Because the iPhone 14 lineup is now available, it is important to be familiar with how to access its various utility modes in the event that you experience any difficulties. Continue reading to learn how to perform a DFU, a force restart on an iPhone 14, how to enter recovery mode, and when to use each of these three different options.
If you are experiencing unexpected behavior from your iPhone, a simple restart of the device should solve the problem in most cases. Simply turn off your device and then turn it back on (press and hold the side button and one volume button, then slide to power off or go to Settings > General > Shut Down > slide to power off) to accomplish this.
If you are unable to accomplish that, the following are the steps you should take…
How to force restart your iPhone 14 by hand, enter recovery mode, or use the DFU mode
Please take note that the steps outlined below are also compatible with iPhone 8 and later models, including iPhone SE gen 2:
Force Restart the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro with the Home button
If the touchscreen on your iPhone isn’t working, or if you can’t turn it off or on normally, this is the best solution for fixing a device that has become unresponsive or frozen:
- To increase the volume, press and then quickly release the button.
- To lower the volume, press and then quickly release the button.
- Keep pressing and holding the button on the side until you see the Apple logo, and then let go.
- Your iPhone ought to restart in a few moments.
- Recovery mode for both the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro
If a force restart does not solve the problem, or if you see a blue or red screen while your iPhone is restarting, or if it freezes while starting up, you should use the recovery mode:
- Use a Lightning cable to link your iPhone to your desktop computer or laptop.
- Choose Trust on the screen of your iPhone to allow the connection to your computer. Next, open Finder in macOS Catalina and later versions or iTunes for PCs and macOS versions earlier than Mojave.
- To increase the volume, press and then quickly release the button.
- To lower the volume, press and then quickly release the button.
- Keep pressing and holding the button on the side until you see the screen for the recovery mode (a computer with a cable icon).
- Choose your iPhone from the list of devices on the left side of the Finder window.
- You now have the option to either restore or update your iPhone.
If you select update, your computer will attempt to reinstall iOS without erasing any of your data; if you select restore, your iPhone will be completely wiped clean and a new copy of iOS will be installed.
iPhone 14 and 14 Pro support for DFU
Entering the device firmware upgrade (DFU) mode might be the next step to take if the recovery mode attempt was unsuccessful for some reason. You can do this yourself at home, even though it is something that an Apple Genius or technician would normally do for you.
- Use a Lightning cable to link your iPhone to your desktop computer or laptop.
- Choose Trust on the screen of your iPhone to allow the connection to your computer. Next, open Finder in macOS Catalina and later versions or iTunes for PCs and macOS versions earlier than Mojave.
- To increase the volume, press and then quickly release the button.
- To lower the volume, press and then quickly release the button.
- Maintaining pressure on the button on the side for ten seconds is required.
- While maintaining pressure on the side button, press and maintain pressure on the volume-down button for a period of five seconds.
- Let go of the side button and keep your finger on the volume down button for a further ten seconds.
- When you are in DFU mode, there is no computer icon; the display on your iPhone should remain black to indicate that you have successfully entered the mode. If the Apple logo appears, it means that you have not completed the steps in the correct order.
- To finish installing the device firmware update, simply follow the on-screen prompts on your computer.
- It is possible to exit DFU mode by performing a force restart on the device.
Various other circumstances
Contact Apple Support if you are unable to perform a force restart, enter recovery mode or DFU mode on your iPhone because the buttons on your device are broken, you are unable to charge your iPhone, or you are stuck at the Activation Lock screen.