A phone that shows nothing at all when you press the power button is usually not dead. Most of the time the battery is completely flat or the software has frozen with the screen off.
1. Charge it properly for 30 minutes
A battery drained to zero can need 15 to 30 minutes on the charger before the phone shows any sign of life, and a fully flat phone may not even show the charging symbol at first. Use a wall charger you know works, not a laptop port or a power bank, and leave it alone.
If nothing appears after 30 minutes, try a different cable and plug before deciding anything. See phone will not charge.
2. Force a restart
This works even when the screen is black because the system has frozen. It does not delete anything.
| Phone | Hold |
|---|---|
| Most Android phones (Samsung, Tecno, Infinix, itel, Xiaomi, Nokia) | Power and Volume Down together for 10 to 20 seconds |
| Some older Android phones | Power button alone for 20 to 30 seconds |
| iPhone 8 and newer | Press and release Volume Up, press and release Volume Down, then hold the side button until the Apple logo appears |
| iPhone 7 | Side button and Volume Down together |
Try this while the phone is plugged in.
3. Look for other signs of life
- It vibrates or makes a sound but the screen stays black: the phone is on and the display is damaged. Call it from another phone to check. A screen repair will fix it and your data is safe.
- The logo appears and it restarts over and over (boot loop): usually a software problem. See below.
- Nothing at all, even after charging and a forced restart: likely the battery or the board. It needs a technician.
4. Stuck on the logo
On Android, you can enter recovery mode (usually Power and Volume Up together while off) and choose Wipe cache partition where offered. This does not delete your data. Avoid Wipe data / factory reset unless you are backed up and have accepted losing what is on the phone.
On an iPhone, connect it to a computer with iTunes or Finder, force restart, and choose Update (not Restore) when asked. Update reinstalls the system and keeps your data.
5. If it got wet, hot or dropped
Do not keep trying to charge a phone that has been in water. See water got into your phone. A phone that has been left in a hot car or in the sun may refuse to start until it cools down.
When you take it for repair
Tell the technician what you already tried, and that the data matters to you if it does. Ask for a diagnosis and a price before any work, and remove your SIM and memory card first.