What do you do if your iphone is frozen and wont turn off

Don’t freak out, there’s probably an easy fix if your iPhone has frozen. Chances are you can fix it with a simple combination of button presses.

There are a few ways you can fix a frozen iPhone. You don’t have to totally reset your device, sometimes the answer is quick and easy - it will however depend on what model you have. In this guide, we'll cover:

• Frozen iPhone with Face ID (iPhone 12, iPhone 11, et al)
• Frozen iPhone SE (2020), iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus
• Frozen iPhone 7, iPhons 7 Plus
• Frozen iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, or iPhone 6S Plus
• Frozen iPhone SE (2016), iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5, or earlier
• What to do if your iPhone is still frozen

Is it time for a new iPhone?

If your old iPhone is giving your grief, it might be time to make an upgrade. Here are a few popular iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro plans. 

Frozen iPhone with Face ID (iPhone 12, iPhone 11, et al)

If you have a modern iPhone with facial recognition (instead of a fingerprint reader) you'll use these steps if it's playing out. These instructions apply to the following devices:

• iPhone 12 
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone X

If you're dealing with a frozen or unresponsive app, follow these steps: 

• Swipe up from the home bar to about halfway up the screen to open the multitasking menu 
• Swipe left or right to the app in question
• Swipe up to flick the card away 

This will force the app to close. Next time you open it, the app will load from scratch.

If your iPhone is frozen to the point where swiping on the home bar doesn't do anything, you should try shutting it down next. To do this:

• Hold the side button on the right and the volume up button on the left until 'slide to power off' appears 
• Swipe this to shut down your iPhone
• After it's off, hold the side button to turn it back on

If you're not able to shut down your iPhone, you might need to soft reset it. To do this, you'll need to follow these steps:

• Quickly press and release the volume up button
• Quickly press and release the volume down button
• Press and hold the side button until the screen turns off and then turns back on

Getting the timing right can be a bit tricky; it always takes me about five tries to get this right, but keep trying until you get the right result. It definitely works.

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Frozen iPhone SE (2020), iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus

If the app you're using won't respond, follow these steps:

• Quickly double click your home button to open the multitasking menu 
• Swipe left or right to the app in question
• Swipe up to flick it away

This will force the app to close, and it will load from scratch next time you open it.

If your iPhone SE, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus is frozen to the point where the home button doesn't work, you should try shutting it down. Follow these stesp to do so:

• Hold the side button until 'slide to power off' appears 
• Swipe this to shut down your iPhone 
• Press the side button to turn your iPhone on again

If you're not able to shut down your iPhone SE, iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, you might need to soft reset it. To do this, you'll need to follow these steps:

• Quickly press and release the volume up button
• Quickly press and release the volume down button
• Press and hold the side button until the screen turns off and turns back on

The timing on this can be a bit tricky, so you might need to try a few times before your iPhone resets itself.

Frozen iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus

If the app you're in won't respond, follow these steps: 

• Quickly double click your home button to open the multitasking menu 
• Swipe left or right to the app in question
• Swipe up to flick it away

This will shut down the app, which will hopefully then work properly next time you open it.

If your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus is frozen to the point where the home button doesn't work, try shutting it down. To do so: 

• Hold the side button until 'slide to power off' appears 
• Swipe this to shut down your iPhone 
• Hold the side button to turn your iPhone on again

If you're not able to shut down your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, you might need to soft reset it. To do this, press and hold both the side and volume down buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.

Frozen iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, or iPhone 6S Plus

If the app you're in won't respond, follow these steps: 

• Quickly double click your home button to open the multitasking menu
• Swipe left or right to the app in question
• Swipe up to flick it away

This will shut down the app, which will hopefully then work properly next time you open it.

If your iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, or iPhone 6S Plus is unresponsive to the point where the home button doesn't work, you should try shutting it down. 

• Hold the side button until 'slide to power off' appears
• Swipe to shut down your iPhone 
• Hold the side button to power up again

If you're not able to shut down your iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, or iPhone 6S Plus, you're probably in need of a soft reset. To do this, press and hold both the side and home buttons down for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.

Frozen iPhone SE (2016), iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5, or earlier

If the app you're in won't respond, follow these steps:

• Quickly double click your home button to open the multitasking menu
• Swipe left or right to the app in question 
• Swipe up to flick it away

This will shut down the app, which will hopefully then work properly next time you open it.

If your iPhone SE, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5, or any other earlier model is unresponsive to the point where the home button doesn't work, try shutting it down. To do so:

• Hold the top button until 'slide to power off' appears
• Swipe to shut down your iPhone 
• Hold the side button to power up again

If the above doesn't do the trick, try a soft reset. To do this, press and hold both the top and home buttons down for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.

What to do if your iPhone is still frozen

If none of the above worked and your iPhone is still frozen or gets stuck during start up, you might need to take some more extreme steps.

• Connect your iPhone to a computer and open iTunes.
• While your device is connected, force it to restart by following these steps:
  • On an iPhone 8 or newer: Press and quickly release the volume up button. Press and quickly release the volume down button. Then, press and hold the side button until you see the recovery mode screen.
  • On an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the side and volume down buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery mode screen.
  • On an iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus or older: Press and hold both the home and the top (or side) buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery-mode screen.
• Don't release the buttons when you see the Apple logo. Keep holding until you see a recovery mode screen with the iTunes logo.
• When you get the option to restore or update on your computer, choose Update. iTunes will then try to reinstall the iPhone operating system without erasing your data.
• Alternatively, if you've backed up recently, you can hit restore to try and recover your phone using that backup. This will however mean you will lose any data that's on your iPhone that wasn't part of that backup.

If your iPhone won't turn on at all - and is definitely charged - you'll need to make an appointment with the Genius Bar at an Apple Store.