How to Force Restart iPhone 15

To force restart an iPhone 15, press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the side button on the right edge until the Apple logo appears. Keep holding through the power-off slider and the black screen; the logo can take more than 10 seconds to show up. A force restart doesn’t erase anything on the phone.

Applies to: iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, on iOS 17 through iOS 27 (the current release). The button sequence is the one in Apple’s article on restarting an iPhone that isn’t responding, and it is the same on every Face ID iPhone.

Restart or force restart: which one do you need?

These two terms sound alike but work differently, and a third one, reset, is something else entirely.

• Restart (normal): iOS closes apps and shuts down in an orderly way, then you turn the phone back on. Use it when the screen still responds to touch but something feels off, such as a sluggish app or Wi-Fi that won’t connect.
• Force restart: the phone reboots right away without waiting for iOS to shut down. Use it when the screen is frozen, stays black, or ignores taps and the power-off slider won’t respond. Your photos, messages and settings stay put, though a frozen app may lose work you hadn’t saved.
• Reset or erase: changes settings or wipes the phone. It is not a fix for a frozen screen. If you get to that point, read the iPhone 15 reset options first so you know which ones keep your data.

Rule of thumb: try a normal restart if you can, and switch to a force restart when the phone won’t cooperate.

Find the right buttons first

Hold the iPhone 15 with the screen facing you.

• Volume up and volume down are the two separate buttons on the left edge. Volume up is the one nearer the top.
• The side button is the single long button on the right edge. It’s the button you press to lock the screen.
• On iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, the small button above the volume buttons is the Action button. It plays no part in a force restart, even if you’ve assigned it to something like the flashlight. On iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, that spot has the Ring/Silent switch instead, which you also leave alone.

If you use a thick or stiff case and the presses don’t seem to register, take the case off before you start.

How to force restart iPhone 15

1. Press and release volume up. Give it one quick tap and let go right away. Nothing visible happens yet.
2. Press and release volume down. Tap it once, again without holding. Do this straight after the first press.
3. Press and hold the side button. Start holding immediately after the volume down tap and don’t let go. After a few seconds, the power-off slider may appear at the top of the screen. Ignore it and keep holding.

4. Keep holding until you see the Apple logo. The screen goes black, and then the Apple logo appears. Apple notes this can take more than 10 seconds. Release the side button when the logo shows.
5. Wait for the Lock Screen. The phone finishes starting up on its own. Enter your passcode when asked.

Expect to type your passcode once after the restart before Face ID unlocks the phone again. That’s normal after any restart and doesn’t mean something went wrong.

Getting the timing right

Most failed attempts come down to one of these slips:

• Holding a volume button. The volume presses should be quick taps. If you hold one, the sequence doesn’t register.
• Pausing between steps. Move from volume up to volume down to the side button without a break.
• Letting go at the slider. The power-off slider appearing is not the finish line. Releasing the side button there just leaves you looking at the slider. Keep holding until the logo appears.
• Squeezing two buttons together. Holding the side button and a volume button at the same time is a different shortcut: it brings up the power-off and Emergency SOS sliders.

Be careful with that last one. According to Apple’s Emergency SOS article, if you keep holding the side and volume buttons, a countdown starts, and with Call with Hold and Release turned on, releasing at the end of the countdown calls emergency services. If you see a countdown, let go before it ends, then start the force restart sequence again from step 1. You can review these options in Settings > Emergency SOS, and the walkthrough on turning off SOS shortcuts on an iPhone 14 uses the same settings found on iPhone 15.

Restart iPhone 15 normally when the screen still works

A normal restart is the gentler option. It’s the first thing to try for everyday glitches.

With the buttons

1. Press and hold the side button and either volume button until the power-off slider appears.
2. Drag the slider to the right.
3. Wait 30 seconds for the phone to shut down completely.
4. Press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.

Those are the steps in Apple’s Restart your iPhone article.

From Settings

Open Settings > General, scroll to the bottom, tap Shut Down, and drag the slider. Wait about 30 seconds, then hold the side button to turn the phone back on. This route helps when a button is hard to press.

Other ways

• Control Center: on recent iOS versions, Control Center includes a power control in its top-right corner. Touch and hold it to bring up the power-off slider.
• Siri: on recent versions you may be able to ask Siri to restart iPhone, then confirm when it asks.
• AssistiveTouch: if the side button is broken, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch and turn it on. Apple’s AssistiveTouch article lists restarting the device among the actions its on-screen menu can perform; look under Device in that menu.

None of these software options help if the screen is frozen, because they all need a working touchscreen. For a frozen phone, use the force restart above. If you only need the phone off rather than restarted, see how to turn off an iPhone 15 Pro Max, which uses the same buttons as the rest of the iPhone 15 line.

When a force restart is worth trying

• The screen is frozen on one app or the Home Screen and doesn’t respond to swipes or taps.
• The screen stays black, but you suspect the phone is on (it rings, vibrates or plays sound).
• The power-off slider won’t appear, or dragging it does nothing.
• The Dynamic Island is stuck showing an old timer, call or song and a normal restart isn’t possible.

If only one app is misbehaving and the rest of the phone works, you probably don’t need a restart at all. Try to close the app on your iPhone 15 and open it again.

If your iPhone 15 still doesn’t respond

Work through these in order. Apple’s guidance for an iPhone that won’t turn on follows the same path.

1. Charge it for an hour. Plug the iPhone into a wall charger with a USB-C cable and leave it for one hour, then try the force restart again. A completely drained battery looks exactly like a dead phone.
2. Check the charging setup. If a low-battery icon appears but the phone doesn’t start, Apple suggests checking the cable, the USB-C port and the power adapter, making sure everything is firmly connected and undamaged, then charging for another 30 minutes.
3. Try another cable or adapter. If nothing appears at all after charging, swap in a cable and adapter you know work.
4. Use recovery mode. If the phone gets stuck on the Apple logo or keeps restarting, recovery mode lets a computer reinstall iOS. The steps are below.
5. Contact Apple Support. If none of that works, or the phone rings and vibrates but the screen stays dark, the hardware may need service.

Recovery mode: the next step when the Apple logo won’t go away

Recovery mode uses almost the same button sequence as a force restart, but with the iPhone connected to a computer. You’ll need a Mac with Finder or a Windows PC with the Apple Devices app, plus a USB-C cable that fits your computer.

1. Connect the iPhone 15 to the computer with the cable. On a Mac, open a Finder window. On Windows, open the Apple Devices app. Apple recommends updating macOS or the Apple Devices app first.
2. On the iPhone, press and quickly release volume up, then press and quickly release volume down.
3. Press and hold the side button. Keep holding past the Apple logo until the Connect to computer screen appears (a computer and a cable).
4. On the computer, find the iPhone and choose Update when the Update or Restore options appear. Update tries to reinstall iOS while keeping your data.

5. Choose Restore only if Update doesn’t work. Restore erases the iPhone and installs a fresh copy of iOS, so you’d set it up again from a backup.

If the download takes more than 15 minutes, the phone may leave the Connect to computer screen on its own. Apple says to let the download finish, then repeat the button steps to get back into recovery mode. The full instructions are in Apple’s article on what to do if you can’t update or restore your iPhone.

How to tell it worked

• You saw the screen go black, then the Apple logo, and the phone landed on the Lock Screen asking for your passcode.
• The problem that sent you here, such as a frozen app or an unresponsive screen, is gone.
• Your apps, photos and messages are all still there. A force restart has nothing to undo.

If the same freeze comes back often, update iOS in Settings > General > Software Update, check Settings > Battery for battery health, and think about which app you installed or updated just before the trouble started. When the phone froze while connected to your car and the car also won’t start, a weak car battery may be the real cause, so check what to look at when a car won’t start first.

Frequently asked questions

Will a force restart delete anything on my iPhone 15?

No. It reboots the phone; it doesn’t reset or erase it. The only thing at risk is unsaved work inside an app that was frozen when you restarted, such as a half-typed note that hadn’t synced.

Is the force restart different on iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max?

No. All four iPhone 15 models use volume up, volume down, then hold the side button. The Action button on the Pro models isn’t involved, and changing what it does won’t change the sequence.

Does this work on older and newer iPhones too?

Yes, for every iPhone with Face ID and for iPhone 8 and iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later. iPhone 7 uses a different combination (side button plus volume down held together), and models with a Home button before that use the Home button. If you’re helping someone with a slightly older phone, the guide to hard resetting an iPhone 13 covers it.

Can I force restart with a cracked screen?

Yes. The force restart only uses the physical buttons, so it works even when the touchscreen doesn’t. If the buttons themselves are damaged or stuck, the phone needs service, because a restore can also fail when a button sticks.

Why does my iPhone ask for the passcode instead of Face ID after restarting?

After a restart, iPhone generally asks for the passcode the first time you unlock it, as a security measure. Once you enter it, Face ID should work again as usual.

Is it bad to force restart often?

Doing it now and then to clear a freeze is fine. Needing it every day points to a deeper issue, like an app problem, low storage or an iOS bug, so it’s worth updating iOS and looking for a pattern rather than relying on force restarts.

What’s the difference between recovery mode and DFU mode?

Recovery mode is the option Apple documents for owners: it lets Finder or the Apple Devices app update or restore iOS. DFU mode is a deeper restore state that Apple’s owner troubleshooting articles don’t walk you through. Try recovery mode first, and if it fails, contact Apple Support instead of experimenting.

Next step

Once your iPhone 15 is back on the Lock Screen, unlock it with your passcode and check that the app or feature that froze works again. If it freezes again soon, update iOS first, then work through the troubleshooting list above before you consider resetting anything. If the status bar shows SOS instead of signal bars after the restart, a quick phone-or-carrier test helps you get an iPhone 15 out of SOS mode.