Existing users, 
iPhone maintenance: reboot regularly
Posted 20 May 2008 @ 11am in Troubleshooting
A somewhat trite but valid observation regarding the iPhone is that the device is more akin to a handheld computer than a phone. It runs a full-fledged OS and requires updates that are exponentially larger than the over-the-air updates used by most other smartphones. The added complexity means that the iPhone, in some cases, needs to be treated more like a computer than a phone. Like desktop computers, the device can benefit from some routine maintenance.
The easiest and most effective maintenance procedure you can implement for the iPhone is a regularly executed reboot. To do this:
- Go to the home screen
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button (on top of the device) and the Home button. You will see the “slide to turn off” cue, but keep holding the buttons. Eventually the screen will go black, then the Apple logo will appear.
- Release the buttons when you see the Apple logo.
The frequency with which you should reboot the iPhone varies depending on the troubleshooting issues you experience and the diversity of applications you use on the device. Some perform the procedure once a week, others once a day.
If you still experience troubleshooting issues after implementing a regular reboot schedule, you’ll need to explore specific. See our troubleshooting section for a wealth of problems and associated fixes.
Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.
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3 Comments
Posted by MacAdict4Life
20 May 2008 @ 11am
Why restart, and not just power off and back on?
Posted by weisen
20 May 2008 @ 2pm
Unless I’m mistaken, just turning the phone off (”slide to turn off”) and then back on again performs a proper shutdown and then restart. What you’re suggesting is crashing the phone (forced shutdown) and then the same restart. I’m not sure how crashing the phone helps matters. It’s like suggesting to desktop computer users that they routinely pull the power cord out in order to reboot, rather than shutting down.
Posted by msmith20
20 May 2008 @ 4pm
The ‘hard’ restart as described in the article here should be avoided; in particular it fails to cleanly shut the system down, potentially risking loss of or damage to data.
Unless the device is failing to respond to the normal power off operation (power button, swipe), you should never ‘hard’ restart.