If you’re having trouble turning on your iPhone 11, it’s not uncommon. Apple’s latest model ditched the Home button and added a few other features, making it a little more difficult to turn off or restart your device.
However, you can still switch your iPhone 11 on and off using its Side button. Just press and hold the button for a second or two until you see the Apple logo.
Press and hold the Side button
When you get a new iPhone, it can be difficult to figure out how to turn it on and off. Apple has made some changes in how this process works, which can make it a bit confusing for users.
Unlike older iPhones, the iPhone 11 does not use the traditional press-and-hold power button approach to turning off your device. Instead, it relies on a special button combination.
This special button is called the Side button, and it’s located on the right side of your phone. Once you’ve pressed and held it, the Apple logo should appear on your screen.
The Side button is also responsible for a number of other features, including answering and dumping calls. You can also press and hold it once to silence ringing or vibrating messages after four rings.
You can also swipe on the Side button to access an emergency SOS countdown that will call the emergency services for you and alert your contacts. You can even disable the feature in Settings if you don’t want to have it automatically called.
To turn off your iPhone 11, you’ll need to press and hold the Side button along with one of the volume buttons on the left side. Once you’ve done that, a slider with the text “Slide to Power Off” will appear on your screen.
If you press and hold both the volume up and Side buttons at the same time, you’ll also need to press and hold them for a few seconds. That’s important, because if you release them too quickly, your phone will take an accidental screenshot and won’t bring up the shutdown option on the screen.
Press and hold the Volume Up button
If you are having trouble turning on your iPhone 11, you can press and hold the Volume Up button to power the phone on. It might sound strange, but it can be effective if your phone is frozen on a black screen or if the volume buttons won’t work at all.
If it still won’t turn on, try performing a force restart. This will force rogue apps and system services to end, allowing the iPhone to be restarted.
While this method may be a bit rough on your device’s software, it can be an effective solution when other methods don’t work. You can use a cable to plug your iPhone into a computer and perform a force restart from there using iTunes or Finder.
When you perform a forced restart on your iPhone, you will receive a message that says “Restarting.” This is a signal from Apple that the device is being rebooted. It’s not a good idea to do this often, but it can be helpful when you encounter a problem that requires a system reboot.
The volume button on an iPhone 11 is still an essential part of the device’s functionality, and it plays an important role in many functions like forcing a restart, entering DFU mode, recovering your device from a factory reset, activating Emergency SOS, and more. It is also responsible for a surprising alarm feature in iOS 11.
Entering diagnostics mode with the side button and either volume button lets you test your iPhone without having to connect it to a computer. After you’ve pressed and held the sides, you can drag off the ‘Power Off’ slider, wait 30 seconds, then press and hold both volume buttons simultaneously.
If your iPhone doesn’t respond when you press the Side button and either volume button, there might be a software bug. This can be a common issue with older versions of iOS, so you might want to try a fresh install of iOS on your phone instead of trying to perform a force restart.
Press and hold the Volume Down button
The volume button on your iPhone 11 isn’t just for adjusting volume levels; it also performs other functions in iOS. These include opening a sub-panel in certain apps, controlling camera settings and even using Shortcuts to create custom actions.
The first thing to do if your iPhone 11 won’t turn on is press and hold the Volume Down button until you see a haptic vibration. This should take a couple of seconds, and your phone will display a “slide to power off” slider at the top, along with a Medical ID and Emergency SOS slider near the bottom.
After you’ve done this, your iPhone should be in recovery mode and will be able to be restarted. However, you should only do this if other options don’t work or your iPhone is frozen and unresponsive.
Another option to try is to hard reset your iPhone X, iPhone 11, or iPhone 12 (any version of the iPad Pro). This doesn’t fix your issue completely, but it will get you back to where you were before and restore your device’s software.
You should also check whether or not you have a Rest Finger to Open feature enabled in iOS 11. This setting is buried under the general Accessibility section of Settings, but it’s a really helpful option if you want to save a single Home-button press and wake up your phone when it’s asleep without seeing the Lock screen.
If you don’t have a Rest Finger to Open feature, you can still save a Home-button press and wake up your iPhone when it’s asleep by pressing the Side button + either the Volume buttons simultaneously. That way, you can quickly wake up your phone and jump straight to Face ID if you need it, without having to tap the Home button again.
In some cases, your iPhone’s volume buttons may be stuck or unable to move because of debris or dust. To clean your iPhone 11’s volume buttons, you can use a cotton swab to apply rubbing alcohol to them and then let it dry. Then, you can try pressing the buttons again. If they’re still stuck or unable to move, you might need to have them replaced.
Press and hold the Side button again
If you’re struggling to turn on your iPhone 11 because it’s locked or has no response, there are a few things you can try. One of them is to force restart the device, which requires you to press and hold two different buttons for a few seconds.
Another option is to use a soft reset, which does not require you to physically press any buttons. This can be useful if you’re having issues with your device and you don’t want to spend the time to try and figure out how to solve them.
A soft reset does not erase all of your data, so if you have any important files on your phone, it’s best to back them up before using this method. You can also use a hard reset, which will completely wipe your device and reset it to factory settings.
When Apple released the iPhone X, it replaced the home button with a more versatile set of physical buttons. These new buttons allow you to power on or off your iPhone, force a restart, enter DFU mode, and activate Emergency SOS.
You can also turn off the screen with this function, which is a great way to save battery life. It will also help you avoid interruptions during audio playback, like music or podcasts, as well as Maps navigation.
The buttons also let you control the phone’s cellular data and WiFi connection, which can be helpful if you have a monthly quota. You can also turn Bluetooth on or off, as needed.
Some of the new buttons on the iPhone 11 are designed to be hard-pressed or long-pressed for even more functions. If you do, the panel above displays a series of icons that can be tapped to perform more functions (see “Hard-press Options” below).
In many cases, these new buttons open a sub-panel on the right that allows you to quickly access a variety of additional controls, such as Airplane Mode and Cellular Data. The latter is handy for those times when you’re boarding a plane and need to stay connected to the internet while saving battery life.