If you just picked up a used iPhone X or finally inherited one from a family member, you might be staring at the lack of a Home button with a sense of dread. It's weird. For a decade, Apple taught us that the circle at the bottom was the center of the universe. Then, in 2017, they just took it away. Because of that shift, learning how to turn on and off iPhone X isn't as intuitive as you’d think. You can’t just hold the side button. If you do that, you’ll just end up talking to Siri.
It’s honestly a bit of a design quirk that persists in every Face ID model today.
Most people expect a power button to, well, power things. But on the iPhone X, that big button on the right is technically the "Side Button." It handles Apple Pay, Siri, and accessibility shortcuts. To actually shut the thing down, you have to perform a sort of digital secret handshake. It’s a two-handed job most of the time.
The basic "secret" to shutting down your iPhone X
To get to the "Slide to Power Off" screen, you have to press and hold the Side Button and either volume button simultaneously. It doesn't matter if it's volume up or volume down. Just squeeze both sides of the phone. You’ll feel a quick haptic buzz, and then the sliders appear.
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Wait.
Don't let go too early. If you just click them quickly, you’ll take a screenshot instead. That’s the most common mistake. You’ve probably got a photo library full of random lock screen screenshots because of this. You have to hold them for about two or three seconds.
Once the sliders appear, you just swipe the top one. The screen goes black. It takes about 30 seconds for the internal components to fully lose power. Apple’s official support documentation confirms this method is the standard for all devices spanning from the X to the latest iPhone 15 and 16 series. It’s the "new normal," even if it still feels a little clunky years later.
What if your buttons are broken?
Sometimes the hardware fails. Maybe you dropped it on the sidewalk outside a coffee shop and that Side Button feels "mushy" or just doesn't click anymore. You aren't stuck. Apple actually built a software fail-safe into iOS.
Open your Settings app. Go to General. Scroll all the way to the very bottom. You’ll see a blue link that says Shut Down. Tap it. It brings up the exact same power slider without requiring a single physical button press. It’s a lifesaver for accessibility or for when your case is too thick to press the buttons easily.
Turning the iPhone X back on
This part is easier. You don't need a combination of buttons to wake the beast. Just hold the Side Button down for a few seconds.
Eventually, the Apple logo will pop up in the center of the screen. Let go then. If you keep holding it, you might accidentally trigger recovery mode if it's plugged into a computer, though that's rare. The boot process usually takes about 20 to 40 seconds depending on how much storage you’ve filled up.
If the phone doesn't respond, it’s usually one of two things: the battery is dead or the software has crashed. If it's the battery, you might see a faint red battery icon telling you to plug it in. If the screen stays black even after charging, you might need a "Force Restart."
The Force Restart: When things go wrong
Sometimes the iPhone X just freezes. You’re scrolling through a heavy app, and suddenly, the touch screen is dead. The "Side Button + Volume" trick won't work because the software is stuck in a loop. This is where people get frustrated and think their phone is broken.
You need the three-step dance.
- Click and release Volume Up quickly.
- Click and release Volume Down quickly.
- Press and hold the Side Button and do not let go.
Seriously, keep holding it. The screen will go black. Keep holding. The Apple logo will appear. Now you can let go. This isn't just a normal turn off and on; it’s a hardware-level power cycle. It cuts the juice and forces the processor to start over. It doesn't delete your data, so don't worry about losing your photos.
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I’ve seen people try to hold all three buttons at once. Don’t do that. It won't work. It has to be a rhythmic 1-2-3 sequence.
Why did Apple change this?
It comes down to Siri. When the Home button vanished, Siri needed a new home. By moving the power-off function to a button combination, Apple freed up the Side Button to act as a dedicated trigger for the virtual assistant. It’s a trade-off. You get a bigger screen and no chin at the bottom, but you lose the simplicity of a single power button.
Some long-time users still hate this. Honestly, I get it. Having to use two hands to turn off a phone feels like a step backward in ergonomics. But from a programming standpoint, it prevents the phone from accidentally turning off in your pocket. It’s much harder to accidentally squeeze two buttons on opposite sides than it is to hold down one.
Dealing with "Emergency SOS"
Here is a warning. If you hold the Side Button and Volume button for too long—usually about five seconds—the phone will start a loud, piercing countdown. This is the Emergency SOS feature.
If you don't let go, it will automatically call local emergency services. It’s great if you’re in trouble. It’s terrifying if you’re just trying to restart your phone in a quiet library. If you see the SOS slider appear, just be careful not to keep squeezing.
A quick checklist for power issues
If you're struggling with how to turn on and off iPhone X, run through these specific checks:
- Case interference: Is your plastic case so stiff that it isn't actually depressing the volume button? Take the case off and try again.
- The "Wait" factor: After you slide to power off, give the phone a full minute before trying to turn it back on. Electronic components need a second to discharge.
- Charging port debris: If it won't turn on, check the Lightning port for pocket lint. A tiny toothpick can carefully clear out gunk that's preventing a charge.
- Software updates: If your phone frequently requires a force restart, you might be running an old version of iOS with a known kernel bug.
The iPhone X was a pioneer, but its age means the battery might be chemically aged. If your phone shuts down at 20% or 30%, it’s not a software issue. It’s a hardware failure. You can check this in Settings > Battery > Battery Health. If it’s under 80%, that’s why your phone is acting possessed.
Managing your power long-term
You don't actually need to turn your iPhone X off every night. Modern lithium-ion batteries and iOS management are designed to stay on. In fact, constantly power cycling can sometimes use more battery than just leaving it in "Sleep" mode.
Restarting once a week is a good "best practice" though. It clears out the cache and kills any runaway background processes that are eating your RAM.
To keep your iPhone X running smoothly after you've mastered the power buttons, make sure you aren't filling the storage to the absolute brim. An iPhone with zero megabytes of free space often gets stuck in a "boot loop" where it shows the Apple logo and then dies, repeatedly. Keep at least 5GB of space free to give the operating system room to breathe. If you find yourself stuck in a boot loop, you'll likely need to connect it to a Mac or PC and use Recovery Mode to re-install the firmware, which is a much bigger headache than a simple restart.
Next Steps for Your iPhone X
- Check Battery Health: Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging to see if your battery needs a professional replacement.
- Clean the Buttons: Use a Q-tip with a tiny amount of 90% isopropyl alcohol to clean around the Side and Volume buttons if they feel sticky.
- Update iOS: Ensure you are on the latest supported version of iOS for the X (iOS 16) to minimize software-related freezing.