How to Turn Off an iPhone Without the Power Button

Submitted by hubby on Thu, 06/14/2012 - 4:35pm

Updated November 2015 for iOS 9

To use Assistive touch to turn off your iPhone without the power button on iOS 9 scroll to the bottom for instructions

Based on the number of questions and comments posted in our forums, turning off or restarting an iPhone with a broken power button (the top button) seems to be a common question and issue.  So here is our quick-list of ways that you can restart your iPhone or turn off your iPhone if your power button is broken or not working.

Broken iPhone - No Power Button !How to Restart an iPhone with no top power button (no jailbreak):

Any of these methods will resart your iPhone without using the Power Button on top

  1. On the iPhone tap SETTINGS, General, Reset, Reset All Network Settings (note that this will erase VPN and WiFi settings or passwords) 
  2. Wait for the battery to drain
  3. Plug in your iPhone to your Mac/PC with iTunes and choose "restore" (not recommended but it does the job)

How to turn off an iPhone with no power button or a broken power button (no jailbreak):  

  • Enable Assistive Touch:  Tap SETTINGS, General, Accessibility, AssistiveTouch (near the bottom) and tap AssistiveTouch to ON.  You will now notice a small dark square with a circle in the middle (you can move this square anywhere).  Tap the dark circle to open the assistiveTouch menu, then tap Device and tap and HOLD the Lock Screen icon.  This will bring up the iPhone's Power-Off slider - no need for a power button any longer!  **Voted Best Method to turn off an iPhone with a broken power button

How to turn off an iPhone without the power button (Jailbroken):

  • Install SB Settings, "Shutdown", or "Lock" to power off the iPhone 
  • Enable Assistive Touch described above

 

How to turn on an iPhone with no top power button:

Now you've got your iPhone turned off, but if your power button is broken how do you turn it back on?  

  • Plug the iPhone into a power source such as your computer or iPhone wall-charger

Watch the video version of this page:

 

 

iOS 7, iOS 8, and iOS 9 update:

Turn turn off your iPhone with no top pwer button using Assistive Touch on iOS 7, IOS 8, & iOS 9:

  • Enable Assistive Touch in Settings | General | Accessibility | Assistive Touch
  • Tap the round Assistive Touch button
  • Tap "Device" 
  • Tap and HOLD "Lock Screen" - after holding for approximatly 5 seconds, the "slide to power off" option will appear

This is basically the same as it is in iOS 7, iOS 8 and iOS 9 as it was for iOS 6

How to turn the phone back on:

Plug it in to a power source and the phone will turn back on.

Comments

OdgeUK

Thu, 02/14/2013 - 7:12am

Really helpful, just inherited a dropped and broken Iphone 3GS. Managed to put all connectors back on but Power Button still dead. This article has made the phone usuable!

Anonymous Visitor

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 6:34pm

Very sweet, worked like a charm! Thank you

Anonymous Visitor

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 8:23am

Worked like a freaking charm! My husband has been trying to figure out how to turn off his IPHONE 4S for months now because his sleep button is broken. This website was most helpful! Agree with the 2/12 commenter.. Works like butta!!

KimmY

Tue, 02/26/2013 - 12:42pm

AMAZING!! Thank you :D

Anonymous Visitor

Fri, 03/01/2013 - 8:51am

Omg thank you I've been so scared of Turing my phone off cause of the top button being broken.

Anonymous Visitor

Mon, 03/04/2013 - 9:59am

so happy this was so helpful:)

Gnarfler

Mon, 03/04/2013 - 3:17pm

It should be noted, one should only do this with a charger on hand to turn on the device again.

Anonymous Visitor

Tue, 03/05/2013 - 6:39am

Thanks!

Anonymous Visitor

Tue, 03/05/2013 - 7:48am

Thank you so much! So very helpful! My "lock" button no longer works and it's been acting crazy needed a restart.Thanks again!!

Son on plane

Sat, 03/09/2013 - 12:49pm

Getting on the plane, learned my son couldn't shut off his phone. This worked perfectly. Did tell him how to turn it on until off the flight. Great seeing the look on his face trying to turn it back on

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