You’re holding your phone, pressing that side button, and waiting for the power slider to appear. Instead, Siri pops up, asking how she can help. It's frustrating. You just want to turn the thing off. Apple changed the hardware dance years ago, but honestly, plenty of people still get tripped up because the "Power" button isn't actually a power button anymore. It’s a Side Button.
Learning how to shut off iPhone models in 2026 requires knowing exactly which generation you’re holding. If you have an iPhone with Face ID—anything from the iPhone X to the latest iPhone 17—the old school "hold the top button" trick is dead. You have to use a combination of buttons now.
💡 You might also like: Why the Apple Store in San Luis Obispo is Basically the Heart of Higuera Street
It’s about muscle memory.
The Modern Method: iPhone with Face ID
If your phone doesn't have a circular Home button at the bottom, you’re in the modern era. To trigger the power down sequence, you need to press and hold the Side Button (on the right) and either Volume Button (on the left) simultaneously.
Don't just click them. Hold them.
After a second or two, the "slide to power off" bar appears at the top of the screen. Underneath it, you'll see options for Medical ID and Emergency SOS. Swipe that top slider to the right. The screen goes black. It takes about 30 seconds for the device to fully commit to shutting down, even if the screen looks dead immediately.
Why did Apple make this harder? It's mostly about preventing accidental pocket-shuts and making sure Siri is always a thumb-press away. By remapping the hardware, they prioritized the voice assistant over the ability to disappear from the network.
How to Shut Off iPhone Models with a Home Button
Maybe you’re rocking an iPhone SE or an older iPhone 8. These devices are simpler. You just hold the Side Button (or the Top Button on very old models like the original SE or the 5s). Hold it until the slider shows up.
👉 See also: Galaxy Tab S9 Plus: What Most People Get Wrong
No volume buttons required.
It’s a legacy feel. There's something satisfyingly tactile about that single-button press that the newer gesture-based phones lack. But if your physical buttons are jammed or broken—a common issue as these older phones age—you aren't out of luck.
Turning It Off Without Using Any Buttons
Software is your failsafe. If you dropped your phone and the volume rocker is stuck, or the side button lost its clickiness, you can do everything through the iOS interface.
Go to Settings.
Tap General.
Scroll all the way to the bottom.
Tap Shut Down.
That’s it. The slider appears just like it would with the hardware shortcut. This is also a great tip for anyone with accessibility needs or motor control challenges who finds the "death grip" required for the button combo difficult to manage.
Using AssistiveTouch as a Permanent Fix
If your buttons are permanently broken, you should probably enable AssistiveTouch. It puts a floating virtual button on your screen. You can program it so a "Long Press" triggers the restart menu or opens the power options.
💡 You might also like: Google What Is The Weather Like Today: Why the AI Forecast Often Feels Wrong
- Go to Settings > Accessibility.
- Tap Touch > AssistiveTouch.
- Toggle it On.
- Customize the Top Level Menu to include "Restart" or "Power."
The Forced Restart: When the Screen is Frozen
Sometimes you want to know how to shut off iPhone because the device is totally unresponsive. The slider won't move. The screen is stuck on a frozen app. In this scenario, a standard shutdown won't work because the software isn't listening to your commands.
You need a hard reset.
For iPhone 8 and later, the sequence is specific and fast:
- Press and quickly release Volume Up.
- Press and quickly release Volume Down.
- Press and hold the Side Button.
Keep holding that Side Button. Ignore the "slide to power off" bar if it appears. Keep holding until you see the Apple logo white-out on the screen. That logo means the hardware has been forced to cycle power at a level deeper than the frozen iOS layer.
Why You Should Actually Turn Your Phone Off
Most people never turn their phones off. We just charge them. But "uptime" is a real metric in computer science, and iOS is just a very pretty version of Unix. Over weeks of use, small memory leaks occur. Background processes get "zombied"—they aren't running, but they're still hogging resources.
A full shutdown clears the RAM (Random Access Memory). It forces the kernel to reload. If your phone feels sluggish or the battery is draining faster than usual, a 5-minute timeout can actually fix it.
Real-world testing by tech analysts at places like iFixit and 9to5Mac suggests that a weekly reboot can help mitigate "glitchy" behavior in the Springboard (the iPhone's home screen interface). It's not a myth. It's just good maintenance.
Myths About Powering Down
There is a common misconception that turning your phone off and on uses more battery than just leaving it on. This isn't really true for modern lithium-ion batteries. While the boot-up process does use a small spike of CPU power, it’s negligible compared to the battery saved by having the phone completely off for several hours.
Another myth? That you need to "drain the battery to 0% and then shut it off" to calibrate it. That was true for nickel-based batteries in the 90s. For an iPhone in 2026, doing that actually puts more stress on the battery cells. Just turn it off when you don't need it.
What Happens to "Find My" When the Phone is Off?
This is a big one. Since iOS 15, your iPhone isn't completely off when you shut it down. It enters a low-power state where the Bluetooth chip stays active. This allows the Find My network to locate your phone even if someone turns it off to hide it.
If you truly want the phone to be "dark"—meaning no signals at all—you have to disable the Find My network in your settings before powering down. But for most people, the "Power Reserve" feature is a lifesaver if the phone is stolen.
Actionable Steps for a Healthy iPhone
To keep your device running at peak performance, follow this simple routine:
- Weekly Reboot: Every Sunday night, shut the phone off manually via Settings or the button combo. Leave it off for at least two minutes.
- Check Battery Health: While you're thinking about power, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. If your Maximum Capacity is below 80%, no amount of shutting off will fix your performance issues; you need a new battery.
- Update Software: Ensure you're on the latest version of iOS. Apple often fixes bugs that cause "ghost" power button issues where the phone refuses to respond to shutdown commands.
- Clean the Buttons: If the buttons feel "mushy," use a wooden toothpick or a tiny bit of 99% isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab to clean around the edges. Dirt and skin oils often gunk up the mechanism, making it hard to trigger the shutdown menu.
Managing your device's power state is the easiest way to extend its lifespan. Whether you're trying to save battery on a long flight or just trying to fix a glitchy app, knowing the right button combo saves you from the "Siri accidentally popped up" headache.