There are some handy new features in iOS 11 that aren’t very sexy, but can be really useful when needed. One of these new features is the ability to power down your iPhone without the sleep/wake (power) button.

AirPods

iOS 11 brings the option to completely shut down your iPhone with the software. This isn’t something you’ll likely need to use often, but if you drop your phone, have a malfunction, or encounter some other issue with the sleep/wake (power) button (called the side button on the iPhone X), this is a handy feature.

This new ability can also be helpful for people who make use of accessibility features, like those who may have difficulty squeezing buttons.

How to turn off your iPhone without the power button

1. Navigate to Settings
2. Swipe down to and tap Shut Down
3. Swipe the power off slider from left to right

Siri can’t shut down an iPhone in iOS 11, for now. But, when asked, the smart assistant is surprised that it can’t, possibly hinting at future support for this ability 🤔

If you’d like to be able to just lock your iPhone screen (put it to sleep) and don’t have a working sleep/wake button, you can do so with Assistive Touch.

Head to Settings → General → Accessibility → Assistive Touch to turn this feature on. Once you have the floating Home button on your screen tap it and then tap Device → Lock Screen.

Check out our how to guide for more help getting the most out of your Apple devices. You might also like:

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