How to Hard Reset an iPhone

Force-restart a frozen or unresponsive iPhone in seconds — no data is erased.

1. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button

   Press it once and let go right away — don't hold it. This is the first move in the button sequence on every iPhone 8 and newer (including all Face ID models).

2. Quickly press and release the Volume Down button

   Again, a single quick tap. Doing Volume Up then Volume Down in fast succession is what tells the phone you're starting a force restart, not a screenshot or Emergency SOS.

3. Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears

   Keep holding — about 10 to 15 seconds. The screen may show the power-off slider or go black first; ignore that and keep holding until the white Apple logo appears, then release.

4. Let the phone finish restarting

   It takes another 15 to 30 seconds to boot. A hard reset does NOT delete any photos, apps, or settings — it just power-cycles a stuck phone. If it freezes again right away, plug it into a charger for 30 minutes and try once more.