How to Power Off, Restart, Force Restart iPhone and Android Phones

78

It’s not hard to switch off or restart your Android device or an iPhone, but every device has slightly different ways. You can’t just sit around waiting for the battery to drain when your phone starts freezing or glitching. You may need to force a restart or shutdown sometimes to fix certain bugs and glitches too. We’ll walk you through the exact steps for powering off, restarting, force restarting, and force shutting down popular Android and iPhones.

Powering Off and Restarting Android Devices

While most Android phones look and feel similar, how you turn them off and restart is different from brand to brand. Here’s a quick guide for some of the most popular Android phones.

Note: Always wait for your device to fully power off before turning it back on.

1. Samsung Device

Samsung devices typically offer a straightforward way to power off or restart. Here’s how:

1. Press and hold the Power button. If that doesn’t work, press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons together (for Samsung devices with Bixby).
2. You will see a menu. Tap Power off to turn the device off or Restart to reboot it.

You can power on your Samsung device by pressing and holding the Power Button until you feel a vibration.

Alternative Methods

Quick Settings Panel: Swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers to access the Quick Settings panel, tap the Power icon, and then tap Power off. 

Bixby Voice:  Say “Turn off the phone” or “Power off the phone” after activating Bixby Voice by long-pressing the power button.

2. Google Pixel

Google Pixels, known for their clean Android experience, generally offer a straightforward way to power off or restart:

Standard Power Off/Restart:

1. Press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons together.
2. You will see a power menu with Power off and Restart options.

Alternative Methods:

Similar to Samsung, you can access the power menu either by the notification panel or by using Gemini. Here’s how:

Notification Panel:

1. Pull down the notification panel from the top of the screen and expand the quick toggles menu.
2. Tap the Power icon (located in the bottom right).
3. Select Power off or Restart from the menu.

Gemini:

You can also say “Turn off the phone” or “Power off the phone” to Gemini by long-pressing the power button.

3. OnePlus Devices

Now, let’s explore the same for OnePlus devices with Oxygen OS.

Power Off/Restart:

1. Press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons together.
2. Select Power off or Restart options as required from the pop-up menu.

4. Motorola Devices

Motorola devices, known for their near-stock Android experience, offer the same method as the Google Pixel:

Standard Power Off/Restart:

1. Press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons together.
2. Select Power off and Restart as required from the menu.

Alternative Method:

1. Pull down the notification panel from the top of the screen and expand the quick toggles menu.
2. Tap the Power icon (located in the bottom right).
3. Select Power off or Restart from the menu.

5. Nothing Phones

Just like Pixel and OnePlus devices, Nothing Phones also follow the same pattern:

Standard Power Off/Restart:

1. Press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons together.
2. Select Power off and Restart options from the menu.

Alternative Method:

1. Pull down the notification panel from the top of the screen and expand the quick toggles menu.
2. Tap the Power icon (located in the bottom right).
3. Select Power off or Restart from the menu.

Powering Off and Restarting iPhones

iPhones, while consistent within their ecosystem, have slightly different power-off/restart methods depending on whether they have Face ID or a Home button.

Standard Method

1. Press and hold the Side button (power button) and either Volume Up or Volume Down button simultaneously.
2. A slider will appear. Drag the slider to turn off the iPhone.
3. To restart, after the iPhone has turned off, press and hold the side button again until the Apple logo appears.

Alternative Methods

There are two more options that you can use to shut down your iPhone:

From Control Center:

1. Open Control Center (swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen).
2. Locate the Power icon in the top-right corner.
3. Tap and hold the power icon.
4. The “Slide to power off” slider will appear. Drag the slider to turn off the iPhone.

From Siri:

1. Activate Siri by saying “Hey Siri” or by pressing and holding the side button.
2. Say “Turn off iPhone.”
3. Confirm the action.

Force Restarting iPhones and Android Smartphones

Sometimes, your Android phone might freeze or become unresponsive, making a normal power off or restart impossible. That’s when a force restart comes in handy. It’s a way to interrupt the phone’s software and force it to reboot. Here’s how to do it on different Android devices:

Samsung

• Press and hold the Power button and Volume Down button simultaneously for about 10-15 seconds.
• Release the buttons when the Samsung logo appears.
• The device will then restart.

Google Pixel

• Press and hold the Power button for about 20-30 seconds.
• Release the button when the Google logo appears.
• The device will then restart.

OnePlus

• Press and hold the Power button and Volume Up button simultaneously for about 10-15 seconds.
• Release the buttons when the OnePlus logo appears.
• The device will then restart.

Motorola

• Press and hold the Power button for about 10-20 seconds.
• Release the button when the Motorola logo appears.
• The device will then restart.

Nothing Phone

• Press and hold the Power button for about 10-20 seconds.
• Release the button when the Nothing logo appears.
• The device will then restart.

iPhones

iPhones also sometimes freeze or become unresponsive, especially after the iOS 18 update. A force restart can often resolve this issue. Here’s how to do it:

• Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
• Press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
• Press and hold the Side button (power button).
• Release the Side button when the Apple logo appears. The iPhone will then restart.

And there you have it. Powering off, restarting, or force restarting your phone doesn’t have to be this hard. Just follow these steps, and you are good to go.

3 Ways to Turn Off iPhone if Buttons Stop Working