iPhone 6 screen is unresponsive, showing vertical lines; stuck in Apple logo screen

Hello #iPhone fans! Today we answer 2 #iPhone6 issues that we’ve come to see more and more everyday — touchscreen unresponsive and no boot issue. If you think you’re experiencing a similar problem with your own iPhone 6, feel free to go over our suggestions below, or check previously published posts.

Before we proceed let us remind you that you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.
When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.
Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: iPhone 6 screen is unresponsive, showing vertical lines

First, Thank you for the info your site provides. I purchased an iPhone 6 and began having an unresponsive screen and a few times the home screen would just start “freaking out” going all about. It required a hard restart when that happened.
I took it in (They said just 3 days before the warranty expired), explained the situation and they took it to the “backroom” and fixed the touchscreen. A couple months later I started experiencing a violent vertical shaking of the entire home screen where you couldn’t read it and it would become unresponsive. This would require a hard restart that would fix it for a few hours maybe before it would do it again. This became more and more frequent until the phone became totally unusable. I was still paying on it so I just used my work phone for the past 6 months. After learning the iPhone system I hate to go back to an Android but I am frustrated with paying $700 for a phone that is more fragile than it is durable. I take good care of it and don’t drop it…so I don’t believe it’s been physically damaged. Is it worth fixing? I’m mechanical/Electrical inclined…just don’t know much about the newer technologies. I’d appreciate you help or  recommendation. Thank you.  Merry Christmas. — Kevin
Solution: Hi Kevin. There are two general causes for any issue in an iPhone, software glitch or hardware malfunction. If your issue is caused by a bad content (app) or an operating system glitch, the solution for it is relatively easy to do. However, if no software troubleshooting or solution can improve the situation or resolve the issue, you should consider sending it in so its hardware can be examined. In this case, repair or replacement are the only options.
Like any other electronic devices, your iPhone 6 can succumb to natural negative effects of aging. As your device grows older and as you use it day in and day out, some metal connectors like the ones that connect the two integrated circuits (IC) together may stop working properly. Even if your phone is not physically impacted, the everyday strain can cause some disconnection between the ICs, causing intermittent connection which can manifests as freezing or lag. To determine if such is the case, your phone needs to be checked by a qualified technician.

Fix unresponsive screen issue by restoring from an old backup

iPhone troubleshooting is simple and straightforward. First, you want to check if the recent update or app you installed is to blame. To do that, you want to restore your device from an older backup. If you regularly create a backup once every few months, this should be an easy step for you. However, if you don’t regularly create a backup and you disabled iCloud automatic backup, just skip it and proceed directly to factory reset.
For now, here are the steps on how to restore from an iTunes backup. If you only have an iCloud backup, the steps should still be similar except that it may take some time before everything is downloaded. The speed of restoring the device depends on how fast your internet connection is and the size of the backup file.

  1. Create a backup of your files. You can do that in a number of ways but the fastest and most effective way is by using iTunes in your PC or Mac. If you don’t want to create a backup at all, you can simply erase everything on the phone by following the steps in this link.
  2. Connect your iPhone to your computer with the cable that came with your phone.
  3. We assume you remember your phone’s passcode so simply enter it when you’re prompted for it.
  4. Select your iPhone once iTunes asks you for the specific device.
  5. Once you’re in the Summary panel or screen, select the option that will restore your device (Restore backup).
  6. Find an older backup, preferably the one that’s created 6 months ago or older.
  7. Confirm by clicking on Restore button.
  8. Do not disconnect your device right after it restarts. Wait for it to sync with your computer properly first. Once the sync is finished, disconnect it.

The aim of restoring your device from an older backup is to see if any recent app or updates is the reason why the screen keeps behaving erratically. If nothing changes and the issue still remains after restoring from old backup, proceed to factory reset.

Fix unresponsive screen issue by returning all software settings back to their defaults

You should factory reset your iPhone if restoring from backup won’t work. In factory reset state, your iPhone’s software is expected to be error free since there will be no third party apps installed that might interfere with the operating system. If the cause of the problem is being caused by a software glitch or a bad app, factory reset should eliminate them easily. To factory reset your phone, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
  5. If prompted, enter your passcode.
  6. Tap Erase iPhone.
  7. Observe the phone for at least 24 hours. Be sure not to install anything.

Fix unresponsive screen issue by sending your iPhone in

We don’t know who did the previous repair but if a factory reset won’t help at all, you can bet bad hardware is to blame. Let a professional check the phone so the cause of the issue can be determined.

Problem 2: iPhone 6 won’t boot up, stuck in Apple logo screen

Hi. Today my phone was down to 1% battery when I plugged it in to charge.  It died as I plugged it in, then turned back on (or so I thought). It turned on to the white screen with black Apple logo then shut back off. I tried turning it back on by pushing the right button (the side with a single button). It would turn on again to the white screen with black Apple logo then shut back off. Then I’d try the home button with the side button same thing would happen turn on -white screen w/black Apple logo-shut off . I tried trouble shooting based on some Youtube videos I saw holding down right button and volume up button in addition to the previous trick I tried. Then the phone eventually said to restore using iTunes. it stayed like that for about 10-15 mins then went back to shutting off and me trying to restart using same methods as listed above. NOTHING is working. I don’t want to lose any of my data. What do I do? I also tried downloading reiboot but it keeps telling me to “device not detected.”  I disconnected usb cord and reconnected.  The white screen on my iphone pops up but the computer/software doesn’t recognize that the phone has been connected.  However, it did trigger my icloud to open, but nothing is downloading automatically. — Laura Campos
Solution: Hi Laura. Although letting the battery drain all the way to zero is perfectly fine in most cases, some devices may encounter the problem you’re having right now. Normally, once battery percentage reaches zero, the battery is not really fully drained. It continues to retain a tiny amount of energy to keep its circuits alive, ready to receive the next charge. Sometimes, this tiny reserve of power gets drained fully, making the battery totally useless. Further charging won’t work anymore since the battery’s circuit is completely dead. We don’t think your iPhone’s battery has drained its reserve power but it may be having problems holding a charge right now.
Before you do further troubleshooting, make sure that you let the battery charge for at least 60 minutes. This should give the battery enough charge to allow the phone to boot up.
DFU Mode update
Should charging the battery for an hour won’t make any difference, consider updating the device via DFU mode. This procedure requires a computer (PC or Mac) with an updated iTunes program.

  1. In your computer, close all active apps.
  2. Open iTunes.
  3. Turn off your iPhone. If you can’t turn it off normally, let the battery drain to 0% so the phone powers down on its own. Charge the phone for at least an hour without attempting to turn it on. If the phone is already off, let it charge for an hour before proceeding.
  4. Connect your iPhone to the computer via USB cable.
  5. Press and hold the Power button for at least 3 seconds.
  6. Press and hold the Volume Down button on the left side of the iPhone while continuing to hold the Power button. Be sure to hold both Power and Volume Down keys for 10 seconds. If Apple logo appears at this time, repeat steps 5 and 6. Apple logo should not show at all.
  7. Continue to hold Volume Down key for another 5 seconds. If the Plug into iTunes screen is displayed, repeat steps 5-7. Plug into iTunes screen should not show up.
  8. You’ll know that your phone is in DFU mode if the screen remains black. Your computer should then tell you that iTunes has detected an iPhone.
  9. Follow the on-screen steps in your computer to do a full recovery.

Remember, a full DFU mode recovery can only do so much. If nothing happens after doing it, or if you can’t do it at all, send the phone in for repair or replacement.

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