How to get an iphone to turn back on

Your iPhone may simply be temporarily frozen and needs a manual reset or “force restart.” Follow the appropriate instructions to force restart your iPhone.

If your battery is completely drained of charge, your iPhone may not immediately turn on even when plugged into a power source. Connect your iPhone to a charger and let it charge for 30 minutes, and then try turning it on again.

If the iPhone still doesn’t turn on after 30 minutes connected to power, check the charging port and cable and make sure they’re clean. If the charging port is clogged with debris or the charging cable contacts are dirty, this can prevent the battery from charging. Clean the port carefully with a toothpick and a little isopropyl alcohol, let it dry, and try a different charging cable. Alternatively, try charging your iPhone wirelessly.

If the iPhone still doesn’t turn on, it may have a dead battery or a bad charging port. Replace the battery with a partially charged one and see if the phone will turn on. If not, there may be a power button or logic board issue. If the phone does turn on, plug it in and see if the charging indication comes on. If the phone says it is charging, then the Lightning connector works, and you likely had a bad battery. But if it still doesn’t charge, you may need to replace the Lightning connector.

If the power button doesn't seem to work, plug the iPhone into a power source and see if it turns on automatically. If the phone turns on and has power, then there might be a problem with either the power button or the power button cable. Test the power button and replace it if necessary.

It’s possible that it appears nothing is happening because the display is bad. An easy way to test this is to turn the phone on and listen for a sound. Also, you can move the mute toggle switch back and forth to see if it vibrates. If it vibrates or you hear a sound but nothing displays on the screen, then the screen is most likely the problem. Try replacing it and see if the display is still black.

You can purchase a new display assembly here, and follow the appropriate screen replacement guide for your phone.

If none of the above solutions does the trick, your logic board may be faulty and needs to be replaced. You can either replace the entire board, or attempt to diagnose and repair it using microsoldering techniques. That is a whole 'nother beast!

If you’re interested in learning board-level repair, you can start your investigation here! You can also get the materials to practice microsoldering here.

When your iPhone won’t turn on, there could be several different issues causing this problem. If you have an iPhone that won’t power up properly or is glitched and stuck, we’ll show you what you can do about it.

Table of Contents

Recap: How to Turn on an iPhone
Black Screen? Let Your iPhone Charge First
Screen Glitched? Try a Force Restart
Stuck at Apple Logo? Try Recovery Mode
Other Possibilities

Recap: How to Turn on an iPhone

How to get an iphone to turn back on

Before you worry that your iPhone is broken, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with how to turn it on. While that may seem silly, the method is not completely obvious, and the procedure varies slightly between different iPhone models:

  • On iPhones without a Home Button: Press and hold the side button until an Apple logo appears on the screen.
  • On iPhones with a Home Button and a Side Button: Hold the side button for a few seconds until an Apple logo appears.
  • On iPhones with a Home Button and a Top Button: Press and hold the top button until an Apple logo appears.

If your iPhone has a broken button and you need it to turn on, you can plug it in to charge, and it will turn on automatically once the battery has charged enough.

Once your iPhone starts up, you will see a welcome screen (if it’s a new or recently updated iPhone) or a lock screen. Once you unlock your phone, you can use it as you normally would.

RELATED: How to Turn On an iPhone 13

Black Screen? Let Your iPhone Charge First

If you’ve tried to turn on your iPhone with the instructions above but it’s still lifeless—black screen, no sounds, no vibrations—then it’s most likely that your iPhone’s battery has completely discharged.

How to get an iphone to turn back on
Apple

As mentioned above, even if your iPhone has malfunctioning buttons, the iPhone will still turn on automatically once the battery is charged enough—assuming that nothing else is wrong.

To charge up your iPhone, we recommend plugging it into a Lightning cable with the appropriate power adapter and letting it sit for at least 30 minutes. If you don’t have a Lightning cable handy and your iPhone supports it, you can use a MagSafe charger (iPhone 12 and up) or a Qi wireless charging pad (iPhone 8 and up) instead.

How to get an iphone to turn back on

RELATEDWhy Isn't My iPhone Charging?

After 30 minutes of charging, try to turn the iPhone on again. If it works, you’re all set. Let it charge more before you use it, if possible. If it’s still not turning on, try a different cable and a different charger. You could also try cleaning the charging port on the bottom of your iPhone.

If, on the other hand, your iPhone makes sounds or vibrations but the screen is black, you might have a damaged or faulty screen. In that case, try a forced restart (see the section below), and if that doesn’t work, contact Apple support to seek repair or replacement.

Screen Glitched? Try a Force Restart

If your iPhone is powered up but unresponsive—and you can’t even shut it down—try performing a force restart on your device. How you do it varies based on your iPhone model:

  • iPhones with Face ID, iPhone 8, and iPhone SE (2nd Gen): Press and release the Volume Up button, press and release the Volume Down button, then press and hold the Side button. Keep holding the Side button until you see an Apple logo on the screen.
  • iPhone 7: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the volume down button until you see the Apple logo.
  • iPhone 6s and iPhone SE (1st Gen): Press and hold the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

RELATED: How to Force Restart Any iPhone or iPad

Stuck at Apple Logo? Try Recovery Mode

If your iPhone powers up but gets stuck at the Apple logo screen (or anywhere else), and doing a force reset hasn’t helped, you can reinstall iOS by plugging your iPhone into a Mac or PC and turning on Recovery Mode in the Finder or iTunes.

How to get an iphone to turn back on
Apple

If you do this, you’ll lose all the data on your iPhone you haven’t backed up, so it should only be used as a last resort. For more details about how to use recovery mode, see our guide.

RELATED: How To Put Your iPhone or iPad Into Recovery Mode

Other Possibilities

If nothing above has worked, then some part of your iPhone is faulty. It could be one or more broken buttons, a bad battery, a bad circuit board, or a bad screen. In this case, it’s best to seek repair from a qualified technician or contact Apple Customer Support. Good luck!

What do you do when your iPhone wont turn on?

Press and hold both the side button and the volume-down button until you see the Apple logo. If your phone doesn't turn on, follow these steps to check your hardware and charge your phone. You may need to charge for up to an hour. If your phone still doesn't turn on, contact Apple Support.

What causes iPhone Black Screen of Death?

An iPhone screen can go black due to software as well as hardware issues. If any important software crashes suddenly, the screen can become black and freeze, and you have to hard reset your iPhone to fix it.

How do I force my iPhone back?

Step 1 How to Force Restart an iPhone 11. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button (1). Quickly press and release the Volume Down button (2). ... .
Finally, press and hold the side button (3) until the Apple logo appears, and then release. The screen will temporarily go dark as the iPhone shuts down and reboots..