve learned all kinds of tips and tricks over the years, but it always helps to review the basics. One important aspect that every iPhone user should know is how to reset their device. In the past, the process was the same for all models, but something has changed since the launch of the iPhone X with Face ID and no Home button.

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  • Difference Between Soft Reset, Force Reboot and Factory Reset
  • How to soft reset your iPhone
  • How to force restart your iPhone
  • Force restart iPhone 8 and above
  • iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus force restart
  • Force restart iPhone 6S or earlier and iPhone SE (2016)
  • What to do if restarting doesn’t work
  • What to do if restarting iPhone 8 and later doesn’t work
  • What to do if restarting your iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus doesn’t work
  • What to do if restarting doesn’t work on iPhone 6S or earlier and iPhone SE (2016)
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If you upgraded from an older iPhone model to one of the latest models but never had to reset it, you might be confused about how to start the process.

We explain how to reset your iPhone, when you should restart your iPhone, and how to force a restart if your phone is unresponsive. We’ve also listed the differences between reboot, soft reset, and factory reset.

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Difference Between Soft Reset, Force Reboot and Factory Reset

Restarting your iPhone using the software option (soft reset) will not result in any data loss. The same goes for Force Restart, which allows you to restart your iPhone using hardware keys when the touchscreen becomes unresponsive or apps start behaving strangely. Factory reset is a completely different beast. It restores your iPhone to its original state when you first took it out of the box: it erases all content, settings, and personal information from the device.

We recommend that you only perform an iPhone factory reset as a last resort if you encounter a problem that cannot be solved, but not when you sell or trade in your iPhone, give it to a friend, or if your phone is lost or stolen. It doesn’t have to be permanent, as you can use the backup to restore all of your phone’s data and settings. If you need to factory reset, read our guide on how to factory reset your iPhone, which also includes details on reset options in: settings > General > reset.

iPhone 14 Pro labeled with volume up, down, and side buttons
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How to soft reset your iPhone

The easiest way to soft reset your iPhone is to turn it off. This method is often called a “soft reset” because unlike a factory reset, you won’t lose any data and nothing will be deleted from your phone. When your phone is running slow, apps won’t launch or work properly, or you’re experiencing minor issues but your iPhone is still responsive, consider a soft reset. Apple has changed the way it performs a soft reset on the X, 11, 12,13 and 14 series iPhones, where a soft reset requires you to hold down two buttons. All you do here is turn off your phone.

Step 1: Press and hold sleep/wake button and lower the volume button. On iPhone X and later, you’ll find the Sleep/Wake button on the right side of the phone.

iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 16, volume and side buttons circled in red
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

Step 2: Place your fingers on Slide to power off The slider that appears, then swipe to the right.

Image used with permission of the copyright holder

Step 3: When there is nothing on the screen and goes black, press and hold sleep/wake Press the button again until the Apple logo appears to turn it back on.

If you’re using an iPhone SE or iPhone 8 or earlier, just press and hold sleep/wake button until the slider appears.

Alternatively, if you have iOS 11 or higher, you can visit settings > General and scroll to the bottom where you will find closure button.when you click closure,you will see Slide to power off Slider. You can then proceed to step 2 above.

Image used with permission of the copyright owner

How to force restart your iPhone

Another way to reset your iPhone is to perform what Apple officially calls a “force restart.” Again, no important data will be lost. When your iPhone becomes completely unresponsive, it is recommended to force restart it. For example, your iPhone screen goes black (despite being powered on), the screen freezes, or your iPhone encounters problems during startup. The exact method of performing a force restart depends on the iPhone model you have.

iPhone 14 Pro labeled with volume up, down, and side buttons
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

Force restart iPhone 8 and above

The following steps apply to iPhone 8, iPhone SE (2nd generation and above), iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14 series.

Step 1: Press and release quickly Increase the volume button.

Step 2: Press and release quickly Volume down button.

Step 3: Press and hold sleep/wake button until you see the Apple logo.

iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 16, volume and side buttons circled in red
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends
Product red iPhone 7 and 7 plus
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iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus force restart

Press and hold sleep/wake and Volume down button until the Apple logo appears

How to reset iPhone with iPhone 8 and side button brought out.
Image used with permission of the copyright owner

Force restart iPhone 6S or earlier and iPhone SE (2016)

Press and hold sleep/wake and Home buttons together until the Apple logo appears.

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What to do if restarting doesn’t work

If your phone is unresponsive or malfunctioning, you can try entering recovery mode, which should allow you to update or restore your phone. However, if you can’t get past the Apple logo, or your phone is unresponsive, there is another option.

While this may be your only option to save your phone, this process will delete anything you previously had on your phone. Hopefully, you followed our guide on how to back up your iPhone so that you can restore your data after erasing your iPhone. Here’s how to enter recovery mode.

How to reset iPhone with iPhone X and side button brought out.
Image used with permission of the copyright owner

What to do if restarting iPhone 8 and later doesn’t work

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes. If you have a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, open a Finder window.

Image used with permission of the copyright owner

Step 2: Press and release quickly Increase the volume button.

Step 3: Press and release quickly Volume down button.

Step 4: Press and hold sleep/wake button until you see the recovery mode screen appear.

Mac recovery mode screen.
Image used with permission of the copyright owner

Step 5: In iTunes or Finder on your computer, select Update or Restore Device to start resetting your iPhone.

Apple iPhone 7 Plus review
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What to do if restarting your iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus doesn’t work

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes. If you have a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, open a Finder window.

Step 2: Press and hold sleep/wake button and Volume down Press and hold the buttons simultaneously until you see the recovery mode screen appear.

Step 3: In iTunes or Finder on your computer, select renew or recover Your device starts resetting your iPhone.

How to reset iPhone and invoke hardware buttons using iPhone 6.
Image used with permission of the copyright owner

What to do if restarting doesn’t work on iPhone 6S or earlier and iPhone SE (2016)

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes. If you have a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, open a Finder window.

Step 2: Press sleep/wake Button + Home button simultaneously until you see the recovery mode screen appear.

Step 3: In iTunes or Finder on your computer, select renew or recover Your device starts resetting your iPhone.

As you can see, there are different ways to restart your iPhone if you have problems or just want to restart it every now and then. While the process varies depending on which iPhone model you have, it’s still relatively simple. We have listed different methods for you here, but always try a soft reset or force reboot first – the update/recovery method is basically used when all else fails.

Editor’s Note: This article was reviewed on September 14, 2023, and DT confirms that the steps and information contained within remain accurate.

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