How to restart an iOS device using AssistiveTouch

Intro

Apple’s iOS devices are great products, with lots of useful functions and features. However, there are some features that are simply not present for reasons only known to Apple. One such feature is the ability to restart the operating system. While you can hold the power button until the slide to power off screen appears, this is not the same thing. This turns the device off completely rather than restarting it. This simple method will show you how to use the AssistiveTouch accessibility feature to quickly and efficiently restart your iPhone or iPad.

How to enable AssistiveTouch

Start by navigating to Settings>Accessibility>Touch and turn the AssistiveTouch feature on. Next, select the gesture you’d like to use to quickly bring up this feature. You may choose single-tap, double-tap, long press, or create custom gestures. The easiest method is single-tap. Note: If you are using
VoiceOver,
you must double-tap the Assistive Touch icon for single-tap or triple-tap for the double-tap gesture. Once you have selected the desired gesture, select the restart option from the list of actions.

How to use your new AssistiveTouch gesture

Now you can quickly restart your iOS device by performing the assigned gesture on the AssistiveTouch icon. This icon is always present on the screen if AssistiveTouch is enabled. It can be dragged around which gives you the freedom to place it on a part of the screen that is convenient for you. iOS will confirm to make sure you actually want to restart the device. Select restart to immediately reboot the system, or cancel if you inadvertently accessed the feature.

Conclusion

While this may not be useful for everyone, this is a very interesting workaround to Apple’s strange omission of a simple restart button in the power screen. Now you can quickly restart your device if you are experiencing strange problems. It is also useful for a totally blind person, as there is no longer a need to completely turn the device off and then hope it is actually turning on when you hold down the power button.