What to Do when Your iPhone Will Not Turn On

Quick Fix

Much as we hate this happening, sadly the iPhone is not perfect. There will come a time when it just won’t turn on. There are many reasons why this might happen. This is the reason why even Apple has posted several pages on its site dedicated to troubleshooting iPhone hardware and software. But what if you don’t have time to check out Apple’s resources? What if you just need some quick fix that you can apply to make your iPhone work again? Here are a few simple tips on what you can do when your iPhone will not turn on.

First thing you must do when your iPhone will not turn on is of course to make sure that it has enough battery charge. So, take out your iPhone’s USB charger, connect it to a power source and let it charge for a couple of minutes. When you’re sure that it has enough power, press the power button and see if it turns on. If your iPhone still won’t turn on, press and hold the power button and the home screen for a couple of seconds until the red slider appears. If the slider appears, slide it to power on and when the Apple logo appears, press the sleep/wake button until the Apple logo disappears. Hopefully, your iPhone will power up by then.

If this still fails to turn on your iPhone, it’s time to connect it to your computer.

What to do when your iPhone will not turn on - The Reset Approach

There is really one downside to doing the “reset approach” when your iPhone will not turn on. That is because the chances are you have not backed up your iPhone prior to turning it on. It’s a good thing if you regularly sync your iPhone to your computer. This means you have the latest back up in place. Anyway, since you don’t have much of a choice, you really have to reset your iPhone to hopefully turn it back on again. So, connect your iPhone to your computer. Fire up iTunes and hopefully it recognizes your iPhone. If it does, select your iPhone’s icon and select the restore option. During the restore process, hopefully your iPhone will finally turn on.

If this process still won’t turn on your iPhone, try disconnecting your iPhone from your computer. Reboot your computer and then re-install iTunes. Then repeat the same process and see if it successfully turns your iPhone on.

If not, it’s time to boot your iPhone to recovery mode.

What to do when your iPhone will not turn on - Recovery Mode

To put your iPhone into recovery mode, simply hold down the home button before connecting it to iTunes. Continue to hold the button until iTunes recognizes that your iPhone is in recovery mode. Booting your iPhone into recovery mode lets you perform a restore when your iPhone is experiencing serious problems such as an inability to turn on, or iPhone apps are freezing, or the screen will just not display anything.

Hopefully, after this process is done, your iPhone will finally turn on. If this still fails to turn on your iPhone, it’s now time to send it back to where you got it and ask for a replacement or have it diagnosed to find if what your iPhone is experiencing has something to do with hardware problems. This solution is also applicable when you encounter the iPhone white screen problem.

What to do when your iPhone Apps Won’t Open

Another issue that may occur on your iPhone is when the installed apps simply won’t open. This is a common App Store issue encountered by iPhone users. First thing you need to do is to reboot your iPhone and then try opening the apps again. If this fails, sync your iPhone to your computer. Uncheck the apps currently installed on your iPhone, sync and then disconnect your iPhone from your computer. After a while, connect your iPhone to your computer again. This time, check all apps that you want to install, sync and then disconnect your iPhone. Try opening the apps and see if they finally open. If not, try reinstalling the apps one by one, and hopefully after re-installing these apps will finally open.

Another trick that you might want to try out is to unselect all your apps then sync your iPhone to iTunes. Then click the Store option in iTunes and Authorize your computer by entering your iTunes password. Then go back to your apps and select them all again. Sync your iPhone again and then disconnect your iPhone from your computer. Try opening the apps and see if everything works fine. Hopefully they do.

If not, then you might need to restore your iPhone to factory settings, reinstall iTunes, reinstall iOS and do other quick fixes and solutions we’ve enumerated previously. If your iPhone apps still won’t open, it’s time to head to your nearest Apple Store and have them examine your phone.