How to force

Taps on the screen go unnoticed. Panicked swipes aren’t registered. Frantic button presses are ignored.

When your iPhone’s screen is black or frozen and not responding, a normal restart might not work for the simple reason that your iPhone has gotten itself in such a state that it fails to recognize you holding down the power and volume buttons — or your silent prayers. If your iPhone is unresponsive and won’t restart the usual way, then a force-restart can bring it back to life. Fear not: a force-restart does not erase anything on your iPhone.

From the iPhone 6s to the iPhone 12 and all models in between, here’s how you can bring back a stuck iPhone with a force-restart.

Force-restart an iPhone 12, iPhone 11, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone SE (2nd gen), iPhone X or iPhone 8

Force-restarting an iPhone released in the last four years is a three-button procedure:

  1. Press and release the volume-up button.
  2. Press and release the volume-down button.
  3. Press and hold the side button until the screen turns off and then turns back on. You can release the side button when the Apple logo appears.

Force-restart an iPhone 7

Press and hold both the volume-down button and the side button until you see the Apple logo.

Force-restart an iPhone 6s or iPhone SE (1st-gen)

Press and hold both the sleep/wake button and the home button until you see the Apple logo.

Last option: Reinstall iOS

If your iPhone is really messed up and just won’t start, you may need to reinstall its operating system. To do that, connect your iPhone to your computer and start iTunes. Next, perform a force-restart of your iPhone but don’t let go of the button(s) when the Apple logo appears. Instead, keep holding until you see the recovery mode screen — the screen with the iTunes logo and Lightning connector. 

When you see this screen on your iPhone, you should then see a window in iTunes on your computer to Restore or Update your iPhone. Click Update and iTunes will reinstall iOS — and will do so without erasing your settings, apps and data.

If Update doesn’t work, then you’ll need to opt for Restore, which will erase all of your data and reinstall iOS and then prompt you to restore a backup in iTunes or iCloud that you hopefully created in the recent past.

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How to force

There are two sides to the debate on whether or not you should force-close iPhone apps — that is, stop an app from running in the background — as soon as you’re done with them. On the one hand, closing an app can declutter your phone as you switch between apps. It might even speed up your phone and improve battery life. On the other hand, some argue that it doesn’t matter what you do with apps in the background because iOS is designed to prevent excessive battery drain from rogue apps. 

Closing out apps that you haven’t used in months will clean up your multitasking view and make it easier to switch between the apps you actually use. Also, keep in mind, each time you force-quit an app, it will take a little longer for it to open. 

Apple says you should force-close an app “only if it’s unresponsive.” This aligns with my personal philosophy on the subject, that force-closing an app can be a helpful troubleshooting tool.


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For example, if you find yourself dealing with an app that just isn’t working right, whether it’s not loading images or is simply frozen, start by force-closing the app. How you go about quitting an app depends on whether or not your iPhone has a home button. Below you’ll find steps for both types of iPhones. 

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Double-press the home button to get to the multitasking view. 


Angela Lang/CNET

Have an iPhone with a home button? Follow these steps

To close an app on an iPhone with a home button, like the 2020 iPhone SE:

1. Double-press the home button to open the multitasking view. 

2. Slide each app’s preview card up and off the screen. You can swipe multiple cards at the same time using a second or third finger to speed up the process. 

Force-close apps with a couple of swipes.


Jason Cipriani/CNET

Does your iPhone have Face ID? Here’s what you need to know

Force-closing an app on an iPhone without a home button, like the iPhone 11, is a quick process. Here’s what you need to do:

1. With your iPhone unlocked, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause about a quarter of the way up to activate the multitasking view. 

2. With a stack of app preview cards now visible, swipe each card up and off of the screen to close the app. You aren’t limited to closing one app at a time, either. Use a second or third finger to swipe up two or three cards at a time to speed up the process. 

Of course, as soon as you open an app again, it’s going to show back up in the multitasking view, and the cycle repeats. 

Now that your iPhone’s multitasking view is free of problematic apps (or apps altogether), take a few minutes to learn all about iOS 13’s most popular features, along with the hidden features we can’t get enough of. And if you’re new to iPhone, then here are some things you should do with it right away.

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How to force

Shutdown menu on the Apple Watch.
Jason Cipriani/CNET

The first question every IT person asks when troubleshooting an issue is usually “have you tried restarting it yet?” And in most cases, it’s the right question to ask.

There’s just something about rebooting a gadget running complicated software that seems to set it back on the right path and convince it to start working again.

If you run into issue, try a basic restart by powering down your watch by pressing the side button until the shutdown screen appears, followed by sliding the Power Off button to the side in an attempt to remedy the situation.

Or you can use the power of a force-restart to scare it into submission.

To force restart your Apple Watch, press and hold both the Digital Crown and the side Button together for roughly 10 seconds. Eventually the Apple logo will appear on the screen of your watch, indicating the watch is rebooting.

With any luck, the reboot will have cleared up any issues you may have been experiencing.

If the issue is related to a specific app, you can always try to force-quit the respective app by following these instructions.

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How to force


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No matter what side of the debate you stand on when it comes to clearing out apps in the app drawer on iOS, you may find yourself wanting to clear out or force close apps in iOS 7’s “app drawer” but quickly realize it (like everything else) has changed. It’s not completely clear how to close apps on iOS 7, but it’s incredibly easy.


Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

The first thing you’ll notice if you didn’t catch the original demo of multitasking on iOS 7 is that double-clicking the home button no longer reveals a drawer with app icons. Instead you’ll find cards, similar to what was once found on WebOS, containing a screenshot of the app with the app icon just below it.

You’ll be able to swipe in either direction between the cards. Swiping all the way to the right will take you to a card for the home screen, while going to the left will reveal apps that have recently been used.

Tapping on any card will then launch the respective app and take to you to the screen represented in the card. Clicking the home button again won’t return you to the home screen, instead you’ll be taken to the app you were in when you launched the fast app switching view.


Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

Complete coverage

To force close an app due to freezing or troubleshooting various issues, launch into multitasking and swipe up on the app’s card — not the icon — but the card itself.

The two big takeaways here are: remember to swipe up, and pressing the home button when viewing cards will always take you back to the app you were in, not the home screen.


Jason Cipriani/CNET

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