Samsung phone won't turn on? 7 fixes for a black screen

A Galaxy with a black screen that ignores the power button is alarming, but it is often not dead. It may be drained, frozen, blocked from charging by moisture, or on with a broken display. The fixes below go from free and quick to repair, and the section after them explains how to tell a dead phone from a dead screen, and how to protect your photos either way.

Why a Samsung phone won’t turn on

• Fully drained battery: especially after weeks or months unused, or in cold weather.
• Frozen software: the phone is on but stuck with the screen off. A force restart fixes it.
• Charging blocked: a bad cable, lint in the port or a Moisture detected warning.
• Broken display: the phone works but you cannot see it, often after a drop.
• Failed battery or board: hardware damage from age, a drop or water.

How to fix a Samsung that won’t turn on

Black screen but the phone rings or vibrates?

Call your phone from another one. If it rings, vibrates or the side key lights the screen edge briefly, the phone is on and only the display is not working. That usually means a damaged screen, especially after a drop, and it needs repair. Sometimes the screen is fine but its connector came loose inside, which is also a quick fix for a repair shop. Look closely at the display in a dark room: a faint image or a glowing backlight also means the phone is running.

Keep it from happening again

• Do not let the battery sit at 0% for long; charge it when it gets low.
• Replace frayed or loose cables before they fail completely.
• Keep the charging port clean, especially if you carry the phone in a pocket.
• Use a case with raised edges to protect the screen from face-down drops.
• Keep automatic backup on so a dead phone never means lost photos.

Other ways to tell if the phone is on

• Connect it to a computer: if Windows plays a connection sound or the phone appears in File Explorer, it is running.
• Ring it with SmartThings Find: sign in at smartthingsfind.samsung.com with your Samsung account and choose Ring. If it rings, the phone is on and connected.
• Use Google Find My Device: it shows when the phone was last online and can ring it too.
• Pair a Bluetooth device: if your earbuds or watch connect automatically, the phone is working.

If any of these show the phone is on, the problem is the display, not the phone. Back up what you can and book a screen repair.

Charging icon shows, but it will not start

If you see the battery icon or charging animation but the phone will not boot, the battery may be too low to start the phone, or the software may be stuck. Leave it charging for an hour, then hold the side key and volume down for a force restart while it is still plugged in. If it keeps showing the charging screen only, try recovery mode and Reboot system now. A phone that reaches the Samsung logo and stops there has a software problem rather than a power problem.

What not to do

• Do not factory reset from recovery mode before trying everything else, especially without a backup.
• Do not keep charging a phone that is hot, swollen or smells of burning.
• Do not put a wet phone in rice or on a heater; let it air dry.
• Do not open the phone yourself. Galaxy phones are glued shut, and the battery inside is easy to puncture, which can cause a fire.

Left in a drawer for months?

Lithium-ion batteries slowly drain even when a phone is off. After several months, a battery can drop so low that the phone needs a long charge before it shows any sign of life. Plug it into a wall adapter and leave it for an hour without touching it, then try a force restart. If there is still nothing, the battery may have discharged too far to recover and needs replacing. To avoid this, charge stored phones to about half every few months. This matters most for a spare or old phone you plan to sell or hand down, since a battery that has sat empty for a year may never charge again.

Cold weather and after an update

In freezing weather a worn battery can shut down and refuse to start until it warms up. Bring the phone indoors, let it reach room temperature, then charge it. If the phone died during or right after a software update and now shows the Samsung logo only, see what to do when a Samsung is stuck on the logo instead.

Z Fold and Z Flip

On a foldable, check both screens. If the cover screen works but the main screen stays black, or the other way round, the phone is on and one display has failed. The force restart is the same: hold the side key and volume down together.

Protect your data

If the phone was backing up, your photos and contacts are safe in Google, OneDrive or Samsung Cloud. Sign in on another phone or at photos.google.com to check. If there was no backup, avoid a factory reset and tell the repair shop that data matters to you; many can repair the charging port, battery or screen without erasing anything. Once it works again, set up automatic backup with our Android backup guide.

Repair or replace?

Samsung service centers and Samsung authorized repair partners can diagnose a dead Galaxy and quote the repair. Screens are the most expensive common repair on recent Galaxy S and foldable models, while batteries and charging ports cost much less. Samsung Care+ and carrier insurance cover accidental damage for a fee, so check yours before paying full price. For an older phone that no longer gets updates, compare the quote with the cost of a new or refurbished phone. A broken Galaxy still has trade-in value with Samsung and many carriers.

If the phone got wet before it died, see what to do if your phone gets wet.