Our iPhones are almost like extensions of ourselves. Because of this, there’s no worse feeling than hitting your device’s power button and getting no response.
Usually, iPhones are pretty sturdy. Yours can last five years or more, provided you take care of if correctly. If one slips out of your hands or you spill a cup of coffee on it, though, that’s a different story.
In this article, we’ll run through some of the common reasons why your iPhone is completely dead. Some solutions are as easy as connecting your device to the power cord, while others may require expert assistance from Apple Store employees. We’ll even give you tips on what to do if AppleCare+ no longer covers you.
With your iPhone dead, you might not be sure what your next move should be. We’ll talk about every option available to you right now.
Why is My iPhone Dead?
Several issues may be causing your iPhone to not power on. Some of the most common reasons include:
- The battery is completely depleted and needs to be charged.
- iOS has crashed or suffered a severe error, causing the screen to be black.
- A hardware problem has occurred, such as a damaged motherboard or a faulty battery.
- The iPhone has been damaged by water or another liquid.
Note: If your iPhone has been damaged by water, that will require a very different approach than other causes. You should always avoid turning on the iPhone or plugging it into the charger if it has suffered water damage.
Instead, you’ll want to remove the moisture while moving the iPhone as little as possible. You should try to avoid spreading the water around inside.
Placing desiccants on top of the phone can absorb the moisture. You can get more info from our guide to fixing iPhone water damage.
Tip 1: Charge Your Phone for an Hour or More
You shouldn’t drive your car until it runs out of fuel, and you shouldn’t use your iPhone till the battery power is completely depleted. There’s a difference between these two scenarios, though.
You can fill your car up with gas, and it will immediately be ready for you to drive it again. iPhones will have a longer recovery time if you completely drain the battery.
If your iPhone automatically shuts down because of battery depletion or even cold weather, you’ll need to give it time to become operational again. If your device is dead, plug it into power with a USB cord and let it charge for a few minutes. You may not see anything on the screen at first, though.
Eventually, a charging mode icon should appear on the screen. Wait another 20-30 minutes, and you should be able to access your phone as usual. In some cases, you may have to restart it after you’ve charged it for a while.
If your iPhone battery continues to drain quickly, there may be an issue with the battery. Here are some guides that can help:
- What to Do if Your iPhone Battery Drains Fast
- How to Check Your iPhone Battery Health
- What to Do if Your iPhone Battery is Showing as Yellow
- iPhone Battery Repair and Replacement
Tip 2: Hard Reset
When you restart your phone, that’s also known as a soft reset. Soft resets keep most of your existing data in place, while also helping get your phone back in working order.
Hard resets clear the RAM (don’t worry, it won’t delete any saved data on the drive) and goes a few steps further. If you have ever experienced a frozen screen or a similar issue, including if your iPhone is dead, then a hard reset is a good option to try.
How To Do a Hard Reset:
For iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone 11, and All Newer Devices:
Press and release the Volume Up button on the left side, then press and release the Volume Down button. Keep holding the Sleep/Wake button until you see the Apple logo come up on the screen.
iPhone 7/7 Plus:
Hold down the Volume Down button and Sleep/Wake button for about 10 seconds. Release them when you see the Apple logo appear.
iPhone 6S or earlier versions:
Hold down the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button for 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears on your screen.
Tip 3: Connect to Your Computer
For a long time, it hasn’t been necessary to ever connect your iPhone to a computer. These devices come straight out of the box, ready to use. However, connecting these devices to a computer can reveal some potentially useful information.
If your computer recognizes the iPhone via the USB connection, then it means your device isn’t completely dead. It’s probably just dealing with a software or hardware issue.
Open the latest version of iTunes and see if you can access your iPhone. If you can, now would be a good time to back up your device to prevent data loss.
Do so by clicking the Device button you’ll see near the top left side of the screen. Hit Summary, then Back Up Now. Wait a few seconds for the backup to conclude.
If there are any system updates available, be sure to download and install them at this point. That may be enough to return your iPhone to functionality.
There are also some third-party software tools you can check out if iTunes does not seem to be doing the trick. Dr.Fone and EaseUS MobiSaver are two possibilities.
If your computer is unable to recognize your device when you’ve connected it, then you may have a severe hardware or software issue happening.
Tip 4: DFU Mode
If your iPhone is dead, you can also put it in DFU mode. DFU mode stands for Device Firmware Update.
It’s the ultimate software solution for iOS problems. You can use it to restore dead phones, jailbreak them, reverse jailbreak them, or downgrade them.
It works by putting your iPhone in a state where it can interact with iTunes on either Windows or Mac without starting iOS. You can then use it to restore your iPhone to factory settings, reinstall iOS, and, hopefully, get it running again.
Working with DFU mode can be tricky and often takes a little patience. You may have to repeat these steps a few times to get it working:
For iPhone 8 and More Recent Versions:
- Connect your iPhone to a computer with an Apple-approved USB cable.
- Press the Volume Up button.
- Press the Volume Down button.
- Hold down the Side button until the screen turns black. Next, hold the Side button and Volume Down button at the same time.
- Release the Side button after 5 seconds while you continue to press the Volume Down button.
- Note: If the Side button appears, you help the Side button for too long.
- When the device is in DFU mode, nothing will appear on the screen. However, iTunes will alert you that it has detected a device in recovery mode.
- Note: If your iPhone displays a screen telling you to connect to iTunes, repeat these steps. It may take several tries to get it to work correctly.
For iPhone 7/7+:
Connect the iPhone to your computer with a USB cable.
- Hold both the Side button and Volume Down button.
- Release the Side button after 8 seconds while continuing to press the Volume Down button.
- If you see the Apple logo on the screen, you held the Side button for too long.
If the device has successfully entered DFU mode, nothing will appear on the screen. If your device displays a screen telling you to connect to iTunes, repeat these steps.
For iPhone 6S or Earlier Versions:
- Connect the iPhone to your computer with a USB cable.
- Hold down both the Home button and Lock button.
- Release the Lock button after 8 seconds while continuing to hold the Home button.
- If the Apple logo appears on your device, you pressed the Lock button for too long.
- If the device has successfully entered DFU mode, nothing will appear on the screen. However, if a message appears on the screen telling you to connect to iTunes, you need to repeat these steps.
Tip 5: You Have a Hardware Issue
If you’ve run through all these tips and your iPhone is still dead, you likely have a hardware issue. Hardware problems might include damaged logic boards, damaged motherboards, faulty batteries, and more.
If your iPhone is still under the original warranty or an AppleCare plan, you should take your phone to the nearest Apple Store and see what the Geniuses have to say. If you bought the device brand-new, it came with a one-year warranty. It’s also possible that you bought an extended warranty.
AppleCare+ plans and warranties should cover most hardware issues. If the Geniuses determine that a hardware issue is causing your device’s unresponsiveness, and your phone is no longer covered, then you’ll have to see how costly the fix will be.
Your iPhone is Completely Dead, Now What?
If none of these steps have helped you, or if Apple has said repairing your device will cost more than it’s worth, don’t despair. There are plenty of places where you can easily and quickly sell a broken iPhone.
Don’t expect to get as much as you would for a working phone. However, depending on your iPhone’s age and which model you have, you should be able to offset at least some of the cost of buying a new device. Broken or not, click here to get an instant quote for how much your iPhone is worth.
