When your iPhone XR won't power down, here's what to do.

Turning off the iPhone XR requires two steps. Hold the Side and Volume up or down buttons simultaneously, and when the slider appears, drag it to the right.

That is correct. Your device powers down. In some cases, the iPhone XR does not respond to Power and Volume button combinations, and thus will not turn off or restart. The Slide to Power Off button does not always appear, but the side button, volume buttons, and ringer do. This is referred to as a frozen or unresponsive state.

You don't want to let the power go out, do you? You desperately want to turn off the phone. Here's how to restart an iPhone XR that has become stuck or frozen.

What to look for

Fixing an iPhone XR that won't turn off is simple, and the troubleshoot includes Restart, Reset, and Restore. Before we continue, it's important to understand what's causing the powering off problem. There are typically three reasons to consider:

• A problem with the software Following an iOS update, the phone became unresponsive.
• Some users have complained that the iPhone XR will not turn off or open apps. When they attempted to launch an app, nothing happened. Even after a soft reset, the phone does not respond correctly - it simply vibrates and does not display the power off slider. The screen remains illuminated until it enters sleep mode.
• Taps on the phone screen are not responding, and the slide to power off menu is inactive.
• The Home button or either of the Volume Up buttons is inoperable or broken, and the power button does not turn off the phone.

Possible methods for turning off the iPhone XR

Instead of pressing physical buttons, here are some less obvious methods for turning off the iPhone XR and shutting down the iOS system when the power button isn't working. If you've already tried this and the standard shutdown doesn't turn off your phone, perform a force restart.

1. Use the Shut Down function in the Settings app.

If the iPhone XR's screen is frozen and does not respond to taps or swipes, you can skip this step. To do so, navigate to Settings > General > Shut Down and then drag the power slider to turn off your phone.

We have a separate article that lists the solutions to the touch screen not working problem.

2. Make use of the AssistiveTouch feature.

To begin, go to Accessibility > Touch in the Settings app and enable the AssistiveTouch feature.

Then, tap AssistiveTouch and enable the feature.

Once activated, its button is always visible on the screen. Most of the time, AssistiveTouch works even if your phone is not responding. If you haven't enabled it before the phone freezes, you won't be able to access Settings and use the Accessibility workaround. This is not your option for quitting.

To restart the iPhone XR with AssistiveTouch, go to Device > More > Restart, and when you see the 'Are you sure you want to restart your iPhone?' alert, tap Restart to confirm. Your phone will immediately turn off and back on.

Consider performing a force restart.

If your iPhone XR does not appear to respond, try restarting it. It clears the phone's memory and reloads any corrupted software while preserving your data and settings. This is a common troubleshooting method for minor software bugs, but you can't always force the iPhone XR to turn off until it's frozen.

The force restart will not cause the slide to power off to turn on. If you see the power slider, your button combination is incorrect. The power slider only appears during standard shutdown, not during forced restart.

Similarly, ensure that your iPhone's buttons are working properly—it's possible that one of the buttons is simply physically damaged and your phone is unable to recognize your holding on the buttons, giving the impression that your iPhone XR is freezing and not turning off.

1. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.

2. Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.

3. Hold down the Side button for 5 to 10 seconds, or until the device restarts - the screen turns off and then back on. When you see the Apple logo, release the Side button.

If a hard reset does not help you turn off your frozen iPhone XR, the issue may be more serious. It could be related to the iOS errors. Fortunately, there are two ways to restart the phone by reinstalling iOS: one is to use Apple's built-in recovery mode, and the other is to use a comprehensive iOS repair tool. Keep reading.

In Recovery Mode, reinstall iOS.

One of the major factors preventing the iPhone XR from shutting down is a software issue, specifically iOS bugs. You may have recently updated the phone to a newer iOS version, and the shutdown problem appears immediately after that. Putting the iPhone into recovery mode and updating the software is an efficient way to resolve the issue.

You don't have to worry about your phone never trusting the computer because the recovery mode bypasses the operating system. If you know how, you can complete the process in a matter of minutes. Connect your device to a computer running iTunes or Finder and force restart it while connected; it will enter recovery mode and give you the option to Update or Restore; select Update.

Here are the step-by-step instructions, with screenshots for clarity:

1. Connect your iPhone XR to your computer (PC or Mac).

2. Open iTunes For those who have a Mac running macOS Catalina 10, 15 or later, launch Finder.

3. Switch it to recovery mode. This is a button-press procedure similar to forcing a restart.

• Volume Up button should be pressed and quickly released.
• Volume Down button should be pressed and quickly released.
• Hold the Side button down until you see the recovery mode screen. Even if you see the Apple logo on the screen, don't let go of the button.

4. In iTunes or Finder, you should see a dialog with the option to Update or Restore. Click the Update button. If Update does not work, you must choose Restore, which will completely erase your device unless you have a backup. You'll be asked whether you want to restore from a backup or set up your phone from scratch.

5. Your computer will install the most recent version of iOS on your device. If this takes more than 15 minutes, the phone should exit recovery mode and you should try again.

6. Eventually, the iPhone XR turns on. Use it normally and see if you can open apps or turn it off.

Run the iOS troubleshooter to rule out any software problems.

We acknowledge that the iPhone occasionally fails to function properly, such as when apps fail to load. Then you restart it, and the problem occurs: the iPhone XR won't turn off and the screen is unresponsive - you can't slide any of the buttons on the shutdown screen by pressing the Sleep/Wake button and the Volume key. Furthermore, the Medical ID and Emergency SOS sliders are misaligned and almost on top of each other. When the phone becomes stuck after installing an iOS update, this can be very concerning.

So, in this case, the buttons are fine, but the system is acting strangely. The not powering off issue is caused by software glitches, and to resolve it with iOS, you must run iOS System Recovery - an efficient, smart iOS troubleshooter - by performing the following steps:

1. Download and install the appropriate version of the software on your PC or Mac. It's very simple to set up.

2. Once the software has been installed, run it. When the window opens, click "More tools," which is located in the bottom left corner.

3. Select iOS System Recovery and press the Start button.

4. Select Standard Mode unless you want to delete everything, in which case choose Advanced Mode. Select the Confirm button.

5. Install the iOS firmware on your iPhone XR. You should choose the most recent version of iOS because Apple released new features and bug fixes. The download will take about 5 minutes to complete.

6. When everything is in place, click the Fix button to repair the frozen iPhone XR. Wait patiently until it is finished.

In addition to dealing with the power issue, the utility allows you to resolve a variety of errors with iOS devices in a matter of minutes, such as being stuck on the Apple logo, not turning on, the screen not working, being stuck on the black screen/white screen/blue screen, and entering recovery mode. DFU mode, and so on.

Videos to Watch: iPhone XR Won't Turn Off and How to Force ShutDown

Remove the faulty app and reinstall it.

The following problems were also reported by users:

1. Apps do not always load. When attempting to restart the phone, Siri and button presses do not bring up the power off option.

2. I am unable to turn off my iPhone XR when FaceTime is disconnected. FaceTime says it's coming to an end, but it's not. I can't force it to close, but other apps can.

Doesn't it seem like a specific app misbehaves and crashes, corrupting your phone? Allow the app a few minutes to respond if it becomes unresponsive. If this hangs for an extended period of time, it's time to call on old faithful: delete the app and reinstall it.

To delete an app on the iPhone XR, tap and hold it on the phone's screen, then tap Remove app, Deleted App, and Delete to confirm.

You can also delete items from the App Store. After that, restart your iPhone XR to see if that helps.

Reinstall the app you just deleted when your phone restarts. Go to the App Store, tap Search at the bottom, type in the app's name, and then tap the Download icon.

Restore the power and volume buttons.

You probably won't be able to turn off an unresponsive iPhone XR no matter how long you hold down the power and volume buttons. Check to see if the Power and Volume buttons are broken. Though unusual, this could explain why your iPhone XR won't turn off at all.

Here are some workarounds for broken buttons:

1. Remove any protective coverings that may be obstructing the button press.

2. Examine the area around the power button, volume up and volume down buttons for dirt or debris, and clean it with a soft cloth.

3. If the buttons are not working or have been damaged in some way, you must schedule service with the Genius Bar at your nearest Apple Store. Physical button issues are difficult to resolve on your own.

Restart or shut down your iPhone XR to try again.

If you used the recommended methods, you should be able to unfreeze your iPhone XR if it won't turn off.

There is no single solution to the iPhone not turning off issue. The aforementioned suggestions should resolve the majority of software-related issues. If a button is broken, you must contact Apple Support for assistance.