Easy ways to fix an iPhone X unresponsive screen issue [troubleshooting guide]

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Having an unresponsive screen issue in an expensive #iPhoneX seems crazy but it happens. If you are one of the unfortunate ones to experience the problem, you’re in luck. Today, we bring you the solutions that you can take to fix this problem. Let us know by contacting us using the link below if any of our recommendations below won’t help.

iPhone Screen Not Responding?

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Keep in mind that unresponsive screen issue is usually caused by software more than so by hardware error. If your screen started to glitch after dropping the device, getting it wet, or physically impacting it, that’s a totally different issue altogether. We strongly suggest that you see Apple’s help right away in order not to waste your time. Remember, you can’t fix  hardware damage by tweaking certain software settings.

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.

Solution 1: Restart/soft reset the phone

Soft reset, also known as restart, is a simple yet sometimes effective way to fix unexplained bugs that lead to iPhone crashes, random reboots, freezing, missing notifications, keypad freezes, and, in your case, unresponsive screen. Restart works by clearing the operating system and a device’s memory. It works similarly to a restart procedure in your computer after it has ran for a long time. If you haven’t tried doing it yet, here’s how to do it:

  1. Press and hold Power/Side button and one of the Volume buttons (either Volume Up or Volume Down).
  2. Release the buttons once Slide to power off screen appears.
  3. Slide the Power switch right.
  4. Wait for the device to reboot.
  5. Once your iPhone has powered off, press and hold the Power/Side button until the Apple logo appears then release.

NOTE: With iphone x, pressing and holding Power/Side button and Volume button for more than 5 seconds will activate Emergency SOS. This will automatically call emergency services set in your phone, like 911. Be sure to release the buttons before the 5 second mark to avoid calling emergency services by mistake.

Solution 2: Simulate a “battery pull”

If the normal restart won’t fix the problem, the next good thing to do is simulate a “battery pull.” Due to the fact that iPhone devices don’t have removable battery packs, the most that Apple engineers can do to come as close to removing the physical battery is by performing a certain hardware button combination. Like a regular restart, battery pull simulation may also fix unexplained bugs that may cause  an unresponsive screen issue. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Press and quickly release the Volume up button then press and quickly release the Volume down button.
  2. Then, press and hold the Power/Side button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.

Solution 3: Reset All Settings

This solution may only work if you can still manage to load the operating system and access Settings app. This presumes that your iPhone’s screen  only becomes unresponsive randomly, hence allowing you to still go under Settings and perform the steps below.

When resetting all settings, your iPhone’s customized settings will all be restored to their default state. These settings include the following:

  • network settings such as wifi, mobile data, and cellular settings
  • display settings like wallpapers, fonts, brightness levels, etc.
  • all sound settings like notifications, ringtones, etc.
  • other custom settings.

To reset all settings in your iPhone X, follow these steps:

  1. Go to your Home screen.
  2. Open Settings app.
  3. Tap General.
  4. Tap Reset.
  5. Tap Reset All Settings.
  6. If presented, enter the passcode.
  7. Tap Reset All Settings to confirm.
  8. Wait for the phone to reset all settings and restart.

Solution 4: Perform Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) Mode Recovery

If the screen of your iPhone X remains unresponsive at this point, the next logical troubleshooting step that you can try is a DFU Recovery. This solution is the last go-to step that you can try for most iPhone issues as it doesn’t require that you have access to Settings app.

  1. Connect your iPhone X to your computer using the USB or Lightning cable that comes with it.
  2. Open iTunes on your computer.
  3. Turn off your iPhone X as you normally do. In iOS 11, you can turn off your iPhone by going to Settings-> General-> Shut Down menu-> then toggle the slider to the right. Doing so turns off the iPhone.
  4. Press and hold the Power/Side buttonfor 3 seconds. Then, press and hold the Volume Down button  while still holding down the Power/Side button. Keep holding both buttons for 10 seconds. If the Apple logo appears, it means that you have held the buttons for too long. If this happens, you need to go back from the very start. Otherwise, skip to the next step.
  5. Release the Power/Side button but keep holding down the Volume Down button for about 5 seconds more. If you are prompted with the Plug into iTunes screen, it means that you have entered Recovery Mode instead. So you’ll need to go back to the very first step and make sure you’re not holding the buttons for so long.

If your iPhone X screen remains black, that means your device has successfully entered DFU mode. iTunes will then prompt you with an alert message saying that it has detected your iPhone and will allow it to be restored. Follow the onscreen instructions to restore your iPhone X in iTunes.

If you see any of the following while trying to boot your iPhone X to DFU mode, you are unsuccessful:

Try the steps above again.

Solution 5: Install iOS update

There was an iOS-related bug last year that caused iPhone X devices to freeze when exposed to sudden drop in temperature. Apple had already fixed the bug since November 2017 with the release of iOS 11.1.2 so unless you’ve been holding off the latest iOS update lately, there shouldn’t be any iOS glitch that can lead to your screen becoming unresponsive. The said update also patched a known bug that caused distortion in Live Photos and videos captures on this phone.

By default, your iPhone X device is set to automatically download and install any available iOS update. If you changed this setting before, make sure to manually download and install any latest update to fix the issue you’re having.

Engage with us

If you happen to have a problem with your own iPhone, let us know about it and we will do our best to post them and their solutions  in our upcoming articles. You can use this link to contact us for assistance. We can’t guarantee an answer to every question but rest assured that we will exhaust everything on our end to help you.

Be as detailed as possible when describing your problem to help us diagnose your issue easily. If you can include error messages, popups, attempted troubleshooting steps, and circumstances leading to the problem, that would be very helpful.