How to Force Restart an iPad

The top button on your iPad. - Photo: Phillip Tracy / Gizmodo
The top button on your iPad. - Photo: Phillip Tracy / Gizmodo

Restarting your iPad is good practice for when it isn’t performing as usual. Giving it a quick reboot helps refresh its RAM and optimizes its performance. But sometimes, your iPad acts up and does not want to cooperate. In such circumstances, you’d have to force restart it.

Just as turning off an iPad works, force restarting looks different for models with and without a home button. Your iPad is going to have a home button if it’s an iPad Pro from 2017 or earlier or an iPad Air, iPad Mini, or a standard iPad from 2019 or earlier. If you’re unsure about which button is which, this Apple Support guide can help.

How to Force Restart an iPad With a Home Button

Press and hold the top button and the home button simultaneously. Release both buttons when you see an Apple logo appear on your display.

How to Force Restart an iPad Without a Home Button

This one’s slightly more complicated. First, press and quickly release the volume button that’s closest to the top button. Then press and quickly release the other volume button (or the one that’s farthest from the top button). Next, press and hold the top button. Release the top button when the Apple logo appears.

Need More Help?

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Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best TVs, and best headphones. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 16.

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