iPhone won't turn on? 7 fixes for a black or frozen screen

The fix

Work through these 7 fixes

1. 1

   Charge it for 30 minutes to an hour.

   Use a wall adapter, not a laptop. A fully drained iPhone can show nothing, or just a red battery, for the first several minutes.

2. 2

   Force restart it while plugged in.

   iPhone 8 and later: press and release volume up, press and release volume down, then press and hold the side button. Keep holding even if the screen stays black, until the Apple logo appears. iPhone 7: hold side and volume down. iPhone 6s and earlier: hold Home and side.

3. 3

   Try a different cable, adapter and outlet.

   If the charging screen appears with a new cable, the old one was the problem.

4. 4

   Clean the charging port.

   Shine a flashlight into the port and remove lint with a wooden toothpick. Never use metal.

5. 5

   Let it cool down if it is hot.

   Take it out of the case, move it out of the sun and wait 30 minutes before trying again.

6. 6

   Try wireless charging.

   If it starts on a MagSafe or Qi charger but not with a cable, the charging port needs repair.

7. 7

   Use recovery mode and choose Update.

   Connect the iPhone to a Mac or a Windows PC with the Apple Devices app, do the force restart sequence and keep holding the side button until the recovery screen appears. Choose Update, which reinstalls iOS and keeps your data.