Let’s be real for a second. The iPhone X changed everything when it dropped in 2017, but it also confused the absolute living daylights out of everyone because the home button just... vanished. Suddenly, the way we’d been turning our phones off for a decade didn't work anymore. If you're sitting there holding your phone and wondering how do I restart iPhone X because the screen is stuck on a weird app or it’s just acting glitchy, you aren't alone. It’s not as intuitive as it used to be.
You can't just hold the power button. If you do that, you’re just going to be staring at Siri, waiting for her to help you with something she probably won't understand.
Apple moved the goalposts. To actually restart this thing, you have to perform a little finger dance that feels more like a cheat code from an old Nintendo game than a modern tech solution. But once you learn it, it’s muscle memory. Whether your phone is sluggish or completely unresponsive, there are two distinct ways to handle this. One is the "soft" way, and the other is the "hard" way for when things have gone completely sideways.
The Standard Way to Restart Your iPhone X
If your phone is working fine but just feels a bit "heavy"—maybe apps are taking an extra second to load or your Wi-Fi is acting spotty—you want a standard restart. Apple calls this "powering off."
Here is the deal: you have to press and hold the Side button (what most of us call the power button) and either volume button at the same time. It doesn't matter if it’s volume up or volume down. Just squeeze them both. Hold them for about two seconds until the "slide to power off" slider appears at the top of your screen.
Slide that bar to the right.
Now, give it a minute. Seriously. People always try to turn it back on immediately. Your iPhone X needs about 30 seconds to fully shut down all the background processes and clear out the system cache. Once the screen is completely black and stays that way, press and hold the Side button again until that silver Apple logo pops up. You're back in business.
When the Screen is Frozen: The Force Restart
This is usually why people are searching for help. Your screen is a brick. You’re tapping, swiping, and cursing, but nothing is happening. Maybe a rogue app crashed or the iOS Springboard just gave up the ghost. When this happens, the "slider" method I just mentioned won't work because you can't slide anything on a frozen screen.
You need a Force Restart.
This doesn't erase your data. Don't worry about that. It just cuts the power to the processor and forces the hardware to reboot. It’s the digital equivalent of pulling the plug on a lamp and plugging it back in. Because the iPhone X uses a software-based "Soft Reset" logic, you have to be very specific with your timing here.
- Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
- Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
- Press and hold the Side button.
Keep holding it. Don't let go when you see the "slide to power off" screen. Ignore that. Keep holding the Side button until the screen goes black and the Apple logo reappears. Only then should you let go. Honestly, it usually takes about 10 to 15 seconds of holding that button before the logo shows up. It feels like an eternity when you're worried your phone is broken, but stay patient.
Why Does This Method Exist?
According to Apple's own technical documentation and teardowns from sites like iFixit, the iPhone X architecture separates the physical buttons from the software more than previous models. By using this three-step sequence, you are sending a hardware-level interrupt signal to the logic board. It bypasses the operating system's glitches.
What if the Buttons are Broken?
I’ve seen this a lot with older iPhone X units. Maybe the Side button is jammed or the volume buttons lost their "click." If you can still interact with your screen but your physical buttons are toast, you can restart through the iOS settings.
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Go to Settings > General, scroll all the way to the bottom, and tap Shut Down.
But wait—how do you turn it back on if the Side button is broken? Easy. Plug it into a charger. As soon as an iPhone detects a power source, it automatically triggers the boot sequence. It's a handy little fail-safe Apple built in years ago.
Using AssistiveTouch
Another trick is using AssistiveTouch. This puts a floating virtual button on your screen.
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch.
- Toggle it on.
- Tap the white circle that appears, go to Device > More, and you'll see a Restart option.
This is a lifesaver for people dealing with hardware degradation. The iPhone X is a sturdy beast, but after years of use, those mechanical switches inside the buttons can definitely fail.
Common Myths About Restarting Your iPhone
There is a lot of bad advice on the internet. You might hear people say that you should "drain the battery to zero" to fix a glitch. That’s actually pretty bad for your lithium-ion battery's long-term health. Deep discharges stress the battery chemistry.
Another myth is that restarting your phone frequently "cleans" the RAM. While it does clear the active memory, iOS is actually designed to manage RAM very efficiently on its own. You don't need to restart every day. Once a week is plenty, or just whenever the phone starts acting like it’s had too much to drink.
When a Restart Isn't Enough
Sometimes you’ll restart the phone and it’ll get stuck on the Apple logo. This is what the tech community calls a "boot loop." If you've tried the Force Restart (Up, Down, Hold Side) and you’re still staring at that logo for more than 20 minutes, you might need to put the phone into Recovery Mode.
To do this, you’ll need a computer (Mac or PC with iTunes/Music app).
- Plug your iPhone X into the computer.
- Do the Force Restart sequence: Press Up, Press Down, Hold the Side button.
- Keep holding the Side button even after the Apple logo appears.
- Keep holding until you see a screen with a cable pointing toward a computer icon.
From here, your computer will give you the option to "Update" or "Restore." Always try Update first. This attempts to reinstall the operating system without wiping your photos or messages. It’s the "hail mary" pass for software issues.
Real-World Troubleshooting: Face ID and Battery Drain
Let's talk about why you're probably asking how do I restart iPhone X in the first place. Two of the biggest issues with this specific model are Face ID glitches and sudden battery drain.
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If Face ID stops recognizing you, a restart often recalibrates the TrueDepth camera system. The iPhone X was the first to use this tech, and sometimes the software handshake between the camera and the Secure Enclave (where your face data lives) gets desynchronized. A quick reboot fixes this 90% of the time.
If your battery is plummeting, check your battery health in Settings > Battery > Battery Health. If you’re below 80%, a restart is just a temporary bandage. You probably need a hardware replacement. But if your health is fine and the phone is hot to the touch, a restart will kill whatever background process is "runaway" and eating your CPU cycles.
Immediate Next Steps to Fix Your Phone
- Perform the Force Restart immediately if your screen is currently unresponsive. Remember: Volume Up, Volume Down, then hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.
- Check for a software update once the phone is back on. Go to Settings > General > Software Update. Often, the glitch that caused the freeze was a known bug that Apple has already patched.
- Clear out your storage if you have less than 1GB of space left. iPhones need "breathing room" to move temporary files around. If your storage is full, the phone will freeze constantly, no matter how many times you restart it.
- Inspect your buttons for debris. If the buttons feel "mushy," use a toothpick or a tiny bit of compressed air to clear out pocket lint that might be interfering with the contact points.
By following these steps, you aren't just turning the device off and on; you're actually maintaining the lifecycle of the hardware. The iPhone X is a classic, and with the right care, it still holds up remarkably well in 2026.