iPhone keeps restarting on its own? Here's how to fix this (2024)

Your iPhone should restart only when you choose to or when you install an iOS update. Besides that, it shouldn’t randomly restart on its own or keep restarting in a loop and show you the Apple logo each time.

If you’re facing a situation where your iPhone keeps restarting, we’ll show you the solutions to fix this problem.

These tips apply to all models like iPhone 14, 13, 12, 11, Xs, XR, X, 8, and earlier. Plus, they should also work on iPad and iPod touch.

Why does my iPhone keep restarting?

There isn’t a well-defined reason for your iPhone turning off and restarting over and over. But in most cases, it could happen due to the following:

• You have not manually turned off your iPhone in a long time.
• You have downloaded an app that crashes and forces iOS to restart and refresh.
• There is significantly less free local storage left on your iPhone.
• The app you’re using is a resource-heavy app, and your old iPhone isn’t able to handle it well.
• There are too many poorly coded apps running simultaneously. iOS isn’t able to manage RAM and thus restarts.
• There are bugs in the version of iOS currently installed on your iPhone.
• Your iPhone has an old battery that needs replacement.
• You dropped your iPhone, and it has suffered internal damage.

How to fix iPhone self-restarting issue

1. Charge your iPhone for 30 minutes

Because of bugs, or if your iPhone’s battery is old, your device may turn off when 5% or 10% of battery is left and then restart automatically. To fix this, charge your iPhone, and auto restart should stop for the time being.

2. Is your iPhone extremely hot?

When your iPhone is too hot, it may block you from using the device, freeze, or restart continuously on its own in a loop. You can easily address this by letting your iPhone cool down. If you’re using a case, remove it to accelerate the cooling.

3. Quit all apps and then reopen a few

While your iPhone is a champion at RAM management, it may sometimes fail at properly managing a specific app, and resort to rebooting in a loop.

To fix this, save your ongoing work in open apps. After that, swipe up from the bottom of the screen on iPhone X and later or double-press the Home button on iPhone SE, 8, 7, and earlier models. Now from the App Switcher, drag the app cards all the way up to close them. Once done, open just a few essential applications.

4. Force restart your iPhone

When your iPhone keeps crashing and restarting, one reliable way to fix this is by force restarting it manually.

Normal restart means simply turning off your iPhone and turning it back on. But the steps to force restart are a bit different. We have a step-by-step guide to help you force restart any iPhone or iPad model. So please do that and if your problem continues, come back here to follow the remaining solutions.

5. Update to the latest version of iOS

If your iPhone keeps restarting itself, we urge you to update it to the latest available version of iOS. To do that, go to Settings > General > Software Update. From here, tap Download and Install or Install Now (if the update file was already downloaded automatically).

Please note that even if you don’t have Wi-Fi access, you can use 5G, 4G, LTE, or 3G to update your iPhone. Just make sure you have enough cellular data allowance.

6. Is iPhone self-restarting because of a specific app?

Sometimes it’s possible that your iPhone works fine, but the moment you open a particular app or use it for a while, your iPhone freezes and restarts. To come out of this problem, follow our guide that mentions 13 solutions to fix app crashing on iPhone and iPad.

7. Update iPhone apps

If your iPhone often randomly restarts, update all your third-party apps, which will improve the harmony between iOS and your apps, resulting in fewer crashes or random restarts.

8. Remove useless apps

Is your iPhone Home Screen or App Library full of apps you don’t plan on using anytime soon? If yes, consider deleting them.

9. Free up space on your device

Before my current iPhone, I had a 16 GB iPhone 6S Plus. Local storage was full most of the time, and I hardly had 300 MB to 500 MB available. Because of this, my iPhone kept restarting frequently.

If you’re in a similar situation, please free up space on your iPhone by removing unnecessary apps, screenshots, photos, videos, downloaded songs, and documents from the Files app. If you need more ideas to manage storage, look no further than our guide on 40+ ways to save storage space on iPhone and iPad.

10. Eject and reinsert the SIM card

Did you follow the above solutions, yet your iPhone still won’t stop restarting? In this case, use the SIM ejector and pull out the physical SIM card from your iPhone. Wait for about 30 seconds, and during that time, carefully wipe the SIM card. After that, reinsert it, and it should hopefully stop your iPhone from restarting over and over.

Note: iPhone 14 series sold in the United States doesn’t have a physical SIM slot. So, skip the above tip for US-bought iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max.

Related: How to fix No SIM, SIM Not Valid, and other SIM card issues on your iPhone

11. Does iPhone restart when you plug it in?

You might have noticed this phenomenon where your iPhone keeps restarting in a loop if you use a different charger, cable, or power bank. This most likely happens due to poor and non-certified cables or adapters.

To fix this, change the adapter, Lightning cable, and power source.

Note: Your iPhone may restart, and its touchscreen may not work properly in some sockets on planes, trains, cars, etc. In many cases, this happens due to a voltage difference. For example, in my country, 220V is the standard that’s supplied to houses. But in trains, the outlet may deliver 110V. Now, most charging adapters, including Apple’s, are made to work between 100 to 240V. But some chargers may not, due to which your iPhone will restart or its touchscreen misbehave when it’s plugged into power. To fix this, change the adapter or power outlet. If you have to charge with the same setup, plug it in, and then manually switch off your iPhone to let it juice up peacefully.

12. Reset all iPhone settings

If you followed the above tips and it continues to happen, go ahead and reset your iPhone settings. Doing this will restore all the settings you have ever changed to the default condition and solve your ongoing problems.

13. Does your iPhone battery need service?

If your iPhone battery health is significantly reduced, you’ll see a message inside the Settings app > Battery > Battery Health & Charging asking you to get it serviced. Replacing the battery with a new one will restore adequate use times on a single charge and prevent your iPhone from restarting randomly.

Related: How to understand iPhone battery health and manage CPU throttling

14. Erase and set up your iPhone again

Despite religiously following the above tips, if your iPhone keeps restarting continuously, erase it and set it up again. Here are all the tutorials you’ll need to do that:

• How to back up your iPhone and iPad to iCloud or a computer
• How to erase everything on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
• How to set up an iPhone from an iCloud backup or computer backup
• 30+ things I always do when setting up a new iPhone

15. Contact Apple Support to fix hardware problems

Finally, if nothing helps, your iPhone most likely has hardware damage, causing it to reboot in a loop or restarting again and again at unexpected intervals. It could happen due to a loose internal connection or motherboard failure.

The best person to diagnose and fix such problems is the Apple Store technician or someone from an Apple-authorized service center. You can use this Apple Support page to locate the nearest service center in your area.

16. Have you been thinking about getting a new iPhone?

First off, this isn’t a solution per se. But, consider my above-mentioned anecdote on using a 16 GB iPhone. No matter what I did, the phone would crash and restart because it was old, had a battery that needed service, and even after the best of my attempts, I couldn’t free sufficient space as there wasn’t much to begin with.

If you’re in a similar situation today, I think it’s time to consider upgrading. Look for iPhone deals on Amazon and explore financing options on Apple’s website. If none suits you, consider buying a refurbished iPhone from Apple.

Must see: 15 things you must do (and not do) before selling, giving away, or trading your iPhone or iPad

Please let me know which solution worked for you. And if you have some tips not mentioned in this post, please share that with us, as they will help others who are bogged down with the same annoying issue.

Check out next:

• iPhone turning itself off and won’t turn back on? Try these 8 fixes
• How to stop your iPhone from randomly showing the power off screen
• 45+ ways to save battery on iPhone
• 9 things you should do after accidentally dropping your iPhone in water