To turn off an iPhone with Face ID (iPhone X and later), press and hold the side button and either volume button until slide to power off appears, then drag the slider to the right. On an iPhone with a Home button, including the iPhone SE, hold just the side button instead.
If your buttons are hard to press, go to Settings > General and tap Shut Down at the bottom. Holding the side button by itself on a Face ID iPhone won’t work, because that press starts Siri.
| Your iPhone | To turn it off | To turn it back on |
|---|---|---|
| Face ID models: iPhone X, XS, XR, 11 and every later model, including iPhone 17 and iPhone Air | Hold the side button and either volume button | Hold the side button until the Apple logo appears |
| iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation), iPhone 8, 7 and 6 | Hold the side button | Hold the side button until the Apple logo appears |
| iPhone SE (1st generation), iPhone 5 and earlier | Hold the top button | Hold the top button until the Apple logo appears |
Every iPhone without a Home button below the screen uses the Face ID combination, including the iPhone 16e.
How to turn off an iPhone with Face ID
- Press and hold the side button (on the right edge) and either volume button (on the left edge) at the same time.
- Let go when slide to power off appears at the top of the screen. This takes about two seconds.
- Drag the power icon from left to right across the slider.
- Wait about 30 seconds. The screen goes black and the iPhone is off.
Note: If you keep holding the buttons after the slider appears, the iPhone may start an Emergency SOS countdown. Release them as soon as you see the slider. If a countdown starts by mistake, let go of the buttons and tap the stop control on screen before it reaches zero.
Changed your mind? Tap Cancel (the X) at the bottom of the screen and the iPhone stays on.
- Press and hold the side button (or the top button on an iPhone SE (1st generation) or iPhone 5s and earlier).
- Release it when slide to power off appears.
- Drag the slider to the right and wait about 30 seconds.
Use this method when a button is broken, stuck or just awkward with a thick case.
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap Shut Down.
- Drag slide to power off to the right.
Two other shortcuts can bring up the same slider on recent versions of iOS:
- Control Center: on iOS 18 and later, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen and touch and hold the power icon in the top-right corner of Control Center.
- Siri: say “Turn off my iPhone,” then confirm when Siri asks. Siri must be set up first; see how to set up and use Siri.
To turn the iPhone back on without a working side button, plug it into a charger. It starts up on its own after a short time.
How to turn your iPhone back on
- Press and hold the side button (or the top button on older models) until the Apple logo appears.
- Let go and wait for the Lock Screen.
- Enter your passcode. After a restart, your iPhone asks for the passcode once before Face ID or Touch ID works again.
If nothing happens, the battery may be flat. Charge it for at least 30 minutes, then try again.
Turn off, restart or force restart: which do you need?
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You want the phone off (storage, travel, saving battery) | Turn it off as above |
| Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or an app is acting up | Turn it off, wait 30 seconds, then turn it back on. iPhone has no separate Restart button |
| The screen is frozen and the slider won’t respond | Force restart (below) |
What to do if your iPhone won’t turn off
If the screen is frozen, or the slider appears but won’t move, force restart the iPhone. This doesn’t erase anything.
On a Face ID iPhone, iPhone 8 or iPhone SE (2nd or 3rd generation):
- Press and quickly release the volume up button.
- Press and quickly release the volume down button.
- Press and hold the side button. Keep holding past the power-off slider until the Apple logo appears, then let go.
On iPhone 7 or 7 Plus: hold the side button and volume down button together until the Apple logo appears. On iPhone 6s or earlier: hold the Home button and the side (or top) button together until the Apple logo appears.
The Apple logo can take longer than 10 seconds to appear, so keep holding. If the phone still won’t respond, our guides to fixing a frozen iPhone and resetting an iPhone 14 with a frozen screen walk through charging checks and recovery mode.
Common questions about turning off an iPhone
Can I find my iPhone after it’s turned off?
Often, yes. On iPhone 11 and later with Find My turned on, the power-off screen can show that the iPhone is still findable after power off, and Find My can locate it for a while through nearby Apple devices. See how to find a lost iPhone.
Should I turn off my iPhone every night?
There’s no need. iOS manages memory and battery on its own. An occasional restart is enough to clear minor glitches.
Does turning off the iPhone stop alarms?
Yes. An alarm won’t sound while the iPhone is powered off, so leave it on, or use a separate clock, if you need to wake up.
Is locking the screen the same as turning it off?
No. A single press of the side button only locks the screen and puts the display to sleep. Calls, alarms and notifications still come in. For more on that, see how to lock your iPhone screen.
Apple lists the same button combinations on its Restart your iPhone support page.
Matthew Roberts is the founder and editor of ARS Digitech. He started the site to answer the iPhone questions his friends and family kept asking him, and it has grown into a library of iPhone and iOS how-to guides. Matthew writes and maintains every tutorial on the site, checking steps and menu names against Apple’s official support documentation and updating guides when an iOS release moves a setting.