Released over three years ago, the #iPhone6 remains a phone of choice for millions around the world at this time. It is not surprising then that plenty of letters we receive from iPhone 6 users are mostly power-related. In this troubleshooting episode, we try to share the things an iPhone 6 user must do in order deal with one of the common smartphone problems — No Power (won’t turn on) and black/blank screen issue. We hope many other users will find this article and take a lesson or two from it.
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.
ALSO READ: How to deal with Apple iPhone 7 black screen issue
Problem 1: How to troubleshoot an iPhone 6 that has a black screen, or that won’t turn on
I removed my iPhone 6 from my charger this morning at 11am; it was fully charged. I sent a text message and then left it on my kitchen counter while I was outside doing yard for 2 hours. I went to check my phone for missed calls or text and my phone screen was completely black which wasn’t surprising. I then pressed the home button to try and unlock my phone and nothing, the screen stayed black.
I then thought well maybe it powered off for some reason so I pressed and held the power button and again nothing, the screen just stays black. The weird thing is that normally if my phone is shut off I can’t press my home button because it’s firm or hard to push. But my home button can be pressed very easily like it normally is when my phone is on or needs unlocked. This is the first time my phone has ever done this. But I’ve had glitch issues with my iPhone 6 since I’ve purchased this phone last year but I’ve had this phone for less than 6 months. — Candace
Solution: Hi Candace. There’s a difference between a No Power issue and Black Screen issue. An iPhone with a No Power issue has a black or blank screen and is totally dead — no signs of life like LED lights, sounds, vibrations. An iPhone with a black screen issue experiences an unresponsive screen but continues to exhibit signs that it’s powered on. If your iPhone still rings when you call your number, or if it continues to make sound notifications when there are incoming alerts or messages, then you have a black screen issue. So, your first task is to identify what exactly is going on with your phone. Once you’ve identified the exact problem, you can then follow the set of troubleshooting steps for it.
If your iPhone has a black screen issue, follow the troubleshooting below
A Black Screen issue is often a result of a hardware malfunction. Because of that, there’s only a very minimal set of troubleshooting that you can do. Troubleshooting steps for end users are limited to doing hard reset and factory reset. They are meant to check if the main reason for the screen malfunction is due to an unknown software glitch. If nothing will change after doing them, you’ll need to send the the phone in so a technician can perform hardware diagnostics and/or repair. Before you perform any of the procedures below, make sure that your phone is charged and not powered off. Let it charge for at least 30 minutes.
Hard Reset your iPhone
With that said, the first thing that you need to do when you found your screen unresponsive is to hard reset it. In an iPhone 6, this is done by doing the following steps:
- Press the Home and Power/Sleep buttons together.
- Wait until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- Once the Apple logo appears, release the buttons to allow the phone to restart.
Factory Reset via iTunes
Should a hard reset won’t change anything, or if the screen stays black, try to see if you can fix the issue by connecting the phone your computer and restoring it via iTunes. Here’s how:
- In your computer, make sure that iTunes is up-to-date.
- Connect your iPhone to the computer with the lighting cable that came with your device.
- If a message asks for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps.
- Select your iPhone when it appears in iTunes.
- Once iTunes detects your phone, go to the Summary tab and click on and click on Restore iPhone … button.
- Click Restore to confirm the action.
- Wait for your iPhone to restore the phone and restarts itself. Your phone should be good as new. If the problem is caused by an unknown software glitch, the screen should be working again normally by now.
If the screen continues to stay black or blank, contact Apple for repair.
If your iPhone has a No Power issue, the general troubleshooting steps that you must follow is similar to the one for Black Screen issue:
- charge the phone for at least 30 minutes
- try to use another set of lightning cable and adapter when charging
- attempt a hard reset
- attempt a factory reset via iTunes
Should any of these things fail to revive the phone, you’re out of luck. There must be a hardware failure somewhere that prevent the phone from charging, turning back on, or staying powered on normally. In this case, you’ll need to let a professional check the hardware for a complete hardware diagnostics. Make sure to let Apple technicians do the task for you.
Problem 2: iPhone 6 digitizer not working
My iPhone has been playing up for several weeks now, but it’s now to the point where it is barely usable. When unlocked my phone’s screen acts as though I am randomly tapping at it; it goes into apps, types letters, swiping from left to right, etc. As well as randomly selecting buttons it also doesn’t register my own tapping at the screen trying to counteract or otherwise! Sometimes when I lock and then unlock the phone it will work momentarily but then falls over again. I’ve tried turning it off and on again but this again only works for a moment, I’ve tried resetting factory settings and restoring the phone, with the same result. I even tried restoring it and setting it up as a new iPhone but still no luck. Please, please, please help. — Lauren
Solution: Hi Lauren. We don’t think there’s a software solution for you on this one. The most likely reason for all those random inputs in your screen is caused by a damaged digitizer. Your iPhone’s screen assembly has three major parts: digitizer, LCD/monitor, and digitizer flex cable.
The digitizer is responsible for turning your finger taps into digital signals. It’s a thin layer of transparent sensor on top of the LCD or screen where images are being displayed. Usually, a digitizer becomes unstable following an accidental drop or if your phone was exposed to water. Unfortunately, you can’t fix a bad digitizer by tweaking some settings in the software. This is why nothing improved after you tried to factory reset your iPhone. A broken digitizer needs to be replaced. The most ideal thing to do though is to simply replace the entire screen as amateurs tend to damage the LCD or flex cable when performing do-it-yourself repairs.
If you haven’t opened the phone yet, of it there’s no visible defect on the phone contact Apple so they can check if they can fix your phone for free. If not, you’ll either have to perform a screen replacement yourself, or you may let a technician do it for you.
Problem 3: iPhone 6 motherboard is not working
My iphone is AT&T but unlocked and being used on T-Mobile. Also, this iphone has rear camera issues which had been replaced once before and the problems returned so I’m having to change it a second time now.
Anyway, I had dropped my iPhone a few times so of course the screen cracked and the sides and back of the iPhone had some scratches and dents. Some days the screen would freeze up or just stop responding to touch and I would lock it and unlock it, and it would work again. Then one day it just stopped responding for good. I had it fully charged but no way to turn it off, so I thought I would leave it alone. I went back to check it two days later and the screen was black but you could see light when I pressed the home or lock button.
Next day I checked it and there was no light, so I assumed it just died on its own. I bought a replacement LCD screen and took it in to be replaced and was later told that the screen is defective. The next day the company tried to put an approved working screen on my phone to see if the other screen is really defective. Their LCD screen did not work either. They suggested that it could be the motherboard or something. I don’t know what to do. Please help. — Kierston Baltero
Solution: Hi Kierston. If a trained iPhone technician has already checked your device and said that the motherboard is to blame, then most probably it is. Technicians usually follow a set of troubleshooting to isolate reasons of a problem so we assume that they’ve reached their conclusion only after doing the best they can. No armchair technicians like us can’t dispute their suggestion. We can’t obviously check your phone’s hardware so there’s no way we’ll be able to help you in this case.
If you want to get a second opinion though, we suggest that you bring the device to another shop. This will entail additional cost but it will definitely give you the certainty you’re missing in your fact-finding mission.
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.
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