Your iPhone no longer turns on: 5 solutions to your problem

You press the home or power button, but nothing happens. The screen remains black. In other words, your iPhone will no longer turn on. iPhoned gives five tips to get your device working again.

Your iPhone no longer turns on: now what?

It may happen that your iPhone no longer gives a home from one moment to the next. Fortunately, that does not necessarily mean that your iPhone is broken. In this tip, we give you five suggestions for restarting an iPhone that no longer turns on. We recommend going through them in this order to make sure you’ve covered all possible causes.

1. Charging your iPhone

Try to charge your iPhone first: the battery may just be empty. If a red battery icon appears on the screen, you have to wait. The iPhone needs a minimal charge in the battery before you can turn on the device.

If you don’t see an icon right away, be patient for a few more minutes. If the battery is really completely empty, it can take a while. If the battery icon blinks three times, your iPhone recognizes that it is connected, but the iPhone is not supplied with power. Apple itself recommends charging an empty iPhone for at least one hour.

Is your iPhone not charging? Then view our 5 tips for if your iPhone no longer charges. If the device is slow or other problems occur, you can consider resetting your iPhone. You will then not lose any data.

2. Restart iPhone

If your iPhone is completely frozen and also charging not working, try to force restart. How you do this differs per iPhone model. For newer iPhones without a home button (iPhone 8 and newer) it works as follows:

1. Press the volume up button;
2. Press the volume down button;
3. Press and hold the power button until the Apple logo is displayed.

For older iPhones, force a restart by pressing the power and home buttons simultaneously for at least ten seconds. Do this until the Apple logo appears on the screen; your iPhone will then reboot.

3. Repair the iPhone

Have you tried the tips above but your iPhone still won’t boot? Then consider restoring the iPhone. To get your iPhone into recovery mode, you first need to pair it to your laptop with a Lightning cable. If it is the first time that you connect it, you will first have to confirm on your iPhone that you trust this computer. First, tap Trust on your iPhone, then enter your passcode. Then follow the steps below:

1. Press the volume up button;
2. Press the volume down button;
3. Press and hold the power button until you receive a notification on your computer that iPhone has been paired.

For older iPhones, the recovery mode works slightly differently:

1. iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and iPod touch (seventh generation): Press and hold the side button and volume down button at the same time until you see the recovery mode screen;
2. iPhone 6s and older: You will see the recovery mode screen if you press and hold the home button and side button at the same time and wait for a while.

If you have a MacBook that runs on macOS Catalina, you will automatically receive a notification via Finder. From here you can restore your iPhone. To turn off recovery mode, long press the power button again until the pairing screen disappears. Your iPhone will then reboot as normal.

Recover via iTunes

If you have a MacBook running on an older macOS version or a Windows laptop, you can enable recovery mode via iTunes. Connect your iPhone to a PC or Mac and click on your device in iTunes. Sync your iPhone so that your data and contacts are not lost.

At the top of the overview in iTunes you will see a button with ‘Restore iPhone’ under the iOS version on which your device is running. If you don’t have a backup yet, the software will tell you to create one. Then you can proceed with restoring your iPhone.

If you get the option to restore or update the iPhone in iTunes, choose the latter option. iTunes will now try to reinstall iOS without losing your data.

4. Restore iPhone to factory settings

As an absolute emergency measure, a so-called ‘hard reset’ can offer a solution. Only do this if you have a recent backup on iCloud or your computer, otherwise everything will be erased. No idea how to do that? Then check our tip for making an iPhone backup.

This reset will bring your iPhone back to its factory settings. There are two ways to do this. The first is the simplest and is done via the Settings app. That is how it works:

1. Make sure your Apple device is sufficiently charged (at least 50 percent);
2. Go to ‘Settings> General’;
3. Scroll to Reset and tap Erase All Content and Settings;
4. Confirm your choice and wait for the factory settings to be restored.

It is also possible to reset your iPhone via your laptop. If your Mac (Book) is running on macOS Catalina, use Finder for this. Do you have an older Mac with macOS Mojave or a Windows laptop? Then you need iTunes.

1. Connect your Apple device to your PC or Mac and open Finder (or iTunes);
2. Click on the relevant device and then go to the ‘General’ tab;
3. From here you can create or restore a backup, but also choose the option ‘Restore iPhone…’;
4. The latter option ensures that your device is completely erased.

5. Contact Apple

If the above tips do not solve your problem and your iPhone screen remains black, it is a good idea to contact Apple Support. You can do this via the Apple Support app. Via a chat you come into contact with an Apple employee, who will then discuss the possible solutions with you.

If you prefer to explain your problem by telephone, you can also call Apple’s Support department. This can be reached in the Netherlands on 0800-0201581. For Belgium you can call 0800-80404 (French) or 0800-80407 (Flemish). If you live in Luxembourg, please contact (352) 800 24550. Via the online department from Apple Support you can also start a chat to explain your problem digitally.