Although iPhones are lauded for their reliability and ease of use, things can go wrong with all technology. Seeing a black iPhone screen is one of the most daunting problems, as it could mean anything. Fortunately, there are ways to troubleshoot exactly what’s wrong and find a fix for them.
A black iPhone screen can mean many things, including a broken screen, low battery, or software issues. You can try force restarting your phone, restoring it to a backup, and ensuring it’s fully charged up before you decide it needs to go in for repair.
Let’s take a closer look at what a black iPhone screen might mean, as well as what you can do about it. With a little tie and attention, you may be back up and running in no time.
What Causes an iPhone Screen to Go Black?
Because a whole range of things can cause this, it’s hard to say what the exact cause of an iPhone screen going black is in specific cases without doing some troubleshooting.
However, it’s easy to look at the potential issues and then use the tips here to identify which one is causing your black screen and how to go about fixing it.
And do note we’re talking about a functional screen that has gone black – your black screen may be caused by another error (which is what this guide is focused on), but there are cases where it could be black because the screen is now non-functional, in which case we have another guide for you to peruse.
Overheating
Sometimes, the iPhone screen may go black because the phone has shut off due to overheating. An iPhone should be kept cool to function correctly, as overheating can damage the hardware parts.
Things that may cause the iPhone to overheat can involve the external temperature of the environment but also heavy use.
Software Issues
The most common cause of the screen going black is a software issue. Some bugs are easy to fix—a hard restart of an iPhone can often get everything up and running again, and if that fails, you can restore the phone to a backup when it was working just fine. If you don’t have a backup, you’ll have to restore the phone to factory settings.
The Battery
As your phone battery gets lower and lower, the iPhone will do everything possible to preserve power. This may include freezing background apps and dimming the display.
Occasionally, as it’s close to dying, you may notice the display going black. This is usually nothing to worry about and can be fixed by charging the phone.
It could also be an issue where the battery has reached the end of its lifespan and needs to be replaced. Batteries lose capacity over time and may even fail.
Hardware Issues
Hardware issues are a significant cause of a screen going black and are likely the most complicated to fix. For example, if you’ve dropped your phone, the screen may be broken, making it unable to provide a display. If this has happened, you may have to take the phone in for repair.
How to Fix a Black iPhone Screen
How you fix a black iPhone screen depends on the root issue. However, you can always run through each fix to see if any work.
How to Force Restart Your iPhone
The first thing you can do to try and fix any software issues that may have occurred is to force restart your phone. Next, hold down the volume up button and the power button until the Apple sign appears on the screen. You may have to hold them down for fifteen seconds or more before seeing any movement.
If you’ve held them down for longer than this and aren’t seeing any movement, you may have to go ahead with a phone restore.
How to Restore Your iPhone
Fortunately, you can restore your phone even when you can’t see the display. Plug it into your computer using the Apple lightning cable (which you can buy on Amazon) and then open iTunes.
Make sure it’s updated and is the most current version, or it can cause bugs when going through this process. From there, follow these steps:
- Select your device.
- Click Restore.
- You can choose Restore from Back Up or Restore to Factory Settings.
If you have not backed up your phone in the past, then you will only see the second option. Unfortunately, you will lose all data and settings in the process.
How Do You Know if Your Display is Broken?
If you’re unsure if this is a software or hardware issue, you might wonder if there’s a way to tell if the display is broken.
The only real way to tell is if there was an inciting incident beforehand. A few things can happen where the display might get broken, such as dropping the phone, bumping into something with it in your pocket, and getting liquid on it. You may also be able to see visible cracks or issues.
What to Do if Your Display is Broken
If you’ve determined from examining it that the display is broken, or you’ve ruled out all software issues, then you’ll have to visit a professional technician to fix the phone. You can contact Apple on their website and either send the phone off to get repaired or go to an Apple store, where they may be able to fix it the same way.
They will also be able to provide an estimate for the repair. They sell phones with a one-year warranty, but this warranty usually doesn’t cover accidental damage. Apple Care, however, does.
It is possible to fix the phone yourself by buying a new screen and following online tutorials for a DIY repair. However, this should only be attempted if you have experience and confidence, as you could otherwise end up making the problem worse. The last thing you want is to damage more than just the screen.
You also must ensure complete confidence that the screen is the issue or it’s a waste of money.
How Do You Know if it’s the Battery?
If the battery is the issue, your phone will be completely dead—not just the display. You can test this by plugging it into your computer and seeing if it recognizes it. You can also try plugging the phone into a charger and waiting a while to see if there’s any indicator that the charger is doing anything.
Troubleshooting Tips + Other Fail States
There are a few troubleshooting tips you can go through to try and determine the issue before you need to restore the phone or take it to a repair shop.
Let it Rest
It may sound like a straightforward tip, but sometimes letting your iPhone rest for a bit can not only fix the issue but let you know exactly what was wrong: overheating.
When the iPhone goes above 40 C, that’s considered an unsafe temperature, and it will take some measures to protect itself. It may not be that the screen is black, but it may have turned off.
Charge the Phone
Plugging the phone in to charge will also tell you if the issue is related to the battery. Let it charge for a while before you try to use it as if the iPhone has died completely; it may take a while to turn back on.
Plug the Phone into Your Computer
Even if you don’t want to restart the phone, you can plug it into your computer to ensure it’s still being recognized.
If iTunes doesn’t recognize the device, the issue is not just with the screen; it’s with the whole phone—which suggests a hardware issue. Your phone may also just be reaching the end of its lifespan.
If iTunes still recognizes the phone and everything seems fine, it’s a screen issue.
Update the Phone
You can also update the phone with iTunes to ensure it isn’t an issue with the operating system if iTunes recognizes the device. Simply head to the same place you’d restore the phone from and choose to update it instead.
If this doesn’t work, you know it wasn’t a problem with the operating system but the device itself—usually indicating the hardware.
Other Issues To Watch Out For
If you’re an iPhone power user, be sure to check out other troubleshooting items on our blog reated to this one, like screen-auto-dimming, storage not loading, or the top half of the screen going blurry (rarer, but still effects some people on older models.
To Conclude
Overall, having a black screen on an iPhone may make users believe their iPhone has died immediately. However, some troubleshooting tips you can follow will identify the issue and may even fix it.
Before doing anything, ensure the phone is charged, do a hard reset, and see if that corrects the issue, as those are the easiest solutions.