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My iPhone 11 has frozen and won't turn on or off.

I've done the hard restart - Volume up, Volume down, Hold power button until Apple logo shows - and nothing changes. Same condition as before. I can call my phone and it rings, but nothing on the screen works. What to do now? Please advise!

Posted on Jan 29, 2022 3:08 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 2, 2022 8:41 PM

I just explained above I did the hard reset until the Apple logo shows up several times.

It gets to my home screen where nothing swipes.


I also did the Recovery Mode procedure several times with the power cord attached to my iMac and then into iTunes.

Twice doing the UPDATE option.

Once doing the RESTORE option.

Each time when that's all over, I am back to the start screen where nothing swipes.!


... something is still working inside because I see notification tabs and the time is correct on the start screen. But nothing swipes!!

28 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 2, 2022 8:41 PM in response to Axel Foley

I just explained above I did the hard reset until the Apple logo shows up several times.

It gets to my home screen where nothing swipes.


I also did the Recovery Mode procedure several times with the power cord attached to my iMac and then into iTunes.

Twice doing the UPDATE option.

Once doing the RESTORE option.

Each time when that's all over, I am back to the start screen where nothing swipes.!


... something is still working inside because I see notification tabs and the time is correct on the start screen. But nothing swipes!!

Jan 29, 2022 3:19 PM in response to V Beckmann

Try and Force Restart your iPhone EXACTLY as shown below and see whether that resolves the issue:

  • Press and quickly release Volume UP button
  • Press and quickly release Volume DOWN button
  • Press and Hold the SIDE button until an Apple logo appears and then release the Side button (Can take up to 20 seconds. (DO NOT release Side Button when invited to Slide Power OFF). 


Axel F.

Jan 31, 2022 10:29 PM in response to Axel Foley

Thank you!

It looks like iCloud has most things backed up!! Last entry was January 29. Was that when I tried to do a Recovery when my iPhone was frozen two days ago and connected to my iMac?

Only difference seems to be that my Calendar has no entries, Notes are OK. Some Contact Groups are missing.

Why would iCloud not have all things the same?

I guess a RESTORE would be OK to try?


Feb 2, 2022 8:26 PM in response to V Beckmann

Your iPhone appears to be frozen due to a software malfunction at this time. Have you attempted to Restore yet? Restore function will set the iPhone to factory settings and clear out any software issues. If you have attempted Restore, then what were the results?

If you have not attempted to Restore or were unsuccessful then I would like you to try the Force Restart method one more time and this time push and hold the Side Button down for at least 60 seconds.

Force Restart your iPhone EXACTLY as shown below and see whether that resolves the issue:

  • Press and quickly release Volume UP button
  • Press and quickly release Volume DOWN button
  • Press and Hold the SIDE button until an Apple logo appears and then release the Side button (Can take up to 60 seconds. (DO NOT release Side Button when invited to Slide Power OFF). 



Axel F.

Jan 31, 2022 10:06 PM in response to V Beckmann

If you restore without a backup, then you lose all your data that currently resides on your iPhone. Your iPhone would be restored to factory settings and apps. If you use iCloud then your contacts, photos, calendar events, notes etc. will be restored back to the iPhone once you log on to your iPhone. To check what is backed up on iCloud, use your computer to log on to 👉 www.icloud.com with your Apple ID and you should be able to see what is backed up.


If you use iCloud for backups then your iPhone should have created one backup per 24 hours everyday. You normally check the iCloud backup from your iPhone which, at this time, is frozen. FYI - Open Settings ➡️ Apple ID (Your Name at Top) ➡️ iCloud ▶️ iCloud backup: Here, the backup information is listed. Under normal circumstances, when you connect your iPhone to your computer then the last backup date and time will also be listed.


Axel F.





Jan 31, 2022 8:47 PM in response to V Beckmann

You have an option to 👉 Restore your iPhone as new and in this case, all the data will be deleted and the iPone will be returned to factory settings.

The other option is to 👉 Restore your iPhone from a backup file. This will restore your iPhone and then use the backup file to put all the data back on your iPhone. Of course, if you do not have a backup file, on iCloud or a computer, then this does not apply.


Axel F.

Feb 1, 2022 10:49 PM in response to V Beckmann

You have an option to 👉 Restore your iPhone as new and in this case, all the data will be deleted and the iPone will be returned to factory settings.

The other option is to 👉 Restore your iPhone from a backup file. This will restore your iPhone and then use the backup file to put all the data back on your iPhone. Of course, if you do not have a backup file, on iCloud or a computer, then this does not apply.


Axel F.

Jan 31, 2022 1:24 PM in response to Axel Foley

Yes, I tried that several times. Did not help.

Tried to do a RECOVERY using iTunes, but that did not work either.


When I connected my iPhone to my 27" iMac with the power cord for the RECOVERY function, the iPhone icon did not show up on the desktop nor on the DEVICES list on iTunes. Should it be visible?


Shall I do a RESTORE option? I do not want to lose any information - texts, calendar info, contacts, etc.

What to do?

Feb 3, 2022 5:38 PM in response to V Beckmann

V Beckmann wrote:

I'm not sure why this thread says SOLVED. It is not! :-(

I had to buy a new iPhone 12 today. That was costly! :-( 
I will keep the frozen one and see if I can get it fixed somewhere.
 I am now trying to load my iCloud data. When I connect it to iTunes in my iMac, it asks me if I want to "Setup as new iPhone" OR "Restore from backup" which is an old iPhone I had in 2018.
I guess I am doing this wrong. How do I download files from iCloud where everything is?

That’s really unfortunate, because it is easy to fix a frozen iPhone. Depending on your iPhone model:


On an iPhone 8 or later (including the original SE and SE 2020):

  • Press and quickly release VOLUME UP
  • Press and quickly release VOLUME DOWN
  • Hold the SIDE button until an Apple logo appears (15-30 seconds), ignoring "slide to power off"


The operative word here is QUICKLY; and try it a couple of times, the timing is a little tricky.


  • On an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold both the right Side and Volume Down buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.
  • On an iPhone 6s and earlier, iPad, or iPod touch: Press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.


Oh, yes, the reason it is marked as Solved is because VBeckmann clicked the Solved button, so it solved it for them. Only the person who makes the first post in a thread can mark the thread as Solved.



Feb 1, 2022 9:52 PM in response to Axel Foley

I chatted with Apple Support today. We did the hard Reset and Recovery Mode UPDATE. Same as I tried before. But still no changes to my frozen iPhone. Three days without is a huge issue! Will try again tomorrow with Apple Care and try the RESTORE option. Not quite sure how to do that from iTunes or iCloud. My iPhone icon does not show on my iMac desktop or in iTunes.

What's the correct procedure to RESTORE? Hopefully I do not lose files or data.

My iPhone 11 has frozen and won't turn on or off.

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