How to Clear RAM on an iPhone

Unlike standard desktop computers, iPhones are incredibly aggressive when it comes to managing their Random Access Memory (RAM). The iOS operating system constantly freezes background apps in a “suspended” state and flushes them from RAM automatically to prioritize whatever app is currently on your screen. Therefore, you rarely ever need to manually clear the RAM on a modern iPhone.

However, if your iPhone is severely lagging, if the keyboard takes five seconds to appear when you tap a text box, or if a specific app keeps crashing instantly upon opening, a rogue process may be trapped in the memory. You can manually force the iPhone to dump its RAM.

Method 1: The “AssistiveTouch” Trick (For iPhones without a Home Button)

On older iPhones, you could clear the RAM simply by holding down the physical Home button. Because modern iPhones (iPhone X through 15) no longer have a physical Home button, you must use a hidden accessibility feature to simulate one on the screen.

Step 1: Enable AssistiveTouch

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on Accessibility.
3. Tap on Touch.
4. Tap on AssistiveTouch (at the very top).
5. Toggle the switch ON. A small, grey, floating circle will appear on your screen. This is your virtual Home button.

Step 2: Clear the RAM

1. Go back to the main Settings menu.
2. Scroll down and tap General.
3. Scroll to the absolute bottom and tap Shut Down.
4. The “Slide to power off” screen will appear. Do not slide it.
5. Instead, tap the floating grey AssistiveTouch circle on your screen. A menu will expand.
6. Press and hold the virtual “Home” icon in that menu for about 3 to 5 seconds.

The screen will quickly flash black and return you to the lock screen (asking for your passcode). The RAM has been successfully purged. You can now go back into Settings and turn AssistiveTouch off to remove the grey circle.

Method 2: The Hard Reboot (The Nuclear Option)

If the AssistiveTouch trick does not work, or if the iPhone is so frozen that the screen will not respond to your touch at all, you must force a hard reboot. This cuts power to the memory controller at a hardware level, instantly clearing all RAM.

You must perform this specific sequence of button presses rapidly (within 2 seconds):

1. Press and immediately release the Volume Up button.
2. Press and immediately release the Volume Down button.
3. Press and hold the physical Power/Side button.
4. Keep holding the Side button. The “Slide to power off” slider will appear. Ignore it. Keep holding.
5. The screen will go completely black. Keep holding.
6. The white Apple Logo will finally appear on the screen. Release the button.

The iPhone will boot back up, taking slightly longer than usual. When the lock screen appears, the memory is completely clean.

Warning: Do Not Constantly “Swipe Up” to Close Apps

Many users mistakenly believe that swiping up to force-close apps in the multitasking view (the App Switcher) clears the RAM and saves battery. This is a myth, and doing it actually harms your battery life.

When you leave an app, iOS freezes it in RAM. It takes zero battery power to keep it frozen. If you force-close the app, you delete it from RAM. The next time you open that app, the iPhone’s CPU has to work incredibly hard to pull all of that data off the slow flash storage and push it back into the RAM, draining your battery rapidly.

Only force-close an app if the app is completely frozen or broken. Let the iOS memory controller manage the RAM for you in the background.