iPhone Screen Is Black and Won't Turn on, How to Fix?
- Davis Turner
- Friday, March 3, 2023
How to fix the black screen of death problem on your iPhone? This passage will offer you 4 practical methods. hard reset your iPhone, fix via Passvers iOS System Recovery (avoid data loss), restore your iPhone in iTunes, and get iPhone screen repair service.
Case 1: "My iPhone 7 Plus screen goes black and won't turn on after it was dropped. Though the screen is black, the phone is on because it still rings when somebody call. How to fix iPhone black screen of death?"
Case 2: "My iPhone X screen goes black randomly. After waiting for some time, I pressed the Power button and it turned on but then went black again."
iPhone black screen is a commonly seen problem that you cannot turn on the device. Usually, the iPhone screen goes black when it comes across a critical system error which can cause the system to shut down.
Since the iPhone or iPad screen is unresponsive and black like the phone is dead, the black screen error is also called iPhone black screen of death. When you encounter this problem, don’t worry yet – below are 4 solutions to fix your iPhone which is stuck on a black screen, and they are easy to follow.
iPhone Black Screen of Death: Possible Reasons
Why your iPhone screen is black and won't turn on? Basically, it could be caused by hardware damage or software issues like a failed software update or system crashing. According to the root, the solution should be different.
Reason 1: Hardware Issues
Firstly, your iPhone could have black screen of death because of a hardware problem, for example, your phone screen is broken or damaged after the device is dropped or water drown. If that’s the cause of your iPhone black screen, unfortunately, it’s usually hard to handle the problem by yourself, so you had better take the phone to Apple Store.
Reason 2: Software Problems
Also, the iPhone black screen of death could be caused by a software problem, for example, a software crash can freeze your iPhone screen and make it turn black, which can be resulted from update failure, unstable firmware, etc.
Mostly, when you don’t drop your iPhone but it cannot turn on while still functioning or just keep restarting, this is due to a software problem. As for the software-related black screen problem, in the following parts we will provide 4 viable solutions to repair it.
Reason 3: Drained Battery, Crashed App, or Charging Problem
Apart from the hardware or software issues, there’s also possibility that your iPhone screen turns black because of drained battery or a crashed app. Remember to have a check beforehand.
If that’s the case, just charge your iPhone or remove the app. If your phone is long time no use, you have to charge it for a longer time (usually more than 30 min) to see it function. And besides removing the glitchy app, you can also check for some updates. Anyway, the fix is easy, so we will not develop more here.
Plus, some new iPhone 14 users also report that BSOD occurs probably because they overnight charge the iPhone. It’s annoying but luckily doing a force restart can usually fix the problem.
Now let’s see how to deal with iPhone black screen of death caused by software issues by yourself.
Solution 1: Hard Reset to Fix iPhone Black Screen of Death
When your iPhone (or iPad and iPod Touch) has a black screen and unresponsive, you can hard reset the iPhone to troubleshoot black screen. It’s also an Apple recommended way to fix many subtle system error.
According to your iPhone model, the method of hard reset differs.
Hard Reset iPhone 8/X/11/12/13/14 in Black Screen
Step 1. Press and quickly release Volume Up button.
Step 2. Press and quickly release Volume Down button.
Step 3. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button (also called side button) until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
Step 4. After the iPhone reboots, it should get rid of the black screen of death.
Hard Reset iPhone 7/7 Plus in Black Screen
Step 1. Press and hold Sleep/Wake + Volume Down buttons.
Step 2. Wait until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
Hard Reset iPhone 6/6s (or Earlier iPhone Model) in Black Screen
Step 1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home key for about ten seconds.
Step 2. Wait until the iPhone reboots.
Solution 2: Fix iPhone Black Screen of Death Without iTunes [No Data Loss]
This solution is to fix the iPhone black screen of death using third-party iOS system recovery software. Because the way using iTunes (Solution 3) to recover your iPhone black screen will clear your data, this way is more recommended if you want to fix it simply and avoid data loss.
Passvers iOS System Recovery is a handy and powerful iOS system recovery program that can replace iTunes to fix common iOS system issues, including iPhone black screen of death, iPhone stuck in recovery mode, Apple logo, update failure, unresponsive iPhone, and etc.
When you cannot fix the black screen of death by yourself and want to get clear instructions, this software is a reliable helper to get you out of the problem.
Here shows the main features of Passvers iOS System Recovery:
- Fix iPhone Black Screen of Death with 3 repair modes: Free Quick Fix, Standard Mode, and Advanced Mode (from quick troubleshooting to deep scanning according to the issue).
- Prevent data loss: We recommend that you try the free mode first. In most situations, using this software will prevent you from deleting data on your device (unless you use the advanced mode).
- Broad compatibility: It works on almost all iPhone models (iPhone 4 and above, including iPhone 14) with the Black Screen of Death and is compatible with the latest iOS 16 system.
- Easy to use: The software provides simple and clear on-screen instructions, so you can easily follow the step-by-step process to fix the problem.
Now download the program on your PC/Mac, and get ready to fix your iPhone/iPad that goes black.
Step 1. Open Passvers iOS System Recovery
After installation, launch Passvers iOS system Recovery on your computer and click “Start” to fix your black screen iPhone.
Step 2. Connect iPhone in Black Screen to PC
Next, connect iPhone in black screen to PC via USB cable. The program will detect your device. If your iPhone can be detected, please choose "Free Quick Fix" to repair your phone. If you cannot select such mode, move on to the next.
Passvers iOS System Recovery also offers Standard Mode and Advanced Mode to repair the dead iPhone. Select Standard Mode if you don't want to lose data. (Advanded Mode will deep scan your iPhone and erase all data.)
Step 3. Enable iPhone into Recovery Mode
In this step, you need to put your device into recovery mode, just follow the instruction of the program to put your iPhone 6/7/8/X/11/12/13/14 or other iDevice into recovery mode.
Step 4. Download Firmware
In this step, the Passvers program will detect your phone model and the iOS version. If it fails to do that, you can manually select them for your device. Then check the "Repair" button.
Step 5. Fix iPhone Black Screen of Death
📌 Note that after repairing, situations listed below may occur:
- iOS may update to the latest version after restoring.
- Unlock network will be re-locked.
- The device will be restored to non-jailbroken after restoring.
Solution 3: Restore iPhone in iTunes to Fix iPhone Black Screen
The solution uses iTunes to fix iPhone/iPad that has black screen and won't turn on. But you should be aware that all your data on the iOS device will be erased after restoring the iPhone with iTunes.
Step 1. Install the latest version iTunes on your computer. Launch the program. Then connect black screen iPhone to the computer with a USB cable that came with it.
Step 2. In some cases, iTunes will detect that your iPhone is in recovery mode and show the above window.
If iTunes couldn't recognize your iPhone, you can enter your iPhone into the recovery mode manually.
- For iPhone 8 and later (including iPhone 14 and iPhone SE 2): Press and quickly release the Volume Up button, and then the Volume Down key. After that, press and hold the side button until you see your iPhone in recovery mode. (When you see your iPhone reboots in the halfway, don’t release the key).
- For iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the top/side button and the volume down button at the same time. Don’t release your hand until you see the recovery mode screen.
For iPhone 6s and earlier (including iPhone SE 1): Press and hold your home button and the volume down button at the same time. Also, keep holding until your see the recovery mode screen.
When your iPhone is in Recovery Mode, the following message should pop up:
Step 3. As the iPhone black screen of death is detected, click Restore to restore the iPhone to factory settings. If you have an iTunes backup, the iTunes will prompt you to restore the backup to get back data.
Step 4. The iPhone will turn on and get out of the black screen of death.
However, the iTunes solution doesn't work for some users. When trying to fix black screen with iTunes, some users get new problems: iPhone is stuck in recovery mode, iTunes couldn't recognize your iPhone and throws error 9, error 4013, etc. One way is to fix in the DFU mode, but because it's relatively complex, using Passvers iOS System Recovery without iTunes (Solution 2) is more recommended to have a try.
Solution 4: Get iPhone Screen Repair Service
If your iPhone screen turns black after screen replacement or after the phone has been dropped/ water-damaged, the black screen of death is probably caused by hardware damage, especially when the iPhone screen is black but the phone is still on.
If you fail to fix iPhone black screen with the above methods or iPhone screen went black but the phone still works, you should get iPhone screen repair service from the local store. If your iPhone is still under warranty or under AppleCare plan, take the phone to local Apple store to get help.
FAQ about iPhone Black Screen Problem
Q1: How do I know that my iPhone won’t turn on is due to a hardware or software problem? And how to fix it?
If you have accidentally dropped your iPhone or water damage it and it turns to black screen of death, mostly it’s because a hardware issue.
For software issues, it’s hard to tell. If you have no memory that your phone has been damaged due to some reason, we recommend you try the fixes for software problems first: charge it for 30 min, identify some unstable apps, hard reset your iPhone, fix it with Passvers iOS System Recovery, or restore it in iTunes.
If all the methods cannot work, it’s probably a hardware issue, and you need to get your iPhone repaired in Apple Store.
Q2: Can I get my iPhone in black screen repaired without data loss?
Fixing your iPhone black screen of death will erase your data or not usually depends on the method you try. The most common methods like hard resetting will not cause any data loss. But if you try to restore your iPhone with iTunes, your data will be cleared.
To avoid losing data, you can also try Passvers iOS System Recovery. It provides three modes to fix your iPhone software problems, including Free Quick Fix, Standard Mode, and Advanced Mode. The first two options will do no harm to your data, and the first one is totally free.
Q3: How to prevent iPhone black screen of death?
Here are some points you can pay attention to:
- Keep your iPhone in a normal temperature. Your phone may turn into black screen when it’s too hot or too cold.
- Uninstall the glitchy apps and unstable firmware. These may cause system errors and make your iPhone screen black and won't turn on.
- Backup your data. Sometimes you may need to restore or factory reset your iPhone to troubleshoot the problem, so back it up beforehand is always preferred.
The iPhone black screen of death and won’t turn on problem is frustrating, but there are several methods to fix it. Hope the methods in this article can help you. Besides, knowing the possible causes of the black screen of death may also be helpful for you to prevent your iPhone from this trouble in the future. Wish you good luck!
Thank you so much for this! It worked!
new iphone 14 - dies on day 6 - very frustrating .. the reset fixes here didnt work
Hello, here we can't get more information, if the black screen problem occurs 6 days after the purchase of a new iphone, it is recommended to consult the official apple shop to check the hardware problem.
Hi, will this work on my IPhone X, it went dead after dispaying overheating warning
Hi,
Overheating issues probably being a Hardware problems, you can run a 3D game then put your iPhone in freezer. Check whether if it will shut down.
I just dropped my iphone x and screen goes purple pink but somehow working and then after sometime it goes black but still I can hear the touch sounds what should I do now
Hi,if you tap the screen it had a reaction, you can follow this page's guide. But physical damage to your phone may cause hardware issues, it is better you need to contact Apple official repair support, no matter whether it is successfully repaired through this article.
Help me I put my phone off speaker while on call with someone my phone turns off but I can still hear my friend and it still worked but it’s just black this didn’t work I did help I’m scared that I broke my phone
Hello, please don’t worry, some mobile phones have this setting. During a call, the screen will automatically turn off when the skin is detected in front of the screen. You can try to avoid touching the screen with your body during the call to see if the screen remains black. In addition, you can also try the solutions in this article.
When I cut my phone off to reboot it went black and screen went black can hear everything on the phone. I can’t do anything with it. How do I get it to cut back on?
Hello, according to your description, your phone may have a black screen problem. You can follow the instructions in this page to try to repair. But you need to rule out hardware problems, that is, your screen can display or will have a reaction when you tap it.