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Question: iPhone that won't turn on or charge

I have an iPhone 4s that suddenly turned off but won't charge. Can't turn on or off or get any battery charging icon once plugged in. any suggestions on how to fix?

iPhone 4S

Posted on Jul 9, 2012 1:54 PM

Helpful answers

Question marked as ★ Helpful

Jan 2, 2014 12:31 PM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

have an iphone 4 that isnt turning on or show its charging...it has always been in a case so it doesnt have any cracks or scracthes.. Help?

Jan 2, 2014 12:31 PM

Question marked as ★ Helpful

Jul 9, 2012 2:02 PM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

If the battery is completely drained, you could have to let it charge for about 15 mins before you see something on the screen.

Below is Apple's suggestion for this problem, if it doesn't fix it then you'll have to send it in for service.

iPhone: Hardware troubleshooting

Will not turn on, or will not turn on unless connected to power

  1. Verify that the Sleep/Wake button functions. If it does not function, inspect it for signs of damage. If the button is damaged or is not functioning when pressed, seek service.
  2. Check if the Liquid Contact Indicator (LCI) in the headset jack or dock connector is activated or there are signs of corrosion or debris. Learn more about LCIs.
  3. Connect the iPhone to the iPhone's USB power adapter and let it charge for at least ten minutes.
  4. After at least 15 minutes, if:
    • The home screen appears: The iPhone should be working. Continue charging it until it is completely charged and you see this battery icon in the upper-right corner of the screen User uploaded file. Then unplug the phone from power. If it immediately turns off, seek service.
    • The low-battery image appears, even after the phone has charged for at least 20 minutes: See "iPhone displays the low-battery image and is unresponsive" symptom in this article.
    • If something other than the Home screen or Low Battery screen appears on the display, continue with this article for further troubleshooting steps.
  5. If the iPhone did not turn on, try resetting it while connected to the iPhone USB power adapter. To reset, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until either the Apple logo or the battery symbol appears.
    • If the display turns on, go to step 4.
    • If the display remains black, go to next step.
  6. Restore the iPhone. Connect the iPhone to a computer and open iTunes. If iTunes recognizes the iPhone and indicates that it is in recovery mode, attempt to restore the iPhone. If the iPhone doesn't appear in iTunes or if you have difficulties in restoring the iPhone, see this article for further assistance.
  7. If restoring the iPhone resolved the issue, go to step 4. If restoring the iPhone did not solve the issue, seek service.

Jul 9, 2012 2:02 PM

Question marked as ★ Helpful

Nov 24, 2013 4:40 AM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

Hi, my girlfriend had this problem yesterday. I tried everything on this thread and nothing worked. I plugged her phone into a mains charger for about an hour and nothing happened (I plugged mine in to, to ensure it wasn't the plug and mine charged). I then plugged it into my laptop and it didn't even register, great. Yet mine did register on the laptop. So, I left hers in charging in the laptop for another hour, yet again nothing happened, nothing came up on screen, no charging icon, no apple sign, nothing, just a blank black screen.

The other problem she has is that the top lock button is completely broken and is un-pressable which made full restarting the phone completely impossible, whilst her home button is almost going too (Ridiculous manufacturing from Apple's behalf if you ask me, this also happened to my past iPhone, but I won't go into that now).

SOLUTION:

So this morning I remembered that my phone had gone into safe mode one time and I vaguely remember holding down the home button whilst you plug in the charger (keep the home button held down). So I tried it on her phone, and it WORKED! It came up with a red battery icon, knowing that the battery had drained completely so I've left it charging and it's all back to normal now.

Nov 24, 2013 4:40 AM

Question marked as ★ Helpful

Apr 3, 2014 11:16 AM in response to whatheck In response to whatheck

Option 4 worked for me....

If the iPhone did not turn on, try resetting it while connected to the iPhone USB power adapter. To reset, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until either the Apple logo or the battery symbol appears.

  • If the display turns on, go to step 4.
  • If the display remains black, go to next step.

    • Apr 3, 2014 11:16 AM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Aug 9, 2015 3:51 AM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

    Ok, this is too late to help, but I thought I'd answer anyway in case someone else finds this post whilst searching for the problem. Here's how to fix it:

    Lithium batteries have protection against over-discharging, they do this by breaking the circuit if the voltage drops too low to prevent further drain. Unfortunately, once this has triggered, you can no longer put charge back into the battery because the battery is disconnected internally, so no matter how long you leave the phone on charge, it remains disconnected and flat.

    You only need to get the voltage in the battery to raise a percent or two to reconnect the protection circuit so that it will charge again and you can do that by warming up the battery. You may get away with leaving the phone overnight in a very warm (hot) place, such as on top of a hot water tank, however a more efficient way is to remove the battery and heat it up until it's quite hot with a hairdryer on its hottest setting. Heat it for a good 5-10 mins so that the hear soaks right through the battery and it feels hot to the touch, this will raise the internal voltage enough to reconnect the protection circuit. Immediately reconnect the battery into the phone and put it on charge. After about 10-20 mins, enough charge should get back into the battery to fire up the phone and it'll come back to life.

    I've done this a few times now on various different models and it always works. Hope it helps yo

    Aug 9, 2015 3:51 AM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Jul 2, 2014 6:35 AM in response to whatheck In response to whatheck

    Man you saved my day, lots of time and $$$. I thought my Iphone5 was dead even though I knew it was 45% charged. Tried #5 and it came back alive with Apple Logo and showing 90% charged (as it was plugged to the charger). Thanks a million 🙂🙂😎

    Jul 2, 2014 6:35 AM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    User profile for user: Community User

    Community User

    Oct 5, 2012 8:49 AM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

    Thanks a lot! Tried solution number 5 and my battery was on 34% (must be stuck or something I dunno)

    Thanks for lowering my worries and helping me!

    Oct 5, 2012 8:49 AM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Jul 9, 2012 2:02 PM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

    If the battery is completely drained, you could have to let it charge for about 15 mins before you see something on the screen.

    Below is Apple's suggestion for this problem, if it doesn't fix it then you'll have to send it in for service.

    iPhone: Hardware troubleshooting

    Will not turn on, or will not turn on unless connected to power

    1. Verify that the Sleep/Wake button functions. If it does not function, inspect it for signs of damage. If the button is damaged or is not functioning when pressed, seek service.
    2. Check if the Liquid Contact Indicator (LCI) in the headset jack or dock connector is activated or there are signs of corrosion or debris. Learn more about LCIs.
    3. Connect the iPhone to the iPhone's USB power adapter and let it charge for at least ten minutes.
    4. After at least 15 minutes, if:
      • The home screen appears: The iPhone should be working. Continue charging it until it is completely charged and you see this battery icon in the upper-right corner of the screen User uploaded file. Then unplug the phone from power. If it immediately turns off, seek service.
      • The low-battery image appears, even after the phone has charged for at least 20 minutes: See "iPhone displays the low-battery image and is unresponsive" symptom in this article.
      • If something other than the Home screen or Low Battery screen appears on the display, continue with this article for further troubleshooting steps.
    5. If the iPhone did not turn on, try resetting it while connected to the iPhone USB power adapter. To reset, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until either the Apple logo or the battery symbol appears.
      • If the display turns on, go to step 4.
      • If the display remains black, go to next step.
    6. Restore the iPhone. Connect the iPhone to a computer and open iTunes. If iTunes recognizes the iPhone and indicates that it is in recovery mode, attempt to restore the iPhone. If the iPhone doesn't appear in iTunes or if you have difficulties in restoring the iPhone, see this article for further assistance.
    7. If restoring the iPhone resolved the issue, go to step 4. If restoring the iPhone did not solve the issue, seek service.

    Jul 9, 2012 2:02 PM

    Aug 11, 2012 7:17 AM in response to whatheck In response to whatheck

    Thanks!!!

    It worked.

    Not sure I can be without my iphone.

    Life saver!!

    Aug 11, 2012 7:17 AM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Sep 26, 2012 3:22 AM in response to whatheck In response to whatheck

    Thanks!!!

    For me also It worked. I tried solution # 5 and it solved

    Life saver!!

    Sep 26, 2012 3:22 AM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    User profile for user: Community User

    Community User

    Oct 5, 2012 8:49 AM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

    Thanks a lot! Tried solution number 5 and my battery was on 34% (must be stuck or something I dunno)

    Thanks for lowering my worries and helping me!

    Oct 5, 2012 8:49 AM

    Oct 14, 2012 1:29 AM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

    So I just had a problem with my iPhone 4 charging. When I plugged it in, it would make the charge jingle but the plug would show up in the battery like it was fully charged (I think it may also show up when charging with unsupported charger) instead of the charging spark (or lightning bolt thing) that usually shows up when charging. Lucky for me I had a spare iPhone battery lying around and swapped it out. This was after I tried turning my phone off multiple times and doing a hard reset, which didn't fix the problem. Anyway, the new battery fixed the problem, and now it charges just fine. Im not sure what was wrong with my old battery, it is a few years old, but it seemed to hold a charge just fine before it just stopped charging. If anyone else has this problem I would recommend trying a hard reset first and then if that doesn't work try swapping the battery before you go messing with the dock connector since it is a lot easier.

    Oct 14, 2012 1:29 AM

    Oct 26, 2013 12:14 AM in response to whatheck In response to whatheck

    Even though neither the Apple logo nor the battery symbol appeared after pressing the Sleep/Wake button and Home button simultaneously (Solution #5), it worked!

    Oct 26, 2013 12:14 AM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Nov 24, 2013 4:40 AM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

    Hi, my girlfriend had this problem yesterday. I tried everything on this thread and nothing worked. I plugged her phone into a mains charger for about an hour and nothing happened (I plugged mine in to, to ensure it wasn't the plug and mine charged). I then plugged it into my laptop and it didn't even register, great. Yet mine did register on the laptop. So, I left hers in charging in the laptop for another hour, yet again nothing happened, nothing came up on screen, no charging icon, no apple sign, nothing, just a blank black screen.

    The other problem she has is that the top lock button is completely broken and is un-pressable which made full restarting the phone completely impossible, whilst her home button is almost going too (Ridiculous manufacturing from Apple's behalf if you ask me, this also happened to my past iPhone, but I won't go into that now).

    SOLUTION:

    So this morning I remembered that my phone had gone into safe mode one time and I vaguely remember holding down the home button whilst you plug in the charger (keep the home button held down). So I tried it on her phone, and it WORKED! It came up with a red battery icon, knowing that the battery had drained completely so I've left it charging and it's all back to normal now.

    Nov 24, 2013 4:40 AM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Jan 2, 2014 12:31 PM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

    have an iphone 4 that isnt turning on or show its charging...it has always been in a case so it doesnt have any cracks or scracthes.. Help?

    Jan 2, 2014 12:31 PM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Apr 1, 2014 3:26 PM in response to Mamamcneil In response to Mamamcneil

    Thank you I've just done #5 & MTV IPhone came on ..... Couldn't be without my phone

    Apr 1, 2014 3:26 PM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Apr 3, 2014 11:16 AM in response to whatheck In response to whatheck

    Option 4 worked for me....

    If the iPhone did not turn on, try resetting it while connected to the iPhone USB power adapter. To reset, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until either the Apple logo or the battery symbol appears.

  • If the display turns on, go to step 4.
  • If the display remains black, go to next step.

    • Apr 3, 2014 11:16 AM

    Apr 4, 2014 9:54 PM in response to Mogsyyy In response to Mogsyyy

    Excellent.kudos to step 5. It worked. Thanks a ton.

    Apr 4, 2014 9:54 PM

    Question marked as ★ Helpful

    Jul 2, 2014 6:35 AM in response to whatheck In response to whatheck

    Man you saved my day, lots of time and $$$. I thought my Iphone5 was dead even though I knew it was 45% charged. Tried #5 and it came back alive with Apple Logo and showing 90% charged (as it was plugged to the charger). Thanks a million 🙂🙂😎

    Jul 2, 2014 6:35 AM

    User profile for user: Mamamcneil

    Question: iPhone that won't turn on or charge