How to Soft Reset Your iPhone

Soft resetting should be one of your first troubleshooting steps whenever you face issues on your iPhone. Here, we'll teach you how to do that.

Dave Johnson
By Dave Johnson - Senior Editor, Help & How To Guides
1 Min Read

It’s normal for an iPhone to have a hiccup now and then. Fortunately, you can often resolve the problem at home without any cost. The solution is to soft reset your iPhone.

Let’s first quickly look at what an iPhone soft reset does. Then, we’ll go through the steps on how to soft reset an iPhone.

What Is an iPhone Soft Reset?

A soft reset is also known as a force restart. A soft reset differs from a "normal" restart. The latter simply involves turning off your iPhone and turning it on again.

Take note that a soft reset also differs from a hard reset. When you hard reset or factory reset your iPhone, the procedure erases your iPhone’s data and restores your device to its blank, default state, as though you just bought it.

You’ll likely soft reset your iPhone when it’s completely frozen. For example, when your iPhone is stuck on the Apple logo. A soft reset does not erase any data.

How to Soft Reset an iPhone

Follow these steps to soft reset your iPhone:

  1. Press and quickly release the volume up button.
  2. Press and quickly release the volume down button.
  3. Press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo. You can now release the side button.

It’s important to press each button in immediate succession. However, you don’t need to rush through the steps urgently. Pacing it at one button per second is sufficient.

Carry Out an iPhone Soft Reset Easily

Whenever you face issues with your device, a quick go-to solution is to simply soft reset your iPhone. The method is easy to carry out once you know the steps.

However, if the problem persists, you might need to put your iPhone in recovery mode and reinstall iOS. Just don’t forget to back up all your data before you do that.

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About Our Expert

Dave Johnson
ByDave JohnsonVerified author
Senior Editor, Help & How To Guides
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Experience

As NerdsModo’s editor of how to content, I have to cover a wide variety of topics related to Apple products and also make our stories accessible to everyday users. Considering my history as a technical writer, copywriter, and all-around freelancer covering baseball, comics, and more at various outlets, I am used to making myself into an expert.

My job as how-to guru means I use just about every Apple product and service, so I can figure out how everything works. I work from a MacBook Air running macOS Tahoe, but also have a very large iMac and Apple silicon MacBook Pro. I also have an iPhone 16 Pro for personal use and use a iPhone 17 Pro Max for additional testing. For iPadOS coverage, an iPad Pro with M2 works like a charm, though it’s already becoming a little long in the tooth.

My desktop situation includes a dual display setup with an Apple Studio Display. I also use a Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse and a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad (my favorite Apple keyboard; I love it but my wife hates it!). I’m a recent convert from wired headphones; I have AirPods Pro 3 for personal use and have taken to the AirPods Max 2 for work.

Whenever I have a second to myself, I’m probably gaming on my Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, or Xbox Series S. I also still have a bunch of classic consoles lying around as well.

Areas of Expertise

iOS iPadOS macOS watchOS

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