If you find yourself in a situation where your iPhone has become unresponsive, appearing as though it has frozen and is not reacting to any inputs, don’t worry, there are a multitude of steps and measures you can take to revive your device and get it back to its normal working condition. This comprehensive guide is aimed at leading you through the necessary steps and procedures that will not only help you identify what the root cause of the problem might be, but also provide you with the right solutions to fix the problem.
Quick Ways to Fix a Frozen iPhone
- Charge the iPhone
- Force restart your iPhone
- Update to the latest version of iOS
- Contact Apple support
There could be scenarios where your iPhone might exhibit signs of a total system freeze, displaying nothing more than a black screen, giving you the impression that it has completely broken down or shut off. This might make your device appear to be entirely unresponsive, frozen, and in a state of inoperability. In such cases, we can attempt a variety of different troubleshooting techniques to restore the functionality of your iPhone and get it back up and running again.
Force restart your iPhone
One of the quickest and easiest ways to fix a frozen and unresponsive iPhone is to force restart the device. The way this is done depends on which model of the iPhone you own. You can follow the steps below for each of the different iPhone models. You can find out more details about this over at Apple.
How to force restart your iPhone:
- iPhone 6s or earlier: Press and hold both the home button and the sleep/wake button until you see the Apple logo.
- iPhone 7 or 7 Plus: Press and hold both the volume down button and the sleep/wake button until the Apple logo appears.
- iPhone 8 or later: Press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo.
If this is what was causing the issue on your device, the iPhone will turn on and you will see the Apple logo as the device restarts, you should be able to use it again, if it does not turn on when you follow the steps above, then it could be another issue, follow the steps below.
Charge your iPhone
Another way to fix an unresponsive and frozen iPhone is to charge your device, it could be unresponsive because the battery has drained on your iPhone without you realizing it.
Plug your iPhone into its charger and leave it for a good 15 to 20 minutes to see if you see any sign that the device is charging, if the battery has drained then you can try and turn the iPhone back on again and leave it to charge for a good amount of time. This should solve the issue if it was the battery that was causing your iPhone to be unresponsive.
Update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS
Your iPhone may be turned on but it still could be slow and unresponsive, one of the easiest ways to resolve this is to update your iPhone to the latest version of Apple’s iOS software.
Many people run older versions of iOS and take some time to update to the latest version of Apple’s software, Installing the latest version of iOS is an easy fix for many issues on the iPhone.
To install the latest version of Apple’s iOS on your iPhone open the Settings app on your device and then go to General > Software update > Download and install, you can now install the update and once it is completed your iPhone will restart.
Is a hardware problem causing the issue
If you have tried the steps above and your iPhone is still unresponsive and frozen then it may be a hardware problem that is causing the issue. You should contact Apple support or a third-party repair company.
Visit the Apple Support website or make an appointment at an Apple Store to get professional assistance from Apple technicians who can diagnose and resolve the issue. If your iPhone is still under warranty, Apple may offer a repair or replacement service, depending on the nature of the problem.
Conclusion
By following the steps above, you should be able to troubleshoot and fix most unresponsive iPhone issues. We hope that you find out guide on how to fix a frozen iPhone useful. If you have any comments, questions, or any suggestions, please let us know in the comments section below. If you have a different issue with your iPhone, then have a look at our guides section for lots more handy tips for the iPhone and other devices.
Image Credit: Mateusz Dach
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