Panic.
Then think about all the time your iPhone was exposed to moisture: jogging, that day you got caught in the rain, the time you set it down in a ring of condensation. Then you’ll think about the times you’ve dropped, sat on it, and kicked it.
Then relax. Chances are, your iPhone simply decided to reset itself.
This happened to me the night before the most important business trip of my life. I was about to spend 6 days in California with no means of communication–except for my laptop and Google phone. Plus, I was coordinating activities of 4 other consultants.
I woke up soaking wet with fear at 3:30 a.m. I decided to play around on the internet and searched for symptoms like mine–the phone shuts off and pressing the top silver button or the round awake/sleep button does nothing.
What I found was a MacRumors forum discussion with a simple solution: Press and hold both buttons (top silver, bottom round) until the little Apple logo appears. For me it was about 10 seconds. (You’ll lose hope after 5, but keep holding.)
You might want to bookmark this post in case this ever happens to you.
Thank you – I was in complete panic
. Just simply wasn’t holding the buttons down long enough. Apparently panicked counting to 10 is just not enough time for the phone to reset.
Worked like a charm, I was so panicked!
This happened to me and I panicked as well. However, this worked and my phone is back live. Thank you soooooo much for posting this!
You are right! I panicked. Found your post. Did what you said. Panicked again after 5 seconds and it reset at 10. I’m in little apple logo happiness right now.
Glad it helped, Ray. Now, you might want to read about the amazing, historical, life-altering impact the iPhone has had on everything. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-iphone-is-5-years-old-2012-6
Thank you lovely internet body of knowledge! (also a personal thank you to the author of article)
your a genius!!!
You will so regret calling me a genius should you ever meet me. But thank you.
Awesome tip. Thank you very much. I was at a total loss as to why my iphone simply blacked out and then l had attempt a quick fix. Thanks for the elightenment
My pleasure.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. Was just about to tie a noose for myself -_-
Any idea why this happens?
None. It seems to know when your phone is essential, them “hides” it on you like child playing.
Ghosts in the machine.
This saved my life. I really appreciate you taking the time to post this.
THANK YOU.
Glad you found it!
so…….. pretty much every post says to do this. not working for me…. what am i doing wrong?
Make sure you’re holding long enough. It feels like a really long time. Otherwise, see the Geniuses at apple store.
ahhhhhhhhhh, thnx
My pleasure. Thanks for reading.
Thank you so much!!!
Glad it helped. Thank you for the feedback.
You just saved my life. You’re awesome.
Glad to be of service. Thanks for letting me know I helped.
why does this happen do you know? thanks for your help!!
I have no idea. It happened to me just that one time, though, so I don’t think it indicates some major problem. Then, again, I’m just days away from a new iPhone 5!
Thank you thank you thank! Yesterday marked 30 days with my iPhone and it went into the black hole of death with no warning. I, too, panicked yet after 10 very long seconds, it has come back to life. Your post is greatly appreciated
I’m glad it helped.
Wow. THANK YOU!!! I was in complete panic mode.
Thanks for letting me know it helped.
You rock and so does Google!
THANK GOD FOR THIS! I was FA-REAKIN out! Thank you!
Glad to be of service. Thank you for reading.
Thank you very much this was very help full!! Especially the the part (You’ll lose hope after 5, but keep holding.) that helped out a lot!
Glad to be of service to you.
omg i was freaking out! thank you
I’m thrilled to help. Thanks for letting me know.
Thanks – you saved my party. All the text message invitations.
Excellent! Enjoy.
Thank you so much, you saved me an hour trip to an Apple store to feel like an idiot.
Glad to help.
OMG thanks so much and by the way i love the way you wrote the post it really does sum up the feelings of the black out
Thanks a million. Especially for the kind words on the writing. Means a lot.
Teej
Thank god that was awesome. What a quick solve to the black screen of death. Thank you sooooooooooo much
My pleasure. Thanks, Tracy
holly shit,, it reset… your the man
Thanks, Ramon. Glad to help.
OH MY GOD! I really thought that it was a paper weight! Just went black and didn’t even respond to plugging it into the wall or computer. Tried the reset with both buttons but was to panicked to hold it long enough I guess.Did what you said and POOF came back to life!!! THANK YOU!
You have no idea how satisfying it is to hear that I helped. Thanks for letting me know.
My turn for panic today. I’m glad I found your article. Worked like a charm. Thanks.
Thanks for letting me know the post helped, Allen.
Oh my EFFING GOD thank you for this. And I did lose hope after 5 seconds. But now I have the Apple logo on my screen. Phone’s just turned back on. Oh my god, the panic. My heart is beating so fast right now. You’re a true life saver!
Your comment absolutely made my day. I think I’m happier than you are about this. Thank you!
wow… what a remedy…. i was planning to visit the service center in morning and then ur solution worked
I’m happy it helped.
you are a life saver…thanx man
Thanks! Glad it worked.
Yeah, it happened to me as well on my iphone 5!! WTF!!!
20 minutes of terror, on Christmas morning even!!
Thank goodness for the internet and your post…
Merry Christmas! Glad it worked
Btw, thanks for confirming that it works on the 5. I’ve tried it only on 4.
Hi, my iphone5 went black today, and I followed the tip of this post. The apple logo appeared after 7 sec but it went black again. The home screen didn’t appear at all. I tried to reset it again and it never worked. Anyone have some ideas?
I’m sorry this technique didn’t work. My recommendation would be to take it to the nearest Apple Store. I’ve heard that some people needed to have their iPhone 5s replaced. It’s very rare, but it happens.
i was using a unu add on battery pack . do you think that made the phone go black. your info got it back though. but afraid to put battery back on.
Pat,
I could not find any complaints about the Unu causing the blackout problem. Doesn’t mean it’s not the cause, but I couldn’t find examples. Also, I don’t use the Unu, and I don’t think the 20 or so people who’ve commented on this thread use one.
You might try the Unu again to test. If the phone goes black again with the Unu on, there’s a good chance that’s the problem.
Thank you! I thought I bricked my phone until I read your post!
My pleasure, Scott.
Thank you,Soooooooooooooooo much I was crying already and blaming my kids!
Thank you for letting me know it helped!
Anyone with an iphone knows its worse than losing an ol phone…..its my everything!!!!! Thank you sooooo much!!
Glad your phone’s back among the living, Courtney. Thanks for letting me know.
FANTASTIC!!! Thank you! I have been having trouble with my iPhone since I had got it fixed post accidental introduction with water. Anyhow it’s turned off/ black screen several times, and I pretty much thought it was DONE (mind you this is the very REASON I had AVOIDED getting an iPhone in the first place. Anyhow… it worked. Thank you!
Glad to help.
thanx dude truly
My pleasure
bhennessy thanx alot man u saved my life amazing by the way how did u find this??????? im only 14 gonna be 15 this year so again thanx if this fone hadn’t worked i wouldn’t get another fone like this for another 4-5 years…. i’d have to use a cheap fone
hii. i have an problem like this but not solving… my iphone just crashed and went black…i tried this method i hold the buttons for 7 minutes nad the same thing…iphone is tethered jailbreak and i boot from redsn0w and i can here the phone on…even to itunes is open
what to do
I don’t have experience with jailbroken iPhones. Could be something installed outside of apple’s App Store.
Anyone else able to help?
Pingback: The Line For Mailbox iPhone App Is Very Long and Moving Slowly | Simple Strategies
My iPhone 5 did that this morning. Never happened and I’ve had every iPhone since the first. I knew instinctively to do a “hard reboot” (holding down the power and home buttons until the apple appears as described in this post – fixes a lot of problems). But I still don’t know why. It might be related to my backup.
When I got this phone I restored everything from iCloud. Yesterday was the first time I synched directly to my Mac (because I didn’t have all my music transferred yet). Leads me to believe it had something to do with that.
I followed each of your steps exactly, beginning with PANIC, and every step thereafter. Worked like a charm! Thanks, you’re a lifesaver
My pleasure. Thanks for letting me know it worked.
Ah! I was about to run out to the store and have them (probably do the same thing and laugh me out the door) fix it. My husband is overseas and I was about to miss his call!!! Thank you!!!!!
I’m honored to have helped. Thank you.
you sir, deserves a medal. you’re an angel
i held it for a good mintue and still nothing works
sorry to hear that, Bobby. You might need to visit the Genius Bar at an Apple Store.
THANNKKKKK YYOUUUUU…!!! thannnxxxx 4 this…thannnkkkuu so muchh…it worked finally…I totallyy freaked out…so happy
Sweet! Thanks for letting me know.
Wow! It worked! Thank you!
You’re welcome.
Thank you that was so helpful. I panicked and didn’t hold the buttons down for long enough but after reading your comment I retried it and it worked!
Oh my god I could kiss you!! Thank you!
I’m logging that in my journal.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! =D Miracle.
Thank you.. My daughter was in tears and in a straight panic before a big competition…
Whew the apple logo comes on. How long before you are up and running. Mine has been at this stage for awhile
It can take up to 5 minutes. Maybe more
you are a life saver .. I was sitting in apple store ready for the bad new that my display has gone bad or sth when I read your post.. and It works!!! Thankyouu
Thanks so much
unfortunately it doesnt work for me
( I holded both butons for like a minute and the logo still not showing
I have iphone5
my ipod 2g just had lcd and digitizer replaced. screen came on last night to tell me it was dead. charged it and it seemed to work this morning (all i did was turn on screen, locck it and went back to sleep) now it wont respond to anything! DFU, restart, reset, plugging into wall or comp. its just black!!! why???
THANK YOU DR. FRANKENSTEIN!
LIFESAVER…THANKYOU X
Thanks soo much. I am Jonathan “Tig” Willard former Clemson Tiger. I am in this years NFL Draft. But when my phone went out today all I could think about it what will happen if they call me and I don’t have a phone. This was a life saver. Thanks again.
I’m honored! Glad I could help. But if you’re not a Ram or a Cardinal…
Thank you so much for that. This quick fix saved me a lot of time feeling not very good. You have been very gracious in your many replies to those you have helped. I am by no means loaded – being a struggling artist but would like to donate a little something to a charity if you can suggest one, by way of thanks.
it worked! I was panicking and on the verge of tears when i found your post
mine still didn’t work after holding it for 30 seconds.guess its time for the apple store.
try just holding the power off button I tried with both buttons for 12 sec and that didn’t work so I held the power off button for 12 sec and it started to work again YAY!! i got so worried LOL
Anecdotally, it seems to be a bigger problem with the 5. Mine started going black screen the first day I owned it. The hard reboot worked the first time, but then didn’t the next time. I took it back to Verizon while it was black. Luckily I got the guy to look at it right away, because it woke up while I was waiting. His back office insisted I take it home, back it up, and restore it. I did, and I was SO HAPPY it worked. Two days later, same old stuff. It’s going back but I’m thinking about an android.
oh my god it worked thank you soooo much
omg thank you!! i was starting to worry but this worked!! x
what do i do when my power button is broken ….
Go to Apple Store. iPhone 5?
thank you so much, my iphone 5 just turned black and I did what you said to do, and it worked!!!!! THANKS, your a genius.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! Apple care couldn’t help me, and I was getting ready to make the hour drive to the nearest apple store in hopes that someone could help.
Almost every picture of my daughter from 6 months until now (almost 11 months) is on my iPhone and I haven’t backed it up. You have no idea how helpful and thankful I am that I found this tip. Backing up my phone as I type. Thank you again!!!!
You’re a good man! Felt like someone had pulled the rug from under my feet when it just died. So relieved now. Cheers!
mine still doesn’t work
You probably need to take it to an Apple Store.
DIDNT HELP. WHAT THE F***. I CAN HEAR SIRI AND MY PHONE VIBRATES BUT IT DOESNT RESPOND TO TOUCH SCREEN INTERACTION. ITS A BLACK SCREEN BUT I CAN SEE IT GET LIGHTER AFTER I “RESET” IT.
Time for a trip to the Apple Store
My iPhone was in my backpack and I dropped my backpack on the floor. When I looked at the phone it was fine, but it didn’t respond to any buttons and vibrated every time I received a text or phone call. I tried this and it didn’t work. Help!!! (I held the buttons down for over a minute!!!)
You should take it to an Apple Store.
The button on the top of my phone hasn’t been working for a few weeks and I dropped/cracked my screen so had a new one put on two days ago whilst travelling in Laos – I have the screen of death today and can’t press both buttons because the top one isn’t working…it just tells me that Siri isn’t available and to connect to the Internet!! I know it’s alive…I can hear it…I just can’t see it
DAMN
You’ll likely need to visit the Apple Store.
Thank a lot! *Press and hold both buttons (top silver, bottom round) until the little Apple logo appears. For me it was about 10 seconds. (You’ll lose hope after 5, but keep holding.)*
I was able to get my phone to the reset stage and the apple icon screen. Now it is showing an image of the USB port cord with an arrow pointing to Itunes. Any ideas? I can’t get it to respond beyond that…Thank you!
You need to resync with iTunes.
Hi, my iPhone 5 (iOS 6.1.2) has similar problem. Last night after I connected it to the power source the screen slowly went black, it was still making a normal sound of power connection, it was still vibrating, and the screen was black but with illumination. However, few minutes later with no response to the rebut (pressed two buttons for 10 seconds) the screen is just black, vibration is off, but it did vibrate, Siri sound was functioning, but today the phone reacts only on slinence/vibration button. Help!
this means I’m toast cause my home button doesn’t work
Take it to an apple store. They should replace it if it didn’t get wet.
Moisture can damage the home button, though.
i tried those tips, but still it isn’t work.. what happen on my iphone 5 was i accedentaly press the notification for unmounted Sd i thought it was an ordinary notification, i just realize it later when i check my gallery it was empty it says no sd detected,and return it, so what i did is to restart the iphone like hold the power nad home button, it turn black but the apple logo wont appear and now trying all tips to turn it on but sad to say it doesn’t work,,,anybody could help pls…………….
Fuck yes thank you i love whoever wrote this
I SERIOUSLY doubted this…BUT IT WORKED!!!!! OMG I already had it listed on eBay! WoW! I am totally in SHOCK!!!! THANK YOU’!!!!!!!
I dropped mine in its otter box and I was freaking out when it wouldn’t turn on it took me eight seconds and it works now but I have a crack on my otter box
Worked like a charm!! Thank you sooo much!
thank you so much holy shit was about to start crying or something i thought i had to get a new one