iPhone Won't Turn Off or Open Apps? 9 Ways to Fix

Apps are an integral part of the iPhone and other smartphones as they help us in various ways. So, it can be a big hassle if the apps don't work efficiently.

As an iPhone user, sometimes you may find that your iPhone won't turn off or open apps. In this article, we will try to find out the reasons behind this and what you can do to fix the issue. Keep reading!

Part 1. Why Won’t iPhone Open or Turn off Apps

In most cases, your iPhone apps won't open or turn off because of a problem with the app. What actually happens is the app crashing in the back-end and gets stuck on a specific screen.

And, when you come back to the home screen, the app terminates its process and solves the issue automatically. However, this is not the only problem that can make the app stuck.

Sometimes the operating system of your iPhone can also cause this issue. It especially happens when iOS is outdated.

Part 2. Fix iPhone Won’t Open Apps When iPhone Is Working Normally

Below, we will walk you through some of the possible solutions that you can try to get the iPhone apps in their normal state.

2.1 Turn off Your iPhone Turn it On

Restarting the iPhone is one of the top solutions you can try for any issues with the device. Turning off the iPhone will stop all the opening apps, including the problematic ones. And, when you turn on the iPhone again, it will start the app correctly. Sometimes a fresh start is enough to solve the problem with the app.

To restart your iPhone, at first turn it off by pressing and holding the power button until the “slide to power off” screen occurs. Turn the slider to shut down the device. Wait around 30 seconds and turn the iPhone on by pressing and holding the power button.

2.2 Using Assistive Touch

Your iPhone's Assistive Touch feature can help you do anything the Home button can do. Here are the steps to turn on this feature:

• Open Settings and go to Accessibility.
• Find AssistiveTouch and enable it. Now you will see an icon on the home screen.
• Long press the icon to move to the lock screen.
• You can turn off the device by tapping the red power icon and then sliding it from left to right.

2.3 Check for Updates of the App

If the issue is caused by a bug, updating the app may help you solve it. App developers release regular updates to fix issues like this.

To update the app, open the App Store and browse the Update section. Find the particular app and update it. Or you can also update all the apps by pressing "Update all".

2.4 Delete and Reinstall the App

If the app update is not available, you can consider deleting and reinstalling the app. Find the app you want to remove from the app menu and long press on it. Now press "Remove App" from the popup menu.

To reinstall the app, open the App Store and search for it. Press on the app and then press "Install".

Note that this solution might not be a good option if you are facing it on all the apps on your iPhone. In this case, skip this method and move forward.

2.5 Reset All Settings

Resetting all the iPhone settings may also help solve the issue. Doing this will delete all the customized settings and reset them to factory settings. Here is what to do:

• Open Settings and go to General.
• Now open Reset iPhone.
• Find and press Reset and then "Reset all Settings".

2.6 Check the App Store Server

The App Store is the most important app on any iOS device. That means if it is down, you cannot do a lot of things, including searching or installing the app. Although rare, sometimes the App Store server can be down and cause errands.

You can check the server status from Apple's official website. There will be a yellow or red mark aside from the server's name if there are any issues with it.

Part 3. Fix iPhone Won’t Open Apps When iPhone Doesn’t Work

In this case, there might be an issue with your iPhone. Keep reading to find out what you can do to solve the issue.

3.1 Using FoneGeek iOS System Recovery

FoneGeek iOS System Recovery is a robust and professional software that can help you to deal with any system-related issue in the iPhone without eradicating the data. Here are some of the other benefits of the tool:

• Fast, efficient, and secured iOS system recovery tool.
• Work with different iPhone models and versions.
• Fix 150+ system issues without deleting the data.
• Don’t require Finder or iTunes to do the fixes.

FoneGeek is also very easy to use. Here are the steps that you need to follow to solve any issues:

• Download and install the FoneGeek on your Windows/Mac.
• Launch the app on your PC and select ‘Standard Mode’.
• Connect the iPhone with your computer with a USB cable.
• Pick the preferred firmware version and then Press Download.
• Once the package is downloaded, press "Fix Now".

Your device will come back to a normal state within a while.

3.2 Restore iPhone with iTunes

Another way to restore your iPhone is through iTunes on your computer. Here are the steps.

• Install iTunes on your PC and launch it.
• Select the iPhone from the iTunes apps.
• Press on "Summary" and then "Restore iPhone."
• Confirm the option by pressing "Restore".

Note that this method will remove all the data of your iPhone. If you want to keep the data, make sure to create a backup.

3.3 Restore iPhone with iPhone in DFU Mode

DFU or Device Firmware Update is another method to restore your iPhone. Here are the steps you need to follow for this:

• Make sure that you have the latest version of iTunes on your PC.
• Connect the iPhone with the PC through a USB.
• To enter DFU mode, Tap on the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button for the 6s and earlier versions or the volume up button for around 8 seconds for iPhone 7 and then release it and keep pressing the home button until you see the iPhone in iTunes. The phone will enter the DFU mode as soon as its screen goes dark.

• Now you can restore the iPhone from iTunes.

Part 4. FAQs about Phone Not Opening Apps

Q1. How do you fix an Android phone that won't turn off?

If your Android phone doesn't turn off, you can try to soft reset it by tapping and holding the "Volume Down" and "Power" buttons at the same time for around 15 seconds.

Q2. Why doesn't my screen turn off when I'm on the phone?

There is a sensor on your iPhone known as a Proximity sensor which turns off the display when you are on a voice call. If there are any issues with the sensor, it might not turn off the display properly.

Conclusion

It can be very disturbing when apps won't turn off or open normally on your iPhone. As we discussed above, there are several things you can do to fix it. And if you guess that the problem is with your iPhone, you can easily solve it by restoring the device using FoneGeek iOS System Recovery. We hope you will be able to fix the issue with the app following the solutions of this article.

Joan J. Mims is interested in researching all tips about iPhone, iPad and Android. He loves to share useful ideas with all users.

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