Why and how to reboot your phone
Why reboot your phone?
Rebooting your phone, turning it off and on again, offers real benefits for both its performance and its security. It is a simple, preventative step that gives your phone a “fresh start” without affecting your personal information, photos or settings.
When your phone stays on all the time, it’s like drinking cup after cup of coffee without ever washing the cup. Hidden digital “dirt” builds up. The dirt can include things like temporary files, stalled processes, and even uninvited (malicious) programs that you didn’t notice coming in. Some of the most dangerous of these live only in the phone’s short-term memory, and a restart wipes them out. By turning your phone off and on again, you’re helping to clear out these lurking problems, just like giving your favorite mug a soapy scrubbing from time to time.
Security experts agree. The U.S. National Security Agency, for example, advises turning your phone off and on at least once a week. A reboot can’t promise to stop every problem, and no one can prove what a particular restart prevented. But it costs nothing, takes two minutes, and can only help.
Two ways to do it
You can reboot your phone by hand, which you have to remember to do, or automatically, which takes a one-time setup and then happens on a schedule you choose. Instructions for both are below, first for iPhone, then for Android.
iPhone
Rebooting by hand
A good time is just before or after you charge your phone. (If your iPhone has a round Home button below the screen, like the iPhone SE, just press and hold the side button in step 1, without the volume button.)
- Press and hold one of the volume buttons on the left side of the iPhone and, at the same time, the button on the right side. Hold both for a few seconds, then let go. This screen appears:
Slide the button labeled “slide to power off” to the right. - Slide “slide to power off” to the right, and wait a few seconds for the phone to shut down. The screen goes blank.
- Press and hold the button on the right side for a few seconds, until the Apple logo appears. The phone restarts. You’ve successfully rebooted your iPhone!
Rebooting automatically
Your iPhone can remind you to restart at the same time every day, using Apple’s free Shortcuts app, which comes already installed on iPhones. (If you can’t find it, search for “Shortcuts” in the App Store and tap Get.) The easiest way is to use the ready-made shortcut we’ve created for you. It’s a one-time setup in two parts: add our shortcut with one tap, then pick your time, and we’ll lead you through each step.
Good to know
At the time you choose, your iPhone asks “Are you sure you want to restart this iPhone?” and you tap Restart. Apple doesn’t allow a phone to restart without asking, so it is a daily one-tap reminder rather than a completely hands-off restart. Your phone must be turned on at that time.
Part 1: Add our restart shortcut
We’ve made the shortcut for you, so there’s nothing to build. On your iPhone:
- Tap the button below.
- Your iPhone opens the Shortcuts app and shows the CYA RESTART shortcut. Tap Add Shortcut at the bottom.
Tap Add Shortcut.
That’s it. Now go on to Part 2.
Part 2: Choose your restart time
Now tell your iPhone what time each day to remind you. We’ll lead you through it one step at a time, with a picture of each screen.
Changing your time later
You can change the time whenever you like. It takes four taps, and we’ll show you each one.
You can also find this anytime in the Scam prevention library, under Set or change my iPhone restart time.
For those who like technology: build the restart shortcut yourself.
If you’d rather make the shortcut than use ours, here’s how. When you’re done, use Set my restart time above to schedule it, choosing your own shortcut in the last step.
- Open the Shortcuts app and tap Library at the bottom of the screen. Then tap the + at the top right.
Tap Library at the bottom, then + at the top right. - A blank “New Shortcut” screen appears.
The New Shortcut screen. - In the box labeled Search Actions, type Shut Down. Tap Shut Down in the list.
Type “Shut Down” in the search box, then tap it in the list. - The screen now shows “Shut Down this device.” Press and hold the blue words Shut Down.
Press and hold the blue words “Shut Down.” - A small menu opens. Tap Restart.
Choose Restart from the menu. - The line now reads “Restart this device.” Tap the < arrow at the top left to save the shortcut.
It now says “Restart this device.” - You’re back at All Shortcuts, and your new shortcut appears as a blue tile. (It may still be named “Shut Down,” but it restarts.)
Your new shortcut appears. Tap Automation at the bottom.
Android
Rebooting by hand
On most Android phones, press and hold the power button on the side (on some phones, the power button and the volume-up button together) until a menu appears, then tap Restart.
Rebooting automatically
Many Android phones can restart on a schedule by themselves, with no reminder to tap. On Samsung Galaxy phones:
- Open Settings and tap Device care (on some phones it’s called Battery and device care).
- Tap Auto optimization, then Auto restart.
- Turn on Restart on schedule, then choose the days and the time. The middle of the night works well.
The phone restarts within an hour of the time you set, and only when the screen is off, the phone isn’t being used, and the battery is above 30%. The menus vary a little from model to model, so if you can’t find it, type restart into the search box at the top of Settings. Other brands of Android phone may have a similar setting, sometimes called Scheduled power on/off. If yours doesn’t, rebooting by hand once a week works just as well.
Instructions and screens may change slightly as Apple, Samsung and others update their software.