Diagnose Issues with your Device Using On Device Diagnostics

If your device is experiencing an issue and you would like to run some tests yourself before going to the Genius Bar at an Apple Store or reaching out to Apple Support, you can check for certain issues using your iPhone, iPad or Mac's on-device diagnostics function.

This is compatible with:

• iPhone 12 or newer (including iPhone SE 3rd generation) with iOS 18 or newer
• Most iPad models from 2020 or newer with iPadOS 18 or newer
• Most Mac models

iOS and iPadOS

To get started, the device must first be placed into diagnostics mode. See these instructions from Apple Support: How to put your iPhone in diagnostics mode - Apple Support. In summary, you must first power off your device. After you have waited for it to power off (at least 20-30 seconds), then hold both the volume up and volume down buttons, then plug in the charger (it's better if the charging cable is connected to a power adapter rather than a computer, though if the computer is on and also charging, this should also work). You can release the buttons when you see the Apple logo. NOTE: do not hold down the side (sleep/wake) button at any point during this process, especially if the device is plugged into a computer - this can inadvertently put the device in recovery mode, resulting in data loss if it is not backed up.

After the iPhone or iPad finishes booting up, you should see this "Diagnostics & Repair" screen:

If you prefer a language other than English, you can tap the globe icon in the lower left. If you want to see basic device information, such as serial and IMEI numbers, tap the "i" icon in the lower right. Otherwise, if you are ready to proceed, tap Continue. Next, it will ask you to select a Wi-Fi network. After that, there will be a Terms & Conditions screen. Tap "Agree" in the lower right when you are ready. Then, the device will connect to Apple, and once the connection is established, you should see a "Diagnose or Repair" screen with a "Run Diagnostics" button as shown below. NOTE: If instead, you see a "How can we help you?" screen, this usually means your device is not compatible with on device diagnostics (see requirements above). If you are sure that it is, this screen might also be shown when there is a connection issue. If the latter, you can repeat all the steps above, including placing the device back into diagnostics mode, and try again later.

After selecting "Run Diagnostics," you should then be taken to the test suite list where you can choose which test(s) you want to run. Available tests include:

• Mobile Resource Inspector (MRI), a general diagnostic
• Audio Output
• Display Pixel Anomalies
• Multi-Touch
• Face ID (or Touch ID for iPhone SE 3rd gen)
• Camera Image Quality

You can tap on "Learn more..." below any of the tests to see a more detailed description of what it does. Tap the button to the right of the test to run it.

There will be a progress bar while the test is running. NOTE: do not push any of the buttons on the device unless prompted. Otherwise, a prompt will appear when a button is pushed asking if you want to skip the currently running test. Once the test is done, it will take you to the results page. Passing tests will have a green checkmark; tests with warnings or errors relating to the test itself will have a yellow question mark; and failed tests will have a red exclamation mark. You can tap on any result to see more details.

Here is another example with warning and fail results:

After viewing the results, if you are in the details view, tap "Back" in the upper left to get to the "Completed" screen with the test suite name. You can then tap "Done" in the upper left to go back to the test list to run another test. You can also tap the three dots in the upper right and then select "Session History" to see any test that was already completed. NOTE: the test history is not saved once the device reboots, so be sure to note any issues before exiting diagnostics, which reboots the device. However, Apple Support or a technician at the Genius Bar should be able to view the test results.

Some tests will require preparation or user input for the test. In these cases, an instruction prompt will appear, as shown below. Please read these instructions carefully and then tap "Continue." To see a larger version of the instructional image shown, tap on the black circle button with two opposing arrows. This will display a larger image in landscape orientation on the device. Tap the icon again to return to the instructional text.

After you are done running tests, you can either tap the three dots from the upper right on the test list or test results page and select "Exit Diagnostics," or you can press and hold the side button (sleep/wake button) until a red "Exit Diagnostics" button appears at the bottom. This will exit diagnostics mode and the device will then reboot normally.

macOS

To place your Mac in Diagnostics Mode, see the following article from Apple Support: Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support. The instructions are different if you have an older Mac with an Intel processor compared to an Apple Silicon processor (M-series; not to be confused with the lowercase "m" in some Intel chips). For Apple Silicon, starting with your Mac being shut down, you will then hold the power button (the same button as Touch ID on supported models) to turn it on. You can release the button when you see "Loading startup options..." in small white text below the Apple startup logo. When you see a screen showing your partition name (usually "Macintosh HD") and "Options," do not click either option. Instead, press and hold the Command (⌘) and D keys until the Mac restarts. When you see the Apple logo again with the progress bar below it, you can release the keys. If you have an Intel Mac, first press the power button to start up the computer, and then immediately hold the D key until you see the progress bar. If this doesn't work and your Mac boots to the regular login screen, shut it down again and repeat the steps, but this time hold both the option (⌥) and D keys together until you see the progress bar.

If this was successful, you should see a gray screen with "Repair Assistant" in the upper left corner, and a window in the center with a Start Diagnostics button. From here, the process is fairly similar to the iOS diagnostics screen outlined in the section above. You will need to select a Wi-Fi network, then agree to the terms and conditions. Then you should see the list of available suites to run, and it should say "Diagnostics" in the upper left corner.

At this point, the process will be a little different for macOS 26 Tahoe compared to macOS 15 Sequoia and earlier versions. Prior to macOS Tahoe, the necessary suites will run automatically. Starting with macOS Tahoe, you will be presented with a suite list from which you can choose which test suites to run, similar to the iOS section explained in the sections above. Compared to iOS, the suite list on a Mac is slightly different:

• Mac Resource Inspector (MRI), the equivalent of the Mobile Resource Inspector on iOS
• Display Anomalies
• Keyboard
• Trackpad
• Touch ID
• Audio

Many of these are the same as iOS, with the addition of the Keyboard and Trackpad diagnostics. These will have you press every key on the keyboard, and swipe your finger over the entire surface of the trackpad, to identify non-functional or sticky keys, and multi-touch issues on the trackpad. NOTE: for the keyboard test suite, it is important to only press each key on the keyboard once. If pressed more than once, the key on-screen will change color and be considered faulty. There will be a "Retest faulty keys" button to redo the test for those particular keys. If the on-screen key turns green then that means it is passing.

To view the results of the diagnostics, they are shown at the end of the suite. To see the results of previously run tests during the current diagnostic session, click on "Diagnostics" in the upper left corner of the screen, then click "Session History." NOTE: just like iOS, the test history is not saved once the Mac reboots, so be sure to note any issues before exiting diagnostics, which reboots the device. However, Apple Support or a technician at the Genius Bar should be able to view the test results.

If the results contain a reference code, learn what it means in this article: Apple Diagnostics reference codes - Apple Support.

When you are finished with diagnostics, you can go to  > Restart. The Apple () menu is found in the upper left corner.