How to Power Off iPhone 16 Pro Max

How to Power Off iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Turning off your iPhone isn’t as simple as it used to be. If you’ve got an iPhone 16 Pro Max (or any recent model), the old “hold the power button” method doesn’t work anymore. Here’s how to shut it down properly, along with some handy alternatives.

How to Turn Off iPhone

Demo performed on iPhone 16 Pro Max (Titanium Black, 256GB, Model A3296) running iOS 18.3.2.

The New Way to Power Off (Button Combo)

For iPhone 14 and newer (including iPhone 16 Pro Max), Apple changed the shutdown method to prevent accidental Emergency SOS triggers. Here’s how it works:

1. Press and hold the Side Button and either Volume Button (up or down) at the same time.
2. After a second, the power-off slider will appear on screen.
3. Slide to power off to shut down your iPhone.

Better way to avoid the emergency SOS option is to:

1. press volume up
2. then volume down
3. then press and hold the side button or power button.
   In this way, only the slide to power off will show up instead of the emergency SOS and the power off alternative.

Why the change? Apple moved the Emergency SOS feature to a separate button combo, so holding just the Side Button now triggers SOS instead of shutdown.

Alternative Method: Shut Down via Settings

If your buttons aren’t working or you prefer a button-free method:

1. Open Settings > General.
2. Scroll to the bottom and tap Shut Down.
3. Slide the power-off slider that appears.

This works on all iPhones running iOS 11 or later.

Control Center Shortcut (iOS 18+)

With iOS 18, Apple added a quick shutdown option in Control Center:

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center.
2. Tap the new Power Button icon (circle with a line).
3. Slide to power off.

What If the Slider Doesn’t Appear?

If the shutdown slider won’t show up:

• Make sure you’re pressing both buttons simultaneously or when you do the volume up then volume down then power button, make sure you long press the power button for at least 3-5 seconds until the Slide to power off screen appears.
• Try pressing the buttons more firmly (case interference can sometimes block presses).
• If your screen is frozen, try a force restart instead (see below).

Force Restart (When Your iPhone is Frozen)

If your iPhone won’t respond, a force restart can help:

1. Quickly press and release Volume Up.
2. Quickly press and release Volume Down.
3. Press and hold the Side Button until the Apple logo appears (ignore the “slide to power off” prompt if it shows).

Note: This doesn’t erase data, it just reboots a stuck iPhone.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Accidentally triggering Emergency SOS? Go to Settings > Emergency SOS and disable “Hold to Call” if you don’t need it.
• Buttons not working? Use the Settings or Control Center method instead.
• Still stuck? Let the battery drain completely, then recharge and try again.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’ve got an iPhone 16 Pro Max or an older model, shutting it down is easy once you know the right button combo (or the button-free tricks).

Got questions? Drop them in the comments, I’m happy to help!