How to Reset or Hard Reboot an iPhone or iPad

Despite all of Apple’s engineering efforts, there are some times when your iPhone or iPad stops responding to your touch and you need to reset iPhone. And no matter how long you hold down the power button, the option to power off your phone just doesn’t show up. Essentially, the iPhone or iPad has hung due to a software bug, caused by either iOS itself, or a misbehaving app. In such a case, there’s a straightforward way around the problem. That involves forcing your iPhone or iPad to restart – called a reset or hard restart, and erroneously, even hard reset iPhone by some –  by holding down a combination of two buttons for 10 seconds or more, which will then clear all running processes and well, forcibly reboot the device. It’s not recommended that you do this unless your device is frozen, but sometimes it can be an essential last resort.

Starting with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the Home button isn’t a physical button anymore. That’s why the button combination is different on those devices, as opposed to the older models before that.

How to reset/ hard reboot on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus

This method works on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. To force your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus to hard reset aka reboot iPhone, press and hold down the Sleep/ Wake button on top of your device, and the volume down button on the side of the phone, until the screen goes black and Apple logo appears in the middle. This might take up to 20 seconds, so don’t let go until you see the Apple logo.

How to reset/ hard reboot on older iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, and older iPhone models

This method works on all iPhone and iPad models, except the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. To force your iPhone or iPad to hard reboot aka reset, press and hold down the Home button (under the display) and the power button (or the Sleep/ Wake button, as Apple calls it) on top of the device, until the screen goes black and the Apple logo appears in the middle. This method works with the iPads as well.

Have you faced any problems resetting your iPhone or iPad? Tell us about your experience via the comments below.

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