A hard reset, also known as a forced restart, or rebooting, boils down to physically turning your phone off and starting it back up fresh.
Like any computer, the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max, will sometimes freeze up, glitch out, go blank….
A hard reset will clear the memory, force any stalled programs and resource hogs to shut down, and relaunch the basic operating system so that it can load up properly.
Even if you are getting a dark blank screen and it looks like the iPhone won’t turn on at all, or doesn’t seem to be charging, often a hard reset will do the trick and get things going again.
A hard reset will not restore the iPhone to factory settings. That is a different procedure.
How To Hard Reset an iPhone 11
It’s a simple procedure – but it is different from the way that previous iPhone versions were reset.
With the iPhone 11, you:
- Briefly press and release the up volume button;
- Briefly press and release the down volume button;
- Press and hold the power button, until the phone shuts down, goes dark, and the Apple logo appears as it begins booting back up. Then you can release the button.
It is important to note that you do not press any of the buttons simultaneously. Each button is pressed one at a time. Then you move quickly to the next one.
You may need to hold down the power button longer than you would expect. It may take 20 to 40 seconds, but eventually that Apple logo should appear. Once it does, you can release the power button and the iPhone should boot up.
What If a Hard Reset Doesn’t Fix the Problem?
The first thing to do would be to plug your iPhone 11 in and let it charge for at least an hour.
Even if you’ve had it on the charger and then tried a hard reset and were unsuccessful, after the hard reset, try charging it again.
If it still does not seem to be charging, check the outlet to make sure it has power to it, and check the charger for a frayed cord, and that the charger is working.
If you have an old iPhone charger, or can borrow a friend’s charger, you can test your phone with it to see if there’s an issue with your charger.
And if a Hard Reset and Charging Didn’t Work?
If your iPhone 11, 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max is still under warranty or enrolled in AppleCare+, now would be the time to contact Apple Support or go to an Apple Store for help.
You can check to see if your iPhone 11 is still under warranty or enrolled in AppleCare+ at mysupport.apple.com.
If your iPhone is out of warranty, you might consider a third party repair service as a less expensive alternative to Apple itself.