How To Force Turn Off Iphone 7

If your iPhone won't turn off the usual way, you can force it to restart.
To force restart a recent iPhone that has Face ID, press and release the Volume Up followed by the Volume Down buttons, then hold the Side button until it restarts.
If you have an older iPhone, the button sequence to force a restart will vary slightly.
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You probably don't turn off your iPhone often, but when you do, the usual method is to use a button combination and an onscreen slider to restart the device.

But what if that doesn't work, or your iPhone is frozen and won't respond to screen inputs? That's when it's time to force restart your phone.

What to do when your iPhone won't turn off

Every iPhone has a sequence of buttons you can push to force restart your phone. It's a fail-safe method to ensure you can turn it off if the screen is unresponsive or the phone's software is misbehaving.

The specific method to force restart your iPhone varies, though, depending on which model you have.

How to force restart an iPhone with Face ID

If you have any model in the iPhone X, iPhone, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13 families (including variations like the iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max or iPhone 13 mini), or later, do this:

1. Press and release the Volume Up button.

2. Press and release the Volume Down button.

3. Press and hold the Side button (the Sleep button).

4. Wait until you see the Apple logo, and then release the button.

Press and quickly release the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons before holding the Side button.
Dave Johnson

How to force restart an iPhone 8 or iPhone SE (2nd generation)

If you have an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or an iPhone SE (second generation from 2020), do this:

1. Press and release the Volume Up button.

2. Press and release the Volume Down button.

3. Press and hold the Side button (the Sleep button).

4. Wait until you see the Apple logo, and then release the button.

How to force restart an iPhone 7

If you have an iPhone 7 or an iPhone 7 Plus, do this:

1. Press and hold the Volume Down and Side (Sleep) buttons at the same time.

2. Hold the buttons until the Apple logo appears, then release the buttons.

How to force restart an iPhone 6s, iPhone SE (1st generation), or earlier

If you have an older iPhone, such as the iPhone 6s, the first-generation iPhone SE (from 2016), or older, then do this:

1. Press and hold the Home and Side (Sleep) buttons at the same time.

2. Hold the buttons until the Apple logo appears, then release the buttons.

Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.