How to turn off your iPhone or iPad without using its buttons

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Turn off iPhone, iPad without buttons
Initiate a shutdown from within iOS.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Broken one of the physical buttons on your iPhone or iPad? That won’t prevent you from shutting it down completely. This simple trick allows you to turn off your iPhone or iPad from within iOS in just a few steps.

We’ll show you how.

You would normally hold down the volume up and sleep/wake buttons on your iPhone or iPad to turn it off. On earlier models with Touch ID, simply holding the sleep/wake button will do the trick. But what if those buttons aren’t working or missing completely?

You’ll need to shutdown your iPhone or iPad from within iOS instead. The good news is it’s quick and simple and requires no third-party software or hacks. Simply follow the steps below.

How to turn off your iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the screen and tap Shut Down.
  4. Use the Slide to Power Off slider to confirm.

Your device will now turn off and remain turned off until you turn it back on.

How to turn on your iPhone or iPad without buttons

Now that your iPhone or iPad is turned off, you might be wondering how to turn it back on if your sleep/wake button is broken. You’ll be pleased to know that’s not impossible, either. All you need to do is connect your device to power and once it has enough charge, it will turn itself on.

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