iPhone 8 tips: How to force restart, enter recovery, and DFU mode

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With the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, Apple has changed the way that you carry out a forced restart, enter recovery mode, and enter DFU mode.

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On the iPhone 7 you pressed the volume down button at the same time as the sleep/wake button to restart the handset. However, if you try this on the iPhone 8 you'll get quite a surprise because this will activate the Emergency SOS mode, and just before the handset makes a call to the emergency services it emits several ear-piercing siren blasts!

So how do you force a restart?

With the iPhone 8 you have to tap the volume up button followed by tapping the volume down button (a tap means pressing and then letting go), and then you press and hold the side button (Apple's new name for the sleep/wake button) until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

Yes, that is long-winded, and can be hard to pull off if you have an iPhone 8 Plus or small hands. I suggest putting the iPhone down on a table to do this.

But what about entering recovery mode?

To do this first plug a Lightning cable into the iPhone that's connected to a PC or Mac running iTunes. Now you tap the volume up button followed by tapping the volume down button, then you press and hold the side button and keep pressing when you see the Apple logo on the screen and don't let go until you see the connect to iTunes logo appear.

DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) mode is even more long-winded to get into. Again, start by connecting the iPhone to a PC or Mac running iTunes. Now you tap the volume up button followed by tapping the volume down button, then you press and hold the side button for 10 seconds, at this point press and hold the volume down button without letting go of the side button for another 5 seconds, after which point you release the side button and continue holding the volume down button for another 10 seconds. The goal is to get the device into a state where the screen is black (no Apple or iTunes logo) and iTunes identifies the iPhone as being in recovery mode.

To get out of recovery mode or DFU mode you basically carry out a restart, so you tap the volume up button followed by tapping the volume down button, and then you press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

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See also:

• The iPhone 8's best feature is one that most people will never get to use
• See, Apple was right to dump the headphone jack
• What's it like using the world's fastest smartphone?
• iOS 11.0.1 update causes havoc for some iPhone and iPad users
• Inside Apple's new A11 Bionic processor
• How to test chargers and power banks to make sure they don't blow up your expensive smartphone

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