How to force restart an iPhone 7, iPhone 8 or iPhone SE

How To
By published

If your iPhone freezes up and is unresponsive, restarting it will get it up and running again. Here's how.

(Image credit: Future)

Many users still prefer iPhones with actual home buttons on the front, either for overall simplicity or Touch ID's ease of use and fast response. Whether you have an iPhone 7, iPhone 8 or the new iPhone SE 2020, the method for performing a force restart is an important one to know when your device freezes up.

The trick to doing this is a bit different compared to older iPhone models that had actual, physical home buttons and didn't rely on the Taptic Engine. It's also changed over the course of the phones' lifespans, due to the introduction of the emergency SOS feature.

Read on for instructions on how to force restart an iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus or second-generation iPhone SE on iOS 13 software. Note that this exact technique works on newer iPhones with Face ID, like the iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro, as well.

How to force restart iPhone 7, iPhone 8 or iPhone SE

(Image credit: Future)

1. Press volume up, then volume down in quick succession.

How to force restart iPhone 7, iPhone 8 or iPhone SE

(Image credit: Future)

2. Immediately afterwards, press and hold the side button on the right that triggers sleep/wake and Siri.

How to force restart iPhone 7, iPhone 8 or iPhone SE

(Image credit: Future)

3. You'll see a shut down slider appear on the screen, without an emergency SOS control. Don't interact with it. Instead, continue holding the side key until the screen shuts off.

How to force restart iPhone 7, iPhone 8 or iPhone SE

(Image credit: Future)

4. Release the side button when the screen goes dim. An Apple logo will inform you when the phone has begun to restart.

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Adam Ismail

Adam Ismail is a staff writer at Jalopnik and previously worked on Tom's Guide covering smartphones, car tech and gaming. His love for all things mobile began with the original Motorola Droid; since then he’s owned a variety of Android and iOS-powered handsets, refusing to stay loyal to one platform. His work has also appeared on Digital Trends and GTPlanet. When he’s not fiddling with the latest devices, he’s at an indie pop show, recording a podcast or playing Sega Dreamcast.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • Christopher1
    Probably had to change this because there is no physical home button anymore. Thanks for the info, now if only Apple had done the sane thing and documented it somewhere.
    Reply