Troubleshoot without losing information

Describe what happens before changing anything

A good description saves time, whether you solve it yourself or ask for help. Note these four details:

• The app where it happens.
• The moment it happens.
• The exact message that appears.
• What still works.

If you can, save your work and check your backup, the copy of your information: in Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, then iCloud Backup. If you take a screenshot, make sure it does not show private conversations, codes or documents.

If a Camera or Photos feature is missing, check model, version, file type and availability before treating it as a fault. The model and the iOS version are in Settings, inside General, under About.

If one app does not respond

1. Wait if it is downloading, syncing or processing something large.
2. Check whether the rest of the phone responds.
3. Open the app switcher. On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen, pause in the center and lift your finger. On an iPhone SE, double-click the Home button.
4. Swipe right until you find the frozen app.
5. Swipe up only the card of that app, to close it.
6. Go to the Home Screen, tap the app to open it again and check whether the problem repeats.
7. Check the app's updates and the available storage.

If the whole system misbehaves, shut the iPhone down the normal way: open Settings, tap General, scroll down and tap Shut Down. To turn it back on, hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.

If the whole iPhone does not respond

Force a restart only if the iPhone does not respond and you cannot turn it off and back on. Check Apple's exact combination for your model. On Face ID models and the second- or third-generation iPhone SE, the usual procedure is this:

1. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
2. Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
3. Press and hold the side button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the side button.

Restarting is not a factory restore. iOS 27 also offers guided recovery for certain update or stability failures: if a screen called Recovery Assistant appears when the phone starts, tap Continue. It needs a Wi-Fi network and may take several minutes.

Connection, charging and missing photos

• Connection: try a known network and another service, to tell a phone problem from an outside outage.
• Charging: check that the cable and adapter are compatible, without inserting objects into the port. With liquid or physical damage, stop and ask for an inspection.
• Missing photos: check filters, personal or shared library, account and Recently Deleted before changing sync or deleting data.