How do I reboot or restart a "frozen" or "hung" iPod touch? How do I reboot or restart a "frozen" or "hung" app or otherwise "force quit" an app?

Apple explains how to turn off and reset the iPod touch in the manual for each model (on page 44 for the 4th Gen and "4.5" Gen iPod touch to be precise) as well as on the company support site. However, as this is a very frequently asked question, the answer also is provided below for your convenience.

Restarting iPod touch

Apple notes that a restart -- turning it off and back on again -- should be the first effort to resolve a "frozen" or "hung" iPod touch. The procedure is:

Press and hold the On/Off Sleep/Wake button [on the top right corner of the device] until the red slider appears. Slide your finger across the slider to turn off iPod touch. To turn iPod touch back on, press and hold the On/Off Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears.

Resetting iPod touch

If turning the iPod touch off and back on again doesn't fix the problem, or the iPod touch is unresponsive when you try to turn it off, you have to reset it by doing the following:

Press and hold the On/Off Sleep/Wake button [again, the button on the top right corner of the device] and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.

Force Quitting an App on an iPod touch

If you have a single misbehaving app on your iPod touch, you can "force quit" it by doing the following:

Press and hold the On/Off Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until a red slider appears, then press and hold the Home button until the app quits.

If none of the above solves the problem, you may need to restore the iPod touch to its original factory settings. Please note that restoring an iPod touch deletes all of your data (songs, photos, videos, apps, and so on) on the iPod touch. Be absolutely sure that you have backed up the latest version of the content on your iPod touch before restoring it.

Apple's official instructions to restore an iPod touch are:

1. Connect iPod touch to your computer.

2. In iTunes, select iPod touch in the Devices list, then click Summary at the top of the screen.

3. Click "Check for Update." iTunes tells you if there’s a newer version of the iPod touch software available.

4. Click Restore. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the restore process. When restoring, it is recommended that you back up iPod touch when prompted. When the iPod touch software has been restored, you can either set it up as a new iPod touch, or restore your music, videos, app data, and other content from a backup.

It is hoped that one of the above will help you solve the problem with your iPod touch.