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Repair Community · Phones & Tablets
Asked at the counter: “My iPhone’s screen has gone black and it won’t turn on. Nothing happens when I press the button. Is it dead?”
Sometimes it is a flat battery, sometimes the software has frozen with the screen off, and only occasionally is it a hardware fault. Two things to try before booking anything.
A black screen with no response is usually one of two things: the battery is completely flat, or the phone is on but frozen. Both have a free fix.
FREE, ONE-MINUTE CHECKS
• Plug it into a charger you know works and leave it for a full hour. Apple’s advice is to charge for up to an hour before deciding anything; a deeply flat battery can show nothing for the first few minutes. If a red battery icon appears, keep charging.
• Feel whether it is warm. A phone that is on but frozen is often slightly warm; a truly off phone is cold.
FORCE RESTART (does not delete anything)
This is Apple’s sequence for iPhones with Face ID (iPhone X and later):
1) Press and quickly release the volume up button.
2) Press and quickly release the volume down button.
3) Press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo. Keep holding; it can take longer than ten seconds.
iPhone 7 and 7 Plus: hold the side button and volume down together until the Apple logo appears.
iPhone 6s and earlier, and the first iPhone SE: hold the Home button and the side (or top) button together until the Apple logo appears.
If nothing shows, plug it in and try the sequence again after an hour on charge.
WHEN IT PROBABLY NEEDS A REPAIR BUSINESS
• It charges (warm, or makes a sound when plugged in) but the screen stays black: the display or its connector may be the problem, especially after a drop.
• It shows an Apple logo then goes off again, over and over, or shows a picture of a cable and a computer: that is a software recovery job, and your data may be at risk, so do not attempt a restore without a backup unless you accept losing what is on the phone.
• It does nothing at all after an hour on a known-good charger and a force restart.
A repair business can test the battery and display separately in a few minutes, which is a much better place to start than guessing.
Sources checked: Apple Support (UK): Restart an unresponsive iPhone; Apple Support (UK): If your iPhone or iPod touch won’t charge.