iPhone XR Is Frozen or Unresponsive? Learn How to Unfreeze It

A frozen phone is a generic symptom of failure and it might occur to you at some point. Perhaps your iPhone XR is frozen at the time of an opening app stuck on the loading screen or trying to access iCloud in settings. Or maybe it freezes up out of the blue after performing a newer iOS version update. Also, you might encounter a freezing iPhone XR in some rare situations like accidentally dialing emergency contacts and an unresponsive app folder going grey. But what should you do next?

At this stage, panicked touches don't rescue anything. Instead, take some troubleshooting tips below and you'll conveniently fix a frozen iPhone XR that's getting stuck or unresponsive.

Quick Summary

Tips: If your iPhone XR has a frozen screen with Apple logo locked or it stuck on spinning wheel screen and won't turn off or reset, jump straightly to Fix 4.

• Force reboot the device when the touch screen stops working and keeps unresponsive
• Shut down apps which are frozen or crashing
• Charge your device for up to an hour if the screen totally turns black and won't turn on
• Get iPhone XR out of frozen screen via an efficient program
• Update or reinstall the iOS system via iTunes
• Require some hands-on repairs on the malfunctioning display

Fix 1 - Force restart your iPhone XR

OK, this step is obvious. It's a magic option to refresh your handset if you have no idea to shut off your device as the touch screen is totally frozen and not responding to any button presses. Within several specific button combinations, you can hard reset a frozen iPhone XR in seconds.

• Press then quickly release the Volume Up button and also press then quickly release the Volume Down button.
• Press the Side button and keep holding it until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

Fix 2 - Remove iPhone XR frozen or unresponsive apps

Having too many apps running in the background isn't a good practice, which is likely using up a huge number of system resources to perform the apps operating requests and gradually slows down the whole performance. In worst cases, your device may lag, perform sluggishly or even start freezing at all.

If this is the case for you, force-closing apps is necessary. Swipe up from the bottom of the home screen to open multitasking view and swipe up on apps' previews to quit them. If iPhone XR freezing issue happens constantly when you open one specific app, there's no way but uninstall it.

Warning: All unsaved data might be erased after force stopping the running app(s). If you got important work to keep, take a few minutes to see if iPhone XR unfreezes itself.

Fix 3 - Charge your device

If your freezing iPhone XR won't turn on or start up, then it's possible that your smartphone has already powered off. To awake it, charge your device - plug in it however you usually charge it and leave it charging for an hour or two.

Few minutes later, the charging screen should show up. If nothing emerges or you only see connect to power screen stuck on iPhone XR instead, inspect its lightning port to make sure it isn't filled with lint or debris, and if required, swap the cable or the power adapter for another. Then be patient and give it some time to become responding again.

Read How to diagnose and fix iPhone charging issues for more suggestions.

Fix 4 - Run a full iPhone system recovery program

If your iPhone XR keeps freezing frequently, all above basic techniques won't sort out the in-depth underlying bugs. And you'll need to access the device operating system, seek out the issue root and get the device in question back to the tip-top condition. To do that, here is your first aid kit: iOS System Recovery. It's an excellent iOS and iPadOS system repair utility, delivering a thorough fix for all kinds of troubles include but not limited on iDevice frozen issues, stuck on Apple logo, unresponsive black screen with spinning wheel, won't turn on, touch screen not working or more.

For starters, its built-in automatic repairing functions will serve you right to get iPhone XR out of the "Frozen" mode. Simply click few buttons to enable errors scanning, select repair type, download firmware package, trigger fixing engine and then you're good to go. Here's how to use it:

Step 1: Run the iOS System Recovery tool

Open up the software on a computer and get your iPhone XR connected to it. On the left of opening panel, select More tools.

Then, click the mode that says iOS System Recovery.

When you're in the iOS System Recovery part, locate the Start button and hit it.

Then a window will pop up displaying the device information of your device. Just click Fix button to move to next step.

Step 2: Hit "Standard Mode"

Now, the screen gives you a prompt to look over the two repair types: Standard Mode and Advanced Mode, which should look like the screenshot below. You can view the clear description under the title of the two options above the page.

For keeping data solid during the process of fixing iPhone XR freezing screen, go to Standard Mode to highlight it, then click Confirm button.

Step 3: Trigger firmware package downloading process

When you're here, find the latest iOS version available for iPhone XR device and choose it. To store the firmware package, click the icon that resembles three dots on the lower bottom and browse to a destination you wish.

Once satisfied, activate downloading firmware package by pressing the Next button.

Step 4: Fix an iPhone XR that's frozen

Once done, hit the Fix button to stop iPhone XR from freezing or unresponsive screen. This process also provides benefits for enhancing non-optimal system settings.

When it's completed, your iPhone XR will start up normally again and should be active and ready for use now.

Don't miss: iPhone XR Black Screen Problem: Here're Tips and Fixes!

Fix 5 - Restore iPhone XR Frozen Screen from iTunes

The stuck Apple logo or a red or blue screen during startup introduces a serious problem on your iPhone XR that freezes up. This time, a fast and effective solution is to put your device into Recovery mode and reinstall the iOS system for undoing the recent changes on the current state of the software. This could clear out all underlying problems that have developed instead of trying to locate every possible one and then allow it to start over as new.

You'll need to get access to a computer with latest iTunes installed and then go through the below instructions in quick succession.

• Attach your device with a computer and launch iTunes.
• Press and instantly let go of the Volume Up button. Press and instantly let go of the Volume Down button. Then press the Side button and continue holding it even you see the Apple logo screen.
• Release the Side button after you see the Recovery mode screen.



• You'll be represented with a message in iTunes, from where you're given two options: Update and Restore. Click Update, and wait for the device to reboot.

It the Update solution still ends up with an abnormal iPhone device, choose Restore to reset the device software back to its factory default state. Here's a reminder: Make sure you've got a backup of your iPhone XR device as the Restore option will erase all your current data and files.

Fix 6 - Contact Apple to have your iPhone serviced

Still no better? Now the number of potential causes on iPhone XR frozen screen has been narrowed down: there might be a matter of hardware failure. This might include:

• Drop damage - Screen that has broken down might result a not working iPhone XR screen.
• Water damage - Even small amount of water could mess up your device function. (How-to Guide)
• Component failure - It's rare but a manufacturing defect still exists rendering unexpected iPhone XR freezing bugs.

Here, to avoid the damage getting worse or irreversible, you're better off taking your device for inspection via a certified technician in an Apple Repair Center. The repair service will free of charge if the device is still under the warranty period or AppleCare+ coverage.