How to reset any iPhone

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By Erric Buttlar

If your iPhone has been giving you unusual problems. While attempting to access specific areas of the iOS operating system or when executing applications. With just a few simple button presses, this quick guide will demonstrate how to reset any iPhone, hopefully resolving any problems or glitches you may have been experiencing.

Depending on your iPhone model, Apple has made it simple to perform an iPhone reset by pressing a specific combination of buttons in a specific order. By doing so, the operating system and other software can restart without losing any data, much like when you reboot your computer.

This fast article will walk you through the process of doing an iPhone reset or hard restart on any Apple iPhone model. Whether it be an iPhone SE from the first generation, an iPhone 11, an iPhone X, an iPhone XS, an iPhone XR, an iPhone 8, an iPhone SE from the second generation, an iPhone 7 or an iPhone 6s, an iPhone 13, or another model with Face ID. Each generation of the iPhone has a slightly different process for forcing a restart, and the instructions below cover all of Apple’s most well-known models from the past couple of years.

How to reset any iPhone

iPhone X, 11, 12 or 13

You must quickly press and release the volume up and down buttons, as well as the side button, in order to reset your iPhone 11, 12, iPhone X, iPhone XS, or iPhone XR. Next, quickly press and hold the side button until your iPhone turns off and restarts displaying the Apple Logo. When you see the Apple logo on your screen, you may release any buttons, and your iPhone will begin hard-resetting its operating system and applications. It can be a little challenging to do this for the first time, but after doing it a few times, it becomes second nature.

iPhone 8 or iPhone SE 2nd generation

Similar to the new generation iPhone phones, you must quickly press and release the volume up button on your iPhone 8 or iPhone SE before doing the same on the volume down button. When the iPhone restarts itself, swiftly press and hold the side power button. Keep depressing the power button with your finger until the Apple logo appears. You can take your finger off the side button once the Apple logo appears and let your iPhone start up normally after that.

iPhone 7

If you have an older iPhone, you can force restart an iPhone 7 by simply holding down the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons simultaneously. The volume down button is the bottom button on the left side of your iPhone, and the Sleep/Wake button is located on the right side.

iPhone 6s or iPhone SE 1st generation

You must simultaneously press and hold the Sleep/Wake button on the right side of the phone and the circular “Home” button on the front of your Apple phone to force-start an iPhone 6s or iPhone SE from the first generation. Keep pressing until the Apple logo appears and your iPhone restarts and turns off. You can release the buttons once the Apple logo appears and let your iPhone restart normally.

Force restart

Using the iOS operating system, forcing a restart of your iPhone should help resolve any app-related problems that have arisen. It would be worthwhile contacting Apple to see if you can schedule an appointment with the Apple Genius bar or speak to an Apple Technical support representative to resolve your issue if, after hard-resetting your iPhone, you are still having issues with applications or the iOS operating system. Visit the official Apple Support website for more information on how to do this.

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