When In Doubt, Restart

Restart a Mac

The simplest and most consistent way to restart a Mac from the last two decades is to go to the Apple menu and choose Restart. You can skip the confirmation dialog by holding Option when clicking the command.

On keyboards with an Eject key, you can also press Control+Eject to call up the Shutdown Dialog and then press R for restart.

Restart an iPhone or iPad

Apple details these instructions on this support page as well as these User Guide pages for iPhone and iPad. I find that the described “force restart” is sometimes more effective on these mobile devices than the conventional shutdown–startup sequence.

• On iPhone 6S or earlier, iPhone SE (1st generation), or any iPad with a Home button, hold the Home button and the Side/Top button until the Apple appears on the screen.
• On iPhone 7, hold the Side button and the Volume Down button until the Apple appears on the screen.
• On iPhone 8 or later, and on any iPad without a Home button, in quick succession, press and release Volume Up, then Volume Down, and then hold the Side/Top button until the Apple appears on the screen.

What’s this business of “until”? Why do so many of my clients have a propensity to ask for confirmation about these instructions and why do they seem to get confused by the word “until.” Simply hold the button(s) I indicated and when the Apple appears on the screen, stop holding.

In each case, you’ll hold them for about 10 seconds, but don’t give up if it’s a little longer. Do give up if the screen doesn’t go black as you might not have followed the steps precisely.

Restart Network Equipment

Sometimes, one device on a network stops connecting to the Internet even though others work fine. The root of the problem can still be the network equipment (modem, router, access point, etc.). Therefore, I recommend restarting those devices.

In most cases, you can either turn off a device that has a dedicated power button or switch, or you can disconnect the device from power, and leave it off for at least 10 seconds. That means you can either unplug it from an electrical outlet or you can unplug the other end from the device itself. Any way that you accomplish the disconnection is acceptable.

Sometimes, a more thorough reset is necessary. In this case, I recommend waiting 3 minutes before reconnecting the power. Generally, there’s no need to disconnect any other cables from a device besides power.

What’s this business of “until”? Why do so many of my clients have a propensity to ask for confirmation about these instructions and why do they seem to get confused by the word “until.” Simply hold the button(s) I indicated and when the Apple appears on the screen, stop holding.

In each case, you’ll hold them for about 10 seconds, but don’t give up if it’s a little longer. Do give up if the screen doesn’t go black as you might not have followed the steps precisely.