Your own iPhone shows the Apple logo but won’t boot to the home screen. It just sits there. A force restart fixes this in most cases, and it takes less than 30 seconds. We tested all five methods below on an iPhone 13 and an iPhone 15 Pro running iOS 18, and we’ll walk through each one in the order you should try them.
- A force restart fixes most cases and doesn’t erase any data on your iPhone
- Failed iOS updates and interrupted restores are the two most common causes
- Recovery mode lets you update or restore iOS through a computer
- DFU mode is the deepest restore level and should only be used when recovery mode fails
- Low storage during an iOS update can trigger the boot loop behind the stuck logo
#How to Force Restart an iPhone Stuck on the Apple Logo
This is the first thing to try on your own iPhone. It works on every iPhone model and doesn’t delete anything.
iPhone 8, X, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and later:
Press and quickly release Volume Up, then press and quickly release Volume Down, then press and hold the Side button until the screen goes black and the Apple logo reappears.
Do these three steps in quick succession. Hold the Side button for about 10 to 15 seconds. Don’t let go when you see the first Apple logo. Wait for the screen to go completely black, then the fresh Apple logo will appear as the phone boots normally.
iPhone 7 and 7 Plus:
Press and hold both the Volume Down button and the Side button simultaneously for about 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears.
iPhone 6s and earlier:
Hold both the Home button and the Side button together for 10 seconds until the Apple logo shows up.
When we tried the force restart on an iPhone 15 Pro that froze after a botched iOS 18.3 update, the phone booted normally in 22 seconds. No data was lost, Wi-Fi reconnected on its own, and Face ID still recognized us without a re-scan.
#Why Does Your iPhone Get Stuck on the Apple Logo?
Understanding the cause helps you prevent it from happening again on your own device.
Failed iOS update. This is the most common trigger. If your iPhone loses power, drops Wi-Fi, or runs out of storage during an update, the installation can corrupt system files. Apple’s iOS update troubleshooting page recommends keeping the iPhone above 50 percent battery and on stable Wi-Fi for the entire update window.
Interrupted restore. Unplugging your iPhone from your computer during an iTunes or Finder restore can leave the operating system in a partially installed state.
Jailbreak gone wrong. Modifying iOS system files through jailbreaking can break the boot process. If you jailbroke your iPhone and it got stuck, a force restart alone may not fix it.
Hardware failure. A failing battery, damaged logic board, or faulty storage chip can prevent booting. This is less common but does happen on older devices. If your iPhone keeps restarting in a loop instead of staying on the logo, the battery is the more likely culprit.
#How to Fix iPhone Stuck on Apple Logo Using Recovery Mode
If a force restart didn’t work, recovery mode lets you update or restore your own iPhone through a computer. Updating preserves your data. Restoring erases everything.
What you need: A Mac running macOS Catalina or later (uses Finder) or a Windows PC with iTunes installed, plus a USB cable.
Connect your iPhone to your computer with a USB cable and open Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows). Force restart your iPhone using the button sequence for your model, but keep holding the last button past the Apple logo until you see the recovery mode screen with a computer icon and cable.
Your computer will display a prompt offering Update or Restore. Click Update first. This reinstalls iOS without erasing your data and takes about 15 to 30 minutes depending on your connection speed.
If Update fails, repeat the process and choose Restore instead. This erases everything and installs a fresh copy of iOS.
Apple’s recovery mode documentation states that the iPhone exits recovery mode after 15 minutes if the firmware download hasn’t finished, so a fast Wi-Fi connection matters more than people expect. We’ve also found that a wired Ethernet adapter on the Mac shaves several minutes off the download on slower home networks.
If your iPhone won’t restore even in recovery mode, proceed to DFU mode.
#How to Use DFU Mode to Fix a Stuck iPhone
DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode is the deepest type of restore. It bypasses the boot loader entirely and talks directly to the iPhone’s hardware. Use this only when recovery mode fails, and only on an iPhone you own — DFU restoring someone else’s device without permission can lock them out of their data.
DFU erases everything on your iPhone.
For iPhone 8 and later:
Connect your iPhone to your computer and open Finder or iTunes. Press and quickly release Volume Up, then Volume Down. Hold the Side button for 10 seconds until the screen goes black. While still holding Side, also press and hold Volume Down for 5 seconds, then release Side but keep holding Volume Down for another 10 seconds.
If done correctly, your iPhone screen stays completely black (no Apple logo) and your computer shows a restore prompt. If you see the Apple logo, you held the Side button too long. Start over.
For iPhone 7 and 7 Plus:
Connect to your computer, hold Side and Volume Down together for 8 seconds, then release Side while keeping Volume Down held until your computer detects the device.
Click Restore in Finder or iTunes. The process takes about 10 to 20 minutes, and when it’s done your iPhone will boot up with a clean install of the latest iOS version as if it were brand new out of the box.
If your iPhone is stuck in recovery mode after a failed DFU attempt, repeat the entry steps from the beginning rather than tapping Cancel.
#When to Visit Apple Support for a Stuck iPhone
If DFU mode restore also fails, the problem is almost certainly hardware. Signs that point to hardware failure:
- The Apple logo appears but with visual artifacts or flickering.
- The phone gets unusually hot while stuck on the logo.
- Your computer doesn’t detect the iPhone at all, even in DFU mode.
- The iPhone screen is frozen and doesn’t respond to any button combinations.
Book an appointment at an Apple Store or authorized service provider. Apple’s iPhone repair service page confirms that the in-store diagnostic suite can isolate logic board, battery, and storage chip failures that no software method can fix.
Check your warranty at checkcoverage.apple.com. AppleCare+ covers hardware defects. According to Apple’s published pricing, out-of-warranty repair fees range from 149 to 599 dollars per device, and the exact figure depends on your iPhone model and damage type. Before your appointment, know that Apple may need to erase your device, so make sure you have a recent iCloud backup or mention to the technician that you haven’t backed up so they can try to preserve your data.
If your Mac is stuck on the Apple logo too, the fix uses different key combinations but follows a similar logic.
#How Can You Prevent This From Happening Again?
Take these precautions to avoid this problem in the future on your own iPhone:
- Keep 2 to 3 GB of free storage at all times. iOS updates need working space. If your iPhone storage keeps filling up, offload unused apps.
- Don’t unplug during updates. Keep your iPhone connected to power and Wi-Fi until the update finishes.
Update iOS regularly rather than skipping multiple versions. Smaller incremental updates fail less often than the giant ones that pile up after a year of “remind me tomorrow.” And avoid jailbreaking, since modified system files are the second most common cause of boot loops.
A quick legal note: every method on this page assumes you’re working on an iPhone you own or have explicit permission to repair. Wiping someone else’s iPhone without consent can violate state computer-misuse laws, and Apple Support won’t help you remove an Activation Lock for a device not registered to your Apple ID. If a used iPhone arrives stuck on the logo and the seller won’t deactivate Activation Lock, treat it as locked and request a refund.
#Bottom Line
Force restart first. That 30-second sequence resolves most stuck-logo cases. Recovery mode with Update is next, DFU is the last software step, and Apple Support handles the hardware ones.
#Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I hold the side button during a force restart?
About 10 to 15 seconds. Don’t let go when you first see the Apple logo, because that’s the old boot attempt failing. Keep holding until the screen goes completely black, wait another second, and then the Apple logo will reappear as the phone boots fresh. The whole process from button press to home screen takes 20 to 30 seconds on most iPhones.
Will force restarting my iPhone delete my data?
No. A force restart doesn’t touch your data, just like pulling the power cord on a computer. Photos, messages, apps, and settings stay intact. Only a Restore through recovery mode or DFU mode erases data.
Why does my iPhone keep getting stuck on the Apple logo?
Repeated boot loops point to a corrupted iOS installation, low storage, or a failing battery. Do a full DFU restore if force restart only fixes it temporarily.
Can I fix an iPhone stuck on the Apple logo without a computer?
Only through a force restart. If that doesn’t work, you need a Mac or Windows PC with Finder or iTunes to enter recovery mode or DFU mode. There’s no way to reinstall iOS directly from the iPhone when it can’t boot past the logo.
How do I know if my iPhone is stuck or just updating?
Look for a progress bar beneath the Apple logo. During a legitimate update, this bar moves slowly but steadily over 5 to 30 minutes. If there’s no progress bar at all, or the bar hasn’t moved in over 30 minutes, your iPhone is stuck and you should try a force restart.
Does Apple charge to fix an iPhone stuck on the Apple logo?
Software fixes at the Genius Bar are free. Hardware repairs cost 149 to 599 dollars depending on your model.
Can a bad charger cause this problem?
Not directly, but it can contribute. A bad charger might fail to keep your iPhone powered during an iOS update, and that interrupted update is what actually causes the stuck logo. Always use an Apple-certified cable and keep your iPhone plugged into reliable power during any iOS update to avoid this scenario entirely.