There are few things in life more heart breaking, soul destroying, or rage-inducing than a frozen or unresponsive iPhone. As you stare in disbelief at the jet-black screen that just moments earlier was displaying Cousin Bob’s latest status update, you feel a chill in your spine as you realise that something could be very, very wrong. Take a deep breath: it’s likely to be something small and easy to fix!
In this article, I've laid out the most common fixes for a frozen iPhone, from a simple restart all the way through to a factory reset. Work through them in order – and if it's still giving you trouble, drop us a line in the comments below and we'll do our best!
Restart your iPhone
To restart your iPhone, first turn it off by pressing and holding the Sleep/Wake button at the top-right corner until a slider appears.
Slide your finger across this slider and the iPhone will turn off after a few moments. Next, turn it back on by pressing and holding the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears.
'Soft reset' your iPhone
If your iPhone isn't responding at all, you may need to reset it. To do that, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, or until the Apple logo appears. You can then let go of both buttons and the phone should restart.
Update your software
If you're still having trouble, updating your iPhone and iTunes software may solve your issue. Apple periodically makes improvements to iOS – the software that powers the iPhone – and as such, there may be critical updates in the latest version that can fix your problem.
Update via iTunes
- Make sure you are using the latest version of iTunes on your computer – you can download it for free from Apple's site here.
![itunes icon 4_3]()
Image by Adrian Korte - Next, connect your iPhone to the computer you usually sync it with. Now, while iTunes is running, click on the new iPhone symbol at the top-left corner of iTunes. Click on Check for Update and then follow the on-screen instructions.
Update via the device itself
- Find the Settings app and open it. Find and tap on General and then Software Update.
- The handset will automatically check for updates and give further instructions if an update is available.
Restore your iPhone
Restoring your iPhone will take it back to the factory settings it had when you first took it out of the box.
The plus side of this is that whatever bugs have caused it to malfunction will almost certainly be removed in the restoration. The bad news is that you can kiss goodbye to your apps, podcasts, videos, music, pictures, notes – and just about anything else that makes your iPhone your iPhone!
With that in mind, we highly recommend that you backup your iPhone to iCloud over WiFi, or sync and backup all of your important data to your iTunes computer, before proceeding with an iPhone restore.
Once you're safely backed up, this is the process to follow:
- To restore your iPhone, first make sure you are using the latest version of iTunes.
- Next, connect your iPhone to the computer you usually sync it with. Click on the new iPhone symbol at the top left corner of iTunes and select Restore iPhone.
And that concludes our guide to healing a frozen or unresponsive iPhone. If you follow these tips then you should never have to spend too much time away from the sweet bliss that is a perfectly functioning handset. Happy apping everybody!