Apple's iPhone 13 mini, ‌‌iPhone‌ 13‌, ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro, and ‌‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro‌ Max come in the same sizes as the previous ‌iPhone‌ 12 series, and they share the same design elements with Apple's 2020 models, such as an all-screen design and no Home button on the front.

iPhone 13 Feature Blue
If you're upgrading from a device with a Home button, keep reading to learn how to power on and off, force a restart, enter DFU mode, enter recovery mode, activate Emergency SOS, and temporarily disable Face ID. Below you'll find step-by-step guides for performing the button combinations of all of the above functions, along with explanations of what the more obscure ones do and why they might one day come in useful.

How to Hard Reset the iPhone 13 (All models)

  1. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
    iphone 12 buttons front copy
  2. Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
  3. Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears, then release the Side button.

During this process, you will see a slider to power off the ‌iPhone‌. You're going to want to ignore it and continue holding down the Side button until the screen goes black. At that point, the Apple logo will pop up, and after the restart is complete, the screen will activate once again.

Using the force restart process prevents you from having to shut the ‌iPhone‌ down entirely, which takes several more steps.

If you do want to shut the ‌iPhone‌ down, you can do so by going to the General section of the Settings app, scrolling down to the bottom, and choosing the Shut Down option.

iPhone 12 Button Basics

Apple changed many of the physical button functions on its smartphones with the launch of the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ 8 and ‌‌iPhone‌‌ X, so if you're upgrading from a device that pre-dates these 2017 models, you'll want to familiarize yourself with them.

iphone 12 buttons front
Face the screen of your new ‌‌iPhone‌‌ and you'll see that there are two volume buttons on the left-hand side, and a single Side button on the right-hand side. With no Home button to speak of, these three side buttons work in combination to undertake all of the necessary functions.

Other Useful Things to Know

How to Power on iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max

To turn on your new ‌‌iPhone‌‌, press the Side button once. If the Apple logo doesn't appear on the screen, the device may need charging – plug it into a power outlet using the supplied Lightning cable, and let it charge for at least a few minutes before trying again.

iphone x xs 11 power on
Press and hold the Side button along with the Volume Up or Volume Down button until two sliding buttons appear on the screen.

How to Power off iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max

power off

  1. Press and hold the Side button along with the Volume Up or Volume Down button until two sliding buttons appear on the screen.
  2. Release the physical buttons and swipe right on the slide to power off button at the top of the screen.

How to Activate Emergency SOS on iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max

Activating Emergency SOS on your ‌iPhone‌ automatically calls emergency services and sends a text message with your location information to the people in your emergency contacts. For this reason, you should only use it when you're in danger or facing a genuine emergency. Note that you'll need to enter your ‌iPhone‌'s passcode to reenable ‌Face ID‌ and unlock your ‌iPhone‌ after performing Emergency SOS.

sos

  1. Press and hold the Side button as well as either one of the Volume buttons, so that you're essentially squeezing either side of the device.
  2. Keep squeezing until the Emergency SOS countdown initiates on the screen. You can either wait for the countdown to finish or slide it across to call the emergency services immediately and alert your emergency contacts.

If you don't want Emergency SOS to automatically call emergency services when the Side button is pressed, make sure to disable Auto Call via Settings -> Emergency SOS -> Disable Auto Call.

settings

How to Disable Face ID on iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max

Disabling ‌Face ID‌ on your ‌iPhone‌ makes it so your passcode has to be entered to unlock it. By disabling facial authentication, a police officer or malicious person can't unlock your ‌iPhone‌ simply by holding it in front of your face.

iphone11faceid

  1. Press and hold the Side button.
  2. Press and hold either Volume button.
  3. Tap the Cancel button that appears at the bottom of the screen.

Troubleshooting Functions

Apple changed the process of activating the following troubleshooting functions with the launch of the ‌iPhone‌ 8 and ‌iPhone‌ X, so if you upgraded from a device that pre-dates these 2017 models, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with them in case you run into problems.

How to Enter Recovery Mode on iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max

Entering recovery mode can help if you're having trouble updating or restoring your ‌iPhone‌ over the air. For example, if the screen shows the Apple logo for several minutes but no progress bar appears, you can try putting the device in recovery mode and restoring it with iTunes. Here's how it works.

  1. Using the Lightning cable that came with your ‌iPhone‌, connect the device to your computer. If you're using a Mac running macOS Mojave or earlier, or you're connecting to a PC, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed.
  2. On a Mac running macOS Catalina or later, open Finder. On a Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier, or on a PC, open iTunes. If iTunes is already open, close it, then open it again.
  3. With the ‌iPhone‌ connected, force restart it with the following steps, but don't release the buttons when you see the Apple logo. Instead, wait until the recovery mode screen appears.
  4. Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.

  5. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
  6. Press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery mode screen, then release it.
    connect to iTunes

  7. If you're using iTunes, select your device in the iTunes sidebar. Otherwise, select your device in the Finder sidebar.
  8. When you see the option to Restore or Update, choose Update. Your computer will try to reinstall the software without erasing your data. Wait while your computer downloads the software for your device.

How to Exit Recovery Mode on iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max

Simply press and hold the Side button until the "Connect to iTunes" screen disappears, and your ‌iPhone‌ should reboot back into iOS.

How to Enter DFU Mode on iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max

The forced restart procedure described above can help if an ‌iPhone‌ is freezing, throwing up errors, or has stopped responding completely. DFU mode (standing for Device Firmware Update) on the other hand restores an ‌iPhone‌ if a restart or entering standard Recovery Mode doesn't solve the problem you're experiencing.

Apple iPhone 12 Blue frontimage cable
DFU mode lets the device interface with Finder or iTunes, update the firmware, and restore the OS without automatically installing the last downloaded version. It's useful for installing older versions of iOS if a beta persistently hangs your phone, or if a jailbreak goes bad.

Before following the steps below, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer.

  1. Turn on your ‌iPhone‌ if it isn't already.
  2. Connect it to your computer using a Lightning to USB cable.

  3. On Macs running macOS Mojave or earlier and PCs, make sure that iTunes is running. On Macs running macOS Catalina or later, make sure Finder is running.
  4. On your ‌iPhone‌, press the Volume Up button immediately followed by the Volume Down button.
  5. Next, press and hold the Side button (or power button) until your ‌iPhone‌'s screen turns black.
  6. Release the Side button and then hold down both the Side button and Volume Down button together for approximately five seconds.
  7. Now release the Side button, but continue to press the Volume Down button.
  8. Wait for at least five seconds for Finder or iTunes to recognize DFU recovery mode has been enabled.

If you're using iTunes, you should see a message dialog saying "iTunes has detected an ‌iPhone‌ in recovery mode. You must restore this ‌iPhone‌ before it can be used with iTunes". If you're using Finder, you should see a similar message. If you don't see the message, repeat the steps above.

Once you've closed the recovery prompt you can go ahead and restore your ‌iPhone‌ back to factory settings by selecting Restore iPhone on the ‌iPhone‌ Recovery Mode screen. Once restored, your ‌iPhone‌ will automatically exit out of DFU mode and boot up to its activation screen.

How to Exit DFU Mode

If you enabled DFU mode and want to manually exit out of it, here's how it's done.

  1. Press the Volume Up button on your ‌iPhone‌ and quickly release it.
  2. Press the Volume Down button and release it.
  3. Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears on your ‌iPhone‌'s screen.

Your ‌iPhone‌ should now have exited DFU recovery mode.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Apple iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued. The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models. In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Two of Apple's Oldest Products Are Finally Getting Updated This Year

Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products. Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year. Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2. HomePod mini 2 In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...
macbook air blue

Gurman: M4 MacBook Air Models to Launch by March 'At the Latest'

Monday February 17, 2025 2:30 am PST by
Apple will begin selling new MacBook Air models featuring its latest M4 chip by March "at the latest," mirroring the time frame of the M3 MacBook Air launch last year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple last updated the MacBook Air line in March 2024. Gurman's comments appeared in his latest Power On newsletter, suggesting the reporter is no further forward on learning the exact...
iPhone 17 Air Front Page Tech 2

'iPhone 17 Air' With Ultra-Thin Design Allegedly Revealed in New Video

Monday February 17, 2025 6:53 pm PST by
YouTube channel Front Page Tech today revealed the alleged design of Apple's widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" model, set to launch later this year. "iPhone 17 Air" render created by @zellzoi for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech shared renders depicting what it believes is likely the final design of the "iPhone 17 Air." The device is expected to feature an ultra-thin...