In this article I’m going to teach you three easy steps you can take if your iOS device is having trouble. Common issues can be anything from freezing or not powering on. It’s always a good idea to take these steps before having to spend time to have your device looked at by an Apple Specialist.
The first thing anyone can try is to close out completely of all running applications. The way this is done is at the home screen — first, double tap the home button. This will display your multitasking menu at the bottom of the screen. Within this menu are all applications that are running. They are going to be listed in a line that you can swipe through to see them all (just like swiping to get to a different home screen).
Now that the applications are displayed in order to close them out completely one must simply hold on any icon until they start to wiggle. This will look very similar to the process of moving applications around on the home screen. Now that your applications are wiggling, there will be a red button that has appeared at the top left hand side of each icon. Tap this button to close the application. There unfortunately isn’t an easy way to simply close them all with one tap, so you will have to go through and close all one by one. Once this is done your ready for the next step.
Next, do a full restart of your device. In order to do this, you need to hold down the home button and lock button at the same time. (Ed. Note: iPhone 5s seem to restart using just the lock button.) Continue to hold these buttons past the “Slide to power off” screen and even after the screen goes blank. Release the buttons once the Apple appears on the start up screen. After your device starts back up, you hopefully should be all set. If not, continue on to the next step.
CAUTION: Please double check that you are doing the following step-by-step as there is a chance of data loss if it’s not completed correctly.
The third and final step is to do a full software restore on your iOS device. In order to do this you will need not only your device, but also a sync cable and the computer that you use to sync your device. Next, power everything up and launch iTunes on your computer. Once iTunes has successfully loaded, plug your device with the sync cable into any available USB port on the computer. After a minute or so, you should be presented with a screen of information about the device you just plugged in. It will display various bits of information such as the name of the device, current version of the OS, and space left to be used. About halfway down the screen you should see a button titled “Restore”; click it.
Before completing the Restore process, make sure your device is completely backed up to prevent data loss!
Once you have selected the Restore option, it will take you through a few prompts needed to restore the software on your device. Once the process is complete, the device will restart and then reappear in iTunes. Upon its reappearance you will be asked to either set up as a new device or restore from backup. You will want to select Restore from Backup and then your device will be restored to the way it was before you started — with a fresh new install of the latest operating system.
If after you have completed all of these steps and you are still experiencing trouble with your device, it’s time to bring it in. You can bring it to any Small Dog location and our knowledgable staff will be glad to help you get your device functioning again.