“My iPhone went dead!” At AppleToolBox we’ve heard this horror story many times over the years. And we know how to fix it.
The story goes something like this: you charged your iPhone fully, but when you tried turning it on, it just sits there. Nothing on and everything off. Your iPhone is bricked! None of the buttons do anything, and the screen is totally blank.
Although things look bleak, don’t give up hope yet! There’s still plenty you can try to fix your dead iPhone. And we’ve laid it all out below.
Any iOS device could suddenly stop charging and turning on, from iPhone XS to iPad Pro. However, the iPhone 6 and 6S seem to encounter this problem more frequently than anything else.
Whatever device has stopped turning on, the instructions to fix it are the same.
Contents
- 1 Quick Tips
- 2 Why won’t my iPhone charge or turn on?
- 3 How do you fix an iPhone that won’t charge or turn on?
- 4 Step 1: Charge your dead iPhone for at least an hour
- 5 Step 2: Perform a hard reset on your iPhone
- 6 Step 3: Check your cables and power adapter
- 7 Step 4: Connect your dead iPhone to iTunes
- 8 Step 5: Put your iPhone into DFU mode
- 9 Step 6: Get more help from Apple Support
- 10 No Time? Check Out Our Video!
Quick Tips
Try these quick tips to fix your dead iPhone:
- Charge your dead iPhone for at least an hour.
- Perform a hard reset on your iPhone.
- Check your cables and power adapter.
- Connect your dead iPhone to iTunes.
- Put your iPhone into DFU mode.
- Get more help from Apple Support.
Related:
- How to fix an iPhone or iPad that won’t charge when plugged in
- My iPad Is Frozen or Not Responding, How Do I Fix It?
- My iPhone Will Not Turn On, How To Fix a Dead Device
- iOS Update Bricked Your iPhone? How-To Fix
- My iPad will not turn on: How to fix a dead device
- How to use DFU mode on your iPhone XS/XR/X or iPhone 8
- iOS: Everything about DFU and Recovery Mode
Why won’t my iPhone charge or turn on?
There are three possible causes to a dead iPhone:
- A faulty cable or adapter that doesn’t charge your device properly.
- A software error has bricked your iPhone, possibly after an iOS update.
- A failed piece of hardware, like a battery or logic board, that needs to be replaced.
We’ve explained how to troubleshoot each of these causes in the steps below. Make sure you follow them to find why your iPhone won’t charge or turn on and how to fix it.
How do you fix an iPhone that won’t charge or turn on?
While this problem can affect any device, it seems particularly problematic for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S. If your device has suddenly died, follow the troubleshooting steps below to fix it.
The instructions are the same for any iOS device, from iPhone 6 to iPhone XS Max.
Step 1: Charge your dead iPhone for at least an hour
Thanks to Apple’s lithium-ion batteries, it normally doesn’t take long to get a significant charge on your iPhone. However, if your battery is completely dead, you might need to charge your iPhone for much longer.
Keep your iPhone on charge for at least an hour. After that time, try turning it on again by holding the Sleep/Wake button, sometimes also called the Side or Power button.
If this works, there might be a problem with your charger or iPhone battery which made it take so long to power on. Perhaps your battery is coming to the end of its life and needs replacing by Apple.
How do you know if your iPhone is charging when it’s dead?
There isn’t an easy way to tell if your iPhone is charging when it’s completely dead. All you can do is wait for an appropriate amount of time before attempting to power it on again.
If the low power screen appears on your iPhone — a black screen with a red battery — you can tell if it’s charging by the presence of a lightning connector.
When a lightning connector appears beneath the battery, your iPhone is not charging.
When there’s no lightning connector beneath the battery, your iPhone is charging fine.
Step 2: Perform a hard reset on your iPhone
A hard reset — sometimes called a forced restart —might revive your dead iPhone by forcing it to turn on. It does not delete any data from the iPhone.
The instructions for a hard reset became more complicated when Apple replaced the mechanical Home button on the iPhone 7, then removed the Home button entirely on the iPhone X.
For that reason, we’ve written separate instructions for each iPhone model. Click here to jump to how to hard reset a dead iPhone 6 or 6S.
How do I hard reset an iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS or later?
- Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
- Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button.
- Keep holding for 30 seconds or until an Apple logo appears onscreen.
How do I hard reset an iPhone 7?
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons.
- Keep holding for 30 seconds or until an Apple logo appears onscreen.
How do I hard reset an iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, or earlier?
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons.
- Keep holding for 30 seconds or until an Apple logo appears onscreen.
Step 3: Check your cables and power adapter
If your iPhone still doesn’t turn on, there’s a good chance it hasn’t been charging properly. As we already explained, it’s difficult to tell if your dead iPhone is charging or not.
But it is possible to test your cable and power adapter to make sure they can charge an iPhone.
Use the original lightning cable and power adapter that came with your iPhone. If you don’t have them, or they are damaged, make sure you’re using official MFi-licensed accessories.
Inspect your lightning cable and power adapter for signs of damage, like kinks in the cable or scorch marks on the adapter. Don’t use damaged accessories.
Inspect the lightning port on your iPhone for lint and debris. Carefully clear it out with an antistatic brush — take care not to damage the delicate connectors inside.
Try using a different cable, a different adapter, and a different power outlet on the wall. Also, try charging a different iOS device. If any of this works, you should be able to find out where the problem lies.
Step 4: Connect your dead iPhone to iTunes
It’s possible your iPhone is already turned on, but the screen is still blank. Signs of this are when your iPhone still rings or vibrates but doesn’t show anything onscreen. When this happens, you might be able to fix it by restoring the device using iTunes.
Even if your iPhone seems completely dead and powerless, connect it to a computer running the latest version of iTunes anyway. You might still be able to restore it.
You should try to make a backup before restoring your device.
How do I make a back up on my dead iPhone?
If iTunes recognizes your iPhone, it might give you the option to make a new back up.
If you can’t make a backup and don’t want to lose your data, stop here and contact a data recovery specialist for more help.
How do I restore my dead iPhone using iTunes?
If iTunes recognizes your iPhone, click the Summary tab to see an option to Restore your device. This erases your iPhone and returns it to factory settings.
If that doesn’t work, follow the instructions to hard reset your iPhone while keeping it connected to iTunes.
This forces it into Recovery Mode, which should allow iTunes to restore your device.
Step 5: Put your iPhone into DFU mode
DFU mode is the final troubleshooting step for software related issues on your iPhone. If it still doesn’t turn on or charge and appears completely dead — DFU mode might be able to help.
DFU stands for Device Firmware Update. Using iTunes, it forces your device to erase and reinstall every piece of software and firmware. This makes it the deepest possible restore you can do.
Even Apple Geniuses struggle to put an iPhone into DFU mode on the first try. Don’t be afraid to repeat the instructions a couple of times if you aren’t sure you got it right. If anything at all appears on the screen at the end — your iPhone is not in DFU mode.
Just like the with the hard reset, we’ve separated the instructions for each iPhone model. Click here to jump to how to enter DFU mode on your dead iPhone 6 or iPhone 6S.
How do I enter DFU mode on iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or later?
- Connect your iPhone to iTunes using a lightning-to-USB cable.
- Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
- Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button.
- After 3 seconds, also press and hold the Volume Down button.
- After 5 seconds, release the Sleep/Wake button but keep holding the Volume Down button.
- iTunes should detect a device in Recovery Mode, click Restore.
For more on DFU Mode on an iPhone X Series, see this in-depth article.
How do I enter DFU mode on iPhone 7?
- Connect your iPhone to iTunes using a lightning-to-USB cable.
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons.
- After 8 seconds, release the Sleep/Wake button but keep holding the Volume Down button.
- iTunes should detect a device in Recovery Mode, click Restore.
How do I enter DFU mode on iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, or earlier?
- Connect your iPhone to iTunes using a lightning-to-USB cable.
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons.
- After 8 seconds, release the Sleep/Wake button but keep holding the Home button.
- iTunes should detect a device in Recovery Mode, click Restore.
Step 6: Get more help from Apple Support
By now, it looks like your iPhone doesn’t turn on because of a hardware problem. Amongst other possibilities, this could be due to a failed battery or logic board. It could also be the result of liquid damage.
The iPhone 6 and 6S appear to be prone to logic board failure which is why so many of them die. (Not all of them mind you, mine is almost four years old still going strong!)
Whatever you suspect the cause is, do not attempt to open or repair the iPhone yourself.
Doing so voids any existing warranty or consumer law — Apple won’t even offer a paid repair if they find out you attempted one yourself.
Instead, make an appointment at your nearest authorized service provider using Apple’s Get Support website. We suggest you click iPhone > Battery & Charging > Unable to power on.
If your iPhone is free from physical damage and less than a year old or covered by AppleCare+, Apple should offer you a free repair under their warranty. Otherwise, ask about Consumer Law in your country for other options.
As always, let us know in the comments what fixed your iPhone — if anything — and we’ll update this post to reflect it. And tell us what happened when your iPhone died, were you completing an iOS update or just trying to charge it up?
No Time? Check Out Our Video!
