Resolved Reboot vs Restart

[mmkerc]

I read an article on Forbes about a new Spyware Warning advise all iPhone and Android user to turn their phone off and back on. Specifically it says:

"you must turn off then turn on the device, "without using the reboot feature, as some spyware is able to simulate a reboot to deceive the user.”"

How do you do that on an iPhone? I know how to turn off the iPhone, and I know how to turn it on but I have never heard of restarting an iPhone vs rebooting an iPhone?


The article I referred to

 

[Apple_Robert]

I read an article on Forbes about a new Spyware Warning advise all iPhone and Android user to turn their phone off and back on. Specifically it says:

"you must turn off then turn on the device, "without using the reboot feature, as some spyware is able to simulate a reboot to deceive the user.”"

How do you do that on an iPhone? I know how to turn off the iPhone, and I know how to turn it on but I have never heard of restarting an iPhone vs rebooting an iPhone?


The article I referred to

Turn off the phone and wait 10 seconds and turn back on. I won’t be doing that as the Forbes article is mostly hot air for clicks.

 

[TumbleDryer]

It's all scare mongering b******s I wouldn't worry too much about it. I assume the reboot is a hard reset so hold down the two buttons to power off but keep them held down until it restarts itself (don't swipe to shut down).

 

[MacCheetah3]

How do you do that on an iPhone? I know how to turn off the iPhone, and I know how to turn it on but I have never heard of restarting an iPhone vs rebooting an iPhone?

Foremost, these terms are most often used interchangeably. Nonetheless, the way I’m understanding their definition/usage:

Reboot: Reloading the OS without the device (hardware) never fully powering off. iOS and iPadOS don’t actually provide this function. There is a force restart process, although, it should only be executed for troubleshooting (e.g., if your device is not responding at all).

Restart: Fully shut down (i.e., power off) the device. Then turn it back on (i.e., start it again).

Restart your iPhone - Apple Support

Learn how to turn your iPhone off, then back on.

support.apple.com

Turn iPhone on or off

Use the side button to turn iPhone on. Use the buttons or Settings to turn iPhone off.

support.apple.com

"you must turn off then turn on the device, "without using the reboot feature, as some spyware is able to simulate a reboot to deceive the user.”"

In regard to malicious software or some other deeper, more stubborn software problem/glitch, completely powering off basically clears everything out. Whereas a “reboot” will maintain some contents in RAM, cache, etc.

Anyway… As others have said, most of these headline stories and the like are fear mongering to get engagement of their content. Sensible, best practices are still your best bet.

Safe Browsing and Email Practices - OHSE

In this module, we will explore how to browse the internet safely and recognize email-based cyber threats. The internet is full of valuable resources but also

ohse.ca

 

[rui no onna]

Anyway… As others have said, most of these headline stories and the like are fear mongering to get engagement of their content. Sensible, best practices are still your best bet.

Safe Browsing and Email Practices - OHSE

In this module, we will explore how to browse the internet safely and recognize email-based cyber threats. The internet is full of valuable resources but also

ohse.ca

Yup, this.

I'm not sure when it started but iOS also performs an automatic restart every few days. My devices on iOS 14 didn't do that.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Yup, this.

I'm not sure when it started but iOS also performs an automatic restart every few days...

Eh? I don't have that on 17PM

 

[rui no onna]

Eh? I don't have that on 17PM

There's no option for it. It just restarts automatically. You'll know when it asks for you password/PIN instead of allowing you to use FaceID.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Yup, this.

I'm not sure when it started but iOS also performs an automatic restart every few days. My devices on iOS 14 didn't do that.

Eh? I don't have that on 17PM

There's no option for it. It just restarts automatically. You'll know when it asks for you password/PIN instead of allowing you to use FaceID.

New Apple Security Feature Reboots iPhones After 72 Hours Of Not Being Unlocked - SimplyMac

Apple's new 72-hour reboot feature improves iPhone security by adding extra protection against unauthorized access. While it may raise some privacy concerns,

www.simplymac.com

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Oh, 72 hours of no use

 

[!!!]

There's no option for it. It just restarts automatically. You'll know when it asks for you password/PIN instead of allowing you to use FaceID.

It asks for your password every few days to ensure you don't forget it. It's not actually restarting your phone. If it did, you'd notice your apps are all reset.

 

[MacCheetah3]

It asks for your password every few days to ensure you don't forget it. It's not actually restarting your phone.

???
It’s a reboot. It’s even called “Inactivity Reboot.” Another article:

Understanding the security impacts of iOS 18’s inactivity reboot - Magnet Forensics

Learn about iOS 18's inactivity reboot feature, its security impact, and implications for forensic investigations.

www.magnetforensics.com

If it did, you'd notice your apps are all reset.

From the SimplyMac page I linked to earlier:

Some users might find this annoying. But it helps keep data safe. Most people use their phones daily, so they won’t notice it much.

[...]

The reboot happens after 72 hours. This time was likely chosen carefully. It’s long enough that most users won’t be affected. But it’s short enough to still be useful for security.

 

[rui no onna]

It asks for your password every few days to ensure you don't forget it. It's not actually restarting your phone. If it did, you'd notice your apps are all reset.

It specifically mentions restart on the passcode unlock screen:

Enter Passcode
Touch ID requires your passcode when iPhone restarts

Mind, I just used this phone yesterday (just for HomeKit and alarms).

 

[mmkerc]

Thanks to all the answered the question of the difference of rebooting and restarting an iPhone.

With respect to the new "feature" of needing to enter your passcode every few days, I was not aware the update was the reason, appreciate the info.

Regarding the many folks that commented on the article being click-bait. Forbes is constantly sharing these type of security alerts, or just trends on new or popular scams. While it maybe clickbait, it also raises awareness of the various security issues. As several of my friends and family members have been caught in different online scams I find Forbes articles good for that.

Further on that topic where do you generally get your information on current scams, and security threats?

Lastly, specific to rebooting/restarting the iPhone does it hurt anything? I am not aware of any issue and generally reboot/restart every 4-6 weeks.

 

[Abydos]

the great question: how often should you shut down your system ? depends on how well your software system resets the memory to its initial status (a somewhat fuzzy concept there) after each application runs. hard call to make- I shutdown my Macs (macOS devices) every night, iOS devices when I feel motivated to do so (roughly biweekly) no real security reason but the general concept that no garbage deposal system is perfect is valid

 

[klasma]

It specifically mentions restart on the passcode unlock screen:

Enter Passcode
Touch ID requires your passcode when iPhone restarts

This never happened to me. It’s always “Your passcode is required to enable Face/Touch ID”. Is this maybe new in iOS 26?

 

[adrianlondon]

System managed reboot:
* Ask Siri
* Click the power icon top-right of the control centre

Power button reboot:
* Press vol+ and power button together until power-off screen appears

Hard reboot (useful if having odd/weird problems):
* Press vol+ then vol- then hold power button (ignoring shutdown screen) until phone reboots.

I install the dev betas and often (if I remember!) do a hard reboot a few hours after installing one. The few hours delay is so that I'm not interrupting the post-install re-indexing stuff which usually happens. Is it necessary to reboot? I don't think so, but I do it anyway.

 

[rui no onna]

This never happened to me. It’s always “Your passcode is required to enable Face/Touch ID”. Is this maybe new in iOS 26?

Possibly. I'll have to check one of my iOS 18 devices to see what message shows up there. Iirc, it also asks for the passcode after 48 hours inactivity even without restarting. There may be different messages.

P.S.
iPhone 13 on iOS 18.7.3 after manual restart:

Enter Passcode
Your passcode is required when iPhone restarts.

 

[jdavid_rp]

Reboot: Reloading the OS without the device (hardware) never fully powering off. iOS and iPadOS don’t actually provide this function

You can ask Siri to reboot the device.

 

[jdavid_rp]

This never happened to me. It’s always “Your passcode is required to enable Face/Touch ID”. Is this maybe new in iOS 26?

Not new, last night it showed up in my iPhone 12 mini on iOS 18

 

[klasma]

How do you do that on an iPhone? I know how to turn off the iPhone, and I know how to turn it on but I have never heard of restarting an iPhone vs rebooting an iPhone?

FWIW, you can restart (reboot?) an iPhone in one go using this procedure: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/force-restart-iphone-iph8903c3ee6/ios

It does show “Slide to power off” (unless the phone is frozen), but if you keep pressing the power button, it powers off and then on by itself. That’s not really different from a separate power-off/power-on though, because there you can start pressing the power button while the phone is powering off as well, and just keep it pressed until it turns on again.

There are various other ways you can initiate a shutdown or restart (Control Center, Settings, Siri), but there is no different type of reboot. Nevertheless, apps might offer to reboot and fake users into thinking a reboot did happen.

 

[apple contributor]

Turning it off and on is generally considered being a “restart”. As for a reboot? I’m not sure, I sometimes think of it as an equivalent of restart, or totally factory reset is a reboot… i wouldn’t do that tho.

 

[klasma]

P.S.
iPhone 13 on iOS 18.7.3 after manual restart:

After a manual restart, yes, but then you also have to reenter the SIM PIN. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that message on the regular passcode request. It would have struck me as very strange that the phone would have restarted by itself.

 

[rui no onna]

After a manual restart, yes, but then you also have to reenter the SIM PIN. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that message on the regular passcode request. It would have struck me as very strange that the phone would have restarted by itself.

I reckon most people don't set up the SIM PIN.

I actually see that message pretty often. Then again, we have a bunch of old iPhones and iPads at home that don't see frequent use. Plus, when I'm at home during weekends I'm usually entirely on the iPad or occasionally on the desktop. My primary iPhone just sits in its charging dock until Monday when I have to go in to work.

 

[Nekomichi]

While it's important to keep on top of computer security, the Forbes article misses several important relevant details, perhaps intentionally.

[main source 1, source 2]

- The most advanced iOS spywares are specifically targeted and not mass-distributable. Because of how iOS security works, generally these sophisticated malware can't just be uploaded to some site and installed on everyone's devices that visit the link. Nor can someone build a machine and bring it to a public space to "broadcast" it to every device nearby. The attacker usually already knows who their victim is and has some details about their device. The malware payload has to be built specifically for infection of that target device and can't be reused on other devices even if they're the same model or running the same iOS version. Because of how complex this is to achieve, a single attack can cost upwards of six figures in USD to pull off. Typically this means 99.99% of iOS users won't encounter these spywares because in order to be targeted the attacker must have a very specific reason for doing so and also be willing to spend that much money.
- If you're unlucky enough to be part of that 0.01%, then rebooting might not always help. Spywares like Pegasus reside in memory to avoid detection and a restart may purge it from running in memory, but it doesn't prevent reinfection. Pegasus usually adds a backdoor that allows it to be silently reinstalled even if it's kicked from memory, making it a persistent infection.
- While sophisticated malware like Pegasus can be deployed over the air by making use of zero-day vulnerabilities, more common infections can't work that way and instead require a direct hardwired connection to install. For common folks like you and me, this means that in order to be infected, the attacker must have physical access to our device and be able to connect it to a computer while the device is unlocked in order to successfully pull off an attack.

tl;dr: It costs a ton of money to target someone with sophisticated spyware, so most of us don't have to worry about it as long as we don't let random people plug our phones into stuff.

 

[cateye]

tl;dr: It costs a ton of money to target someone with sophisticated spyware, so most of us don't have to worry about it as long as we don't let random people plug our phones into stuff.

Also worth mentioning that "looking for information about scams/spyware" is exactly the wrong way to ensure your security. Practice better OpSec: Learn to tell the difference between legitimate and illegitimate communications, and don't respond (ever, for any reason) to unexpected or unknown senders. Don't plug random crap into your device. Manage your social media presence down to a bare minimum. Verify the veracity of software you download; use checksums if available. Don't do stupid things and the chances of being victimized falls to essentially zero.