How to Force Restart iPhone 12

Tips for both regular and hard resets

By
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Writer
  • Ithaca College
Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others.
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Updated on September 16, 2021
Reviewed by
Ryan Perian
Ryan Perian headshot
Reviewed by Ryan Perian
  • Western Governors University
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What to Know

  • To restart, hold down the side and volume down buttons, then move the slide to power off slider from left to right.
  • To do a hard reset, press and release Volume Up then Volume Down, then press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo.
  • To power your iPhone back on, hold down the Side button until the Apple logo appears.

This article explains how to perform the two basic kinds of iPhone 12 restart: the standard restart and the force restart. It also explains when you should use each method.

How to Restart (Soft Reset) an iPhone 12

Every so often, you'll probably need to restart the iPhone 12. You can restart an iPhone to solve problems like poor Wi-Fi connectivity, app crashes, or other minor bugs. Whether you need a standard restart or a force restart depends on your situation.

  • The standard restart turns the iPhone off and then turns it on again. This is also called a soft reset.
  • If the standard restart doesn't fix your problem or the iPhone is frozen and unresponsive, a force restart (also be called a hard reset) can work.

To restart an iPhone 12, follow these steps:

  1. Press and hold the Side button and Volume Down button.

    The Volume Up button works, too, but if you use that and don't time it quite right, you may accidentally take a screenshot.

  2. After a few seconds the slide to power off slider will appear on the screen. At that point, let go of the Side and Volume Down buttons.

  3. Move the slide to power off slider from left to right to shut down the phone.

    Been thinking about cleaning you iPhone screen? Doing it while the phone is off is smart. That way, you won't accidentally press anything on the screen or mistakenly change your settings.

  4. Wait about 15-30 seconds for the iPhone to turn off. When the iPhone is off and it's been 15-30 seconds, hold down the Side button again until the Apple logo appears. Let go of the Side button and let the iPhone 12 restart.

How to Force Restart iPhone 12

The standard restart can fix a lot of many problems, but it won't fix them all. If your iPhone 12 is completely frozen and pressing the Side button doesn't do anything—you need to try to force restart iPhone 12. Here's how:

  1. Press the Volume Up button once.

  2. Press the Volume Down button once.

  3. Press and hold the Side button. Keeping holding until you see the Apple logo. Ignore the slide to power off slider when it shows up. When the Apple logo appears, let go of the Side button.

  4. Wait while your iPhone 12 restarts.

Want to restart other models? We've got the instructions on how to restart every iPhone model ever made.

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