One of the most common iPhone problems is getting stuck in black screen. In this troubleshooting episode, we try to address two similar cases of iPhone XS devices that got bricked and stuck in a black screen issue. We hope you’ll find this post helpful.
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Problems: iPhone XS stuck in black screen and won’t turn on
My phone keeps flickering from a black screen to the white apple logo and has been stuck like this for hours. i tried the reset technique i foung on google and it is not working.
Hi, To explain a little how the problem occured, I looked at the time on my device on the 2018/10/10 around 15h30/16h and it was functioning just fine, but when I wanted to look at something on my phone around 17h, the screen was black. It wasn’t responding at all. When I plugged it for a while once I was back home, it restarted, but it kept closing on its own and crashing after a few second or a few minute before restarting a few minute later. Most of the time when it freeze, there’s white, blue or red line on the screen (it changes everytime it restart). I tried doing a reset and I setted it as a new phone, but the bug came back. I’m not sure what I should do to be able to repair it. Thanks for your time!
How to an iPhone XS that’s bricked and stuck in black screen
Black screen problem on iPhones such as the ones mentioned above are usually the result of a corrupt operating system. In some cases, the problem can be a direct result of a physical damage from accidental drop or exposure to elements. Since the two cases above don’t mention any instances of devices being dropped or water damaged, we assume the causes are entirely.software-related. In such cases, there’s a chance that the problem can be fixed on a user’s level. Below are the troubleshooting steps to be done to solve it.
Solution 1: Perform a forced reboot
iPhones can freeze in a black screen for varied reasons but one of the common of them all can be a simple operating system bug. iOS is a complex software environment with many moving parts. Sometimes, an app or an inefficient code may result to some weird behaviors including a full system stop. If you did not do anything different to the device prior to encountering the black screen issue, iOS must have simply encountered a bug it can’t resolve. To refresh the system, you can force reboot it. Here’s how it’s done:
- Press and then let go of the Volume Up button.
- Press and then let go of the Volume Down button.
- Press and hold down the Side button (or the sleep/wake button) until you see the Apple logo on the screen.
Solution 2: Charge it
This may appear obvious but many iPhone users may start to panic once they notice their expensive phone won’t turn on. In some cases, there’s no problem at all since they simply forget to charge the device causing the battery to become empty. If you encounter a black screen issue out of nowhere, or if you think your iPhone XS has become unresponsive, make sure to charge it first.
To be on the safe side, we suggest that you let your phone charge for up 30 minutes before attempting to power it back on. It can sometimes take that long to reactivate a fully emptied Lithium-based battery. Ideally, a minute of charging should already be enough but for troubleshooting purposes, give the system more time to recover.
Once you’ve charged your iPhone XS for 30 minutes, turn it back on again and see what happens.
Solution 3: Use another set of charging accessories
Another common reason why an iPhone may fail to charge and hence power back up is faulty charging cable and/or adapter. If you have another official iPhone XS cable and charger, try using that one instead of the current set. If you can’t find another set of charging accessories, borrow one from a friend or visit your local Apple store so you can try their own chargers.
If you’ve been charging in the same outlet at home, consider switching to another wall outlet. This should allow you to know if the current outlet is defective or not.
Solution 4: Use a wireless charger
Starting with iphone x, newer Apple devices are now wireless charging capable. In case there’s a problem with the charging port in your iPhone XS, consider using a wireless charger. Keep in mind that not all wireless chargers will work with iPhone XS. if you want to try this suggestion, be sure to use an Apple approved wireless charger.
Solution 5: Check the screen
Many people often confuse a No Power issue, Black Screen issue, and Broken Screen issue. No Power issue means the device is totally dead often due to bad hardware. Black Screen issue can sometimes be caused by No Power issue, can be temporary state when iOS has become unresponsive, or can be due to screen malfunction. Broken Screen issue can be the direct result of physical malfunction, say, after an accidental drop wherein the screen is cracked.
If your iPhone XS has a black screen problem after dropping it, stop wasting your time looking for a software solution. For a physically impacted iPhone, the best option is to send it in for repair. You’ll know if you have a broken screen issue because the phone can continue showing signs of life like making notifications, vibrating, or ringing when you call your number. Even if there’s no visible physical indicators that would suggest the screen has become bad, you should still consider sending it in for repair.
Solution 6: Charge using a PC or computer
Some iPhones may encounter a bug wherein its charging mechanism won’t work when using the regular charging accessories. To see if this the case, try to connect your iPhone XS to a computer using a known working cable and leave it at that for 30 minutes. Be sure that your computer is powered on when doing this troubleshooting step.
Solution 7: DFU Restore
Some cases of iPhones stuck in black screen are due to iOS being unable to recover or manage a bug or inefficient code. If this is what happened on your device, your only way out may be to do a DFU restore. This solution assumes that your iPhone does not have any hardware malfunction and was working perfectly fine right before it got stuck in black screen. Being stuck in black screen can also happen if a user tried to tamper with the software in any way. If you did this immediately before encountering the problem, do a DFU restore. Here’s how:
- Connect your iPhone to your Mac (or PC with iTunes installed) using a Lightning to USB cable.
- Press and release the Volume Up button.
- Press and release the Volume Down button.
- Press and hold the Side button for 10 seconds until the iPhone’s screen turns black.
NOTE: Make sure that Steps 2-4 are performed in quick succession.
- While continuing to hold the Side button, press and hold the Volume Down button for 5 seconds, and then release the Side button while continuing to hold the Volume Down button for an additional 10 seconds. The screen should remain black if performed correctly.
- Open iTunes, and you should see a message stating that “iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore this iPhone before it can be used with iTunes.”
Solution 8: Get professional help
If DFU restore won’t help, or any of the solutions above for that matter, that means that the problem can not be fixed on your level. We suggest that you make full use of your device’s warranty to have this problem resolved. Depending on the condition of your device, in-warranty repair may or may not be free. Be sure to talk to your local Apple representative to know what constitutes free or non-free repair.
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.