Sometimes your iPhone just needs a quick refresh. Maybe an app is acting up, or the system feels a little sluggish. Restarting your iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17, or iPhone Air can often fix those minor issues without any extra effort.
But here’s the catch—Apple doesn’t exactly make the restart process as straightforward as on most Android phones. Instead, you’ll need to follow a couple of steps. Here’s how.
Restart Using Buttons (Standard Restart)
- Press and hold the Side button and either the Volume Up or Volume Down button at the same time.
- Keep holding until you see the “slide to power off” screen.
- Slide the power switch across to turn your iPhone off.
- Once the screen goes completely black, press and hold the Side button again until you see the Apple logo.
That’s the normal restart. Simple enough once you know it, but not exactly one-hand friendly.
Restart from Settings (No Buttons Needed)
If you don’t feel like fiddling with buttons, you can restart right from the menus:
- Open Settings.
- Go to General.
- Scroll down and tap Shut Down.
- Use the slider to power off, then turn the iPhone back on with the Side button.
This method is a little slower, but handy if your buttons aren’t working properly.
Force Restart (When Things Freeze)
If your iPhone 17, 17 Pro, or Air completely locks up, a force restart is the way out. This won’t erase data—it just forces the phone to reboot. Here’s the exact sequence:
- Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
- Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
- Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears, then let go.
Your iPhone will now restart, even if the screen was totally unresponsive.
Restarting is one of those small but useful tricks every iPhone owner should know. And if you’re curious about the opposite, you can also check out our guide on how to shut down the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17, and iPhone Air.
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