Everything was fine until your iPhone rebooted and got stuck on the Apple logo. You thought, “Maybe it’s just taking longer this time,” but quickly realized something was wrong. You’ve tried resetting you iPhone, plugging it into your computer, and nothing works. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPhone is stuck on the Apple logo and exactly how to fix it.
I’m A Former Apple Tech. Here’s The Truth:
There’s a lot of information about this topic out there, and that’s because it’s a very common problem. All of the other articles I’ve seen are either incorrect or incomplete.
As an Apple tech, I have first-hand experience working with hundreds of iPhones, and I know that iPhones get stuck on the Apple logo for a variety of reasons. Knowing why your iPhone got stuck on the Apple logo in the first place will help you prevent it from happening again.
Click here if you’d like to skip right to the fixes. Keep reading if you’d like to learn what your iPhone is really doing when it shows the Apple logo on the screen so you understand what went wrong.
Next, I’ll help you identify what caused the problem in the first place. Sometimes it’s obvious, but a lot of the time it’s not. After we know what caused the problem, I’ll recommend the best way to fix it.
What Really Happens When Your iPhone Turns On
Think about all the things that need to happen before you’re ready to get going in the morning. You might think of things like making coffee, taking a shower, or packing a lunch for work, but those are high-level tasks — kind of like apps on your iPhone.
We usually don’t think about the basic things that happen first, because they seem to happen automatically. Even before we get out of bed, we stretch, pull down the covers, sit up, and set our feet on the floor.
Your iPhone isn’t much different. When your iPhone starts up, it has to turn on its processor, check its memory, and set up a slew of internal components before it can do anything complex, like check your email or run your apps. These startup functions happen automatically in the background as your iPhone displays the Apple logo.
Why Is My iPhone Stuck On The Apple Logo?
Your iPhone is stuck on the Apple logo because something went wrong during its startup routine. Unlike a person, your iPhone can’t ask for help, so it just stops. Dead. Apple logo, forever.
Diagnose The Problem
Now that you understand why the Apple logo is stuck on your iPhone, it’s helpful to state the problem a different way: Something changed in your iPhone’s startup routine and it doesn’t work anymore. But what changed it? Apps don’t have access to your iPhone’s startup routine, so it’s not their fault. Here are the possibilities:
- iOS updates, restores, and data transfers from your computer to your iPhone have access to its core functionality, so they can cause a problem. Security software, defective USB cables, and faulty USB ports can all interfere with the data transfer process and cause software corruption that can cause the Apple logo to get stuck on your iPhone.
- Jailbreaking: A lot of other websites (and some Apple employees) cry, “Jailbreaker! Serves you right!” whenever they see this problem, but jailbreaking is not the only thing that can cause your iPhone to get stuck on the Apple Logo. That being said, the potential for problems is high when you jailbreak your iPhone. Not only does the jailbreaking process require a complete restore, but its name comes from the fact that it breaks apps “out of jail”, bypassing Apple’s safeguards and allowing them access to your iPhone’s basic functionality. This is the only scenario where an app can cause your iPhone to get stuck on the Apple logo. Psst: I’ve jailbroken my iPhone in the past.
- Hardware problems: We mentioned before that your iPhone checks in with its hardware as part of its startup routine. Let’s use Wi-Fi as an example: Your iPhone says, “Hey, Wi-Fi card, turn on your antenna!” and waits for a response. Your Wi-Fi card, having recently drowned in water, doesn’t say anything back. Your iPhone waits, and waits, and waits… and stays stuck on the Apple logo, forever.
Why Is My iPhone Stuck Or Frozen On The Apple Logo?
I’m writing this article because all the others I’ve seen offer one or two solutions (a hard reset and a DFU restore) and a lot of readers won’t be helped by either. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. The solution depends on what caused your iPhone to get stuck in the first place.
1. Hard Reset Your iPhone (But It Won’t Work 99% Of The Time)
Maybe you’re in the 1 percent, but in this case it doesn’t hurt to try. A hard reset forces your iPhone to quickly turn off and back on, which can sometimes fix a minor software glitch.
To do a hard reset on an iPhone 6S and earlier models, press and hold the Home button (circular button below the display) and power button together until you see the Apple logo disappear and reappear on the screen, and then let go.
If you’re using an iPhone 7, press and hold the power button and volume down button until the Apple logo disappears and reappears on the screen.
If you have an iPhone 8 or newer, press and release the volume up button, then press and release the volume down button, then press and hold the side button until the Apple logo disappears and reappears.
2. iOS Update, Restore, and Data Transfer Problems Between Your iPhone And Computer
A lot can go wrong when data gets sent from your computer to your iPhone, especially if you’re using a PC. Your iPhone is just another external device to your computer, and lots of other software can butt in and interfere during critical moments of an iOS update or restore.
Let’s say you’re using iTunes to update your iPhone’s software. Your iPhone reboots (meaning it turns off and quickly back on) during the update, but to your computer it looks like you unplugged it and plugged it back in.
Your antivirus software steps in and says, “Stop! I’ve got to scan you!” and interrupts the data transfer. iTunes aborts the update, and your iPhone is left half-updated and totally unusable. Usually, your iPhone kicks into recovery mode and displays “Connect to iTunes”, but sometimes it gets stuck on the Apple logo.
If your iPhone got stuck on the Apple logo after you used iTunes to update, restore, or transfer data to your iPhone, you’ll need to temporarily disable the software that caused the problem before you continue. To learn more about problems that can occur between iTunes and other software, check out Apple’s article about how to resolve issues between iTunes and third-party security software. The problem typically occurs on PCs, but data transfer issues can occur on Macs as well.
3. Check Your USB Cable and USB Port
Defective USB cables and USB ports on PCs and Macs can interfere with the data transfer process and corrupt your iPhone’s software. If you’ve had problems in the past, try a different cable or connect your iPhone to a different USB port. If you can’t figure out what’s wrong with your PC, sometimes it’s easier to use a friend’s computer when you need to restore your iPhone.
4. Back Up Your iPhone, If You Can
Before we continue, it’s important to have a backup of your iPhone in iCloud, iTunes, or Finder. If you don’t, you won’t be able to retrieve your data. I prefer to use iCloud to back up my iPhone, especially because I’ve learned how to back up my iPhone to iCloud without paying for extra storage. If you’re interested, check out my article about what to do when your iCloud storage is full.
5. DFU Restore Your iPhone
A DFU (device firmware update) restore is the deepest type of iPhone restore. What makes a DFU restore different from other a regular restore and recovery mode restore is that it completely reloads your iPhone’s firmware, not just the software. Firmware is the programming that controls how the hardware works on your iPhone.
Apple’s website doesn’t have instructions on how to do a DFU restore, because most of time it’s overkill. I’ve written an article that describes exactly how to put your iPhone into DFU mode and do a DFU restore. If that doesn’t fix the problem, come back to this article to learn what your options are.
About Hardware Problems
Like we’ve discussed, your iPhone is getting stuck somewhere in the startup process. When you turn on your iPhone, one of the first things it does is a quick check of your hardware. Essentially, your iPhone is asking, “Processor, are you there? Good! Memory, are you there? Good!”
Your iPhone won’t turn on if a major hardware component fails to initialize, because it can’t turn on. If your iPhone is water-damaged, there’s a good chance you’ll need to have it repaired to fix this problem.
6. Repair Options
If you’ve taken all the suggestions above and the Apple logo is still stuck on your iPhone’s screen, it’s time to get it repaired. If you’re under warranty, Apple might cover the repair if there’s no other damage. Unfortunately, if you’ve taken my suggestions above and your iPhone still doesn’t work, some form of liquid or physical damage is probably to blame.
If you choose to repair your iPhone through Apple, they’ll probably need to replace your it to solve this problem. Usually, the Apple logo gets stuck on the screen because of a problem with your iPhone’s logic board, and that’s not something Apple can swap out for a new part.
iPhone: No Longer Stuck On The Apple Logo
Hopefully, by this point your iPhone is as good as new and you’ll never have to deal with this problem again. We’ve discussed a number of reasons why the Apple logo can get stuck on the screen of your iPhone, and the different solutions that apply for each one.
This is a problem that typically doesn’t come back after it’s fixed — unless there’s a hardware problem. I’m interested to hear how the Apple logo got stuck on your iPhone in the first place and how you fixed it in the comments section below.
just recently my iphone 5s got its battery replace and now it was stuck on logo if i try to turn it on. sometimes when i try to enter dfu mode the screen was like flickering
i wanna know what causes this problems.
So, my iphone 5s. I’ve got the plug-in icon, the itunes icon, and a url link at the top for the Apple support restore. This started when I had dropped my phone on a tile floor – not too much, only about a foot – but it fell perfectly on the back of the phone.
I don’t expect it to resurrect. I took it to a repairman and he said it’s gone. But the picture on the front is so nice and clear. If it’s capable of doing that, is there any hope of resurrection?
Hey David.
So, my iphone 5s. I’ve got the plug-in icon, the itunes icon, and a url link at the top for the Apple support restore. This started when I had dropped my phone on a tile floor – not too much, only about a foot – but it fell perfectly on the back of the phone.
I don’t expect it to resurrect. I took it to a repairman and he said it’s gone. But the picture on the front is so nice and clear. If it’s capable of doing that, is there any hope of resurrection?
its stuck on the apple logo
i’ve been trying to fix my iphone 5s with everything i can but nothing works. It is still stuck on the apple logo. The Dr. Fone does not help cuz whenever it’s done downloading the latest version for my phone it then went “your copy of software is not registered”. T.T help meeeeee
what i do to fix my iphone
My Iphone had been notifying me that my Icloud storage was full and i need to upgrade at same time its was also notifying me that my Iphone emory is full, i tried Deleting some file but it was not enough. Later my whats app was not opening i guess that was because my memory was full i did not realize it at first place so to fix the issue i tried to restart my Iphone 11 pro but its was getting stuck on apple logo and never started i tried doing force restart but it did not work. I… Read more »
This is a long shot but did you ever find a solution Rohan? What you described is exactly what has now happened to me. Please share the fix if you found one!
Hi Collin, this just happened to me! What did you end up having to do?
this happened to me too.. what did you do? were you able to fix the issue without losing any important date and pictures? please help me and let me know..
Did anyone find a solution for that?
if yes, can someone please tell me?
Please did anyone solve this issue?
Hi.
My iPhone has stuck at Hello. I choose language and then it shows this message : “unable to activate… An update is required to activate your iPhone”.
I used iTunes to update it. it downloaded the updates and installed it, but my iPhone is still stuck at Hello. I don’t know what to do.
I should mention that I got No Service in top of my phone!!
so I’m probably screwed…but my phone for the longest time was full of memory, or basically 31G out of 32 used. i can’t save it to icloud anymore. I have lots of photos 🙁 so I’ve been transferring the photos to Google docs. But my phone hasn’t backed up for many weeks from everything I just mentioned. I haven’t updated it in a couple of weeks to the latest iOS either. I went to do my basic routine recharge, but I also turned my phone off because I like to every now and then just hard restart. Now I turn… Read more »
Hi, the same thing happened to me too on Thursday. I’ve been trying with the advices of the Apple support but nothing. The only option is to reset the iPhone and lose all the data (because I couldn’t do the backup for the full memory) and I’m not willing to do that until I’ve tried them all. So if you or someone else can tell me how did you manage to reactivate it by saving all the data or how you saved the data even though there was no backup and it did not turn on, you would do me… Read more »
pleasse let me know too..
Hello, great article, I need an expert advice on my case, I own iPhone 6s and an year ago due an uncertain software crash my phone was stuck at apple logo/boot loop, tried to drain my battery and waited for it to start but that did not work. And as I did not have any backup on iCloud nor have I synced with iTunes, I’m at loss and out of options. I contacted apple Care, and they told me to force restart the device, using holding volume up button then down button and then power button,but the device didn’t start. So… Read more »
The iPhone 6S is a pretty old phone, and there’s more than likely something that’s gone wrong with the hardware that’s caused this issue based on how you described it. It sounds like the local firms in your area are saying that they can save the data on your device but not the device itself. Given that the phone is pretty old and probably beyond repair, I would go that route. Try to get as much of the data recovered as you can and then try getting a new phone. Always make sure you’ve got an iCloud backup set up… Read more »
Two days ago, I wanted to try out the iOS 14 beta, so I downloaded it on my iPhone 8. Today, I noticed there were glitches on my phone, so I wanted to downgrade back to iOS 13.5.1, so I used the same method using iTunes, but when it was downloading the update file, the USB cable disconnected and then connected back to the laptop in a second. This happened probably at 10:12 AM. After this happened, iTunes said it updated and then disconnected the iPhone. When I checked my iPhone, it kept flashing the Apple logo and then shut… Read more »
This morning I unplugged my phone from the charger and noticed there was a small glitch with the visibility of an app icon, so naturally I performed a hard reset. This was at 8 AM. My phone followed along, but after 17 minutes I realized something was wrong. It won’t turn on, and it’s stuck on the Apple logo. It’s currently 5 PM, nearing 6, and I’m beginning to think any chances of my phone’s revival is inevitably shut down. I understand that this is a software issue but this is the first time it hasn’t fixed itself after a… Read more »
I can definitely relate about the uncertainty of repair options. Things are starting to reopen, so it’s possible that your local Apple store may be open. Send them an email or give them a call. They may be able to arrange something with you. Same goes for other repair options. In the meantime, a couple of ideas. You probably have tried this already, but try and hard reset it again. There might have been a problem with the boot up process. If it refuses to respond, you can try and let the battery drain all the way to force it… Read more »
What did you choose and how did that go? I am experiencing the same situation. So many pictures of my children. Please let me know.
i recently got a new iphone. the 11 pro and while setting it up it got stuck on the logo. but if i were to swipe up it would vibrate or if i plugged it in it would make the charging sound. I’ve tried hard resets and going to itunes and updating it and restoring it but nothing has worked. is there something else i could do? or do I need to go to apple or my service provider and get a new one?
my iphone 7+ is stuck at the apple logo and I don’t know what to do. please help
If your iPhone is still stuck on the Apple logo after trying the other options in this article, you may want to consider taking it to the Apple store to have it looked at or fixed. If you are able to, you can also try doing a DFU restore.
I’ve tried every single one of them, but when the screen goes dark, then back to the apple screen, it just stays like that! My phone has been like this for 3 days. If someone found a different way, Please tell me!
what did u end up doing
\my phone was being crazy and it wouldn’t show the names of any of my apps and every app i opened would crash, so i restarted it. Bad idea. it been over 5 hours now of it on the apple logo.
My daughter put her phone in her new pencil case which was also brand new, and shook it about on slow mo. She went onto her camera role to see what it looked like and the photos were coming up very slowly. As of that, i told her to turn it completely off and the on again and when she was turning it on the white screen of death just stayed there for hours and it is the next day now.
I deleted old apps that I didn’t want or use, I turned off a iPhone 7S Plus and 6S plus and then on , I decided to finally update my ? from 10.3.3 to 13.3.1 or whatever the number is. It downloaded over Wi-Fi, installed and then got stuck on the apple logo. My 7 plus has fallen lots of times with a case on so maybe something did get out of place inside the ? but the phones always kept working. I’ll just do what I did with androids, I’ll open ? the iPhone, unplug the connection for the… Read more »
Hi there in your article you explained hold down your phones side button and volume down button. Explain what is the side button and where is it? My iPhone power button doesn’t seem to work cause when I hold it for 10 seconds phone won’t power off.
I just did this exact process and it worked perfectly….opened up my old 6… Didn’t even read past the hard reset advise..
My battery died last night. I plugged my iPhone 6 in to charge overnight and it was frozen on the apple logo when I woke up this am. I didn’t load any new apps yesterday. This is the first time this has ever happened. Any suggestions? I’ve tried the hard reset with no luck. I’ve hooked up the phone to iTunes on my pc and it asked if I want to let my computer access my info on my iPhone. I’ve said yes but then it says I have to respond on my phone…which is frozen ???
My brother passed awAy3 weeks ago and his voicemails were in there. Never thought I’d gave such a devastating Apple issue. How do I retrieve the if phone lick up.
I appreciate all the info I was able to understand. Ill let you know what happens.
This article is worthless. FIrst you say hard reset won’t work 99% of the time, and then you offer no solution otheer than the DFU. Solutions 2-4 aren’t solutions at all, since they all presuppose a working iPhone..
I plugged my Iphone 7 plus to a bad charger I noticed it drained all the battery after trying to put it on with a new battery it stayed stuck on the Apple logo what’s the problem on my phone and how do i fix it
i did a hard reset on my iphone 6, that`s why it`s frozen on the logo, what should i do?
nice
I have my iPod touch 6 stuck on the apple logo, and every fix just doesn’t work at all. No matter what I do. I can’t connect it to iTunes either. It’s happened before and last time it connected to iTunes perfectly but now it won’t. I don’t want to lose my photos, and this iPod has overflowed it’s storage space way too much. Help?
I was using google maps on my 6S and my phone went to the apple logo. I was not updating or rebooting. My itunes doesn’t even find the iphone and it’s connected to the computer.
Please help!!! My iPhone was not charging so I tried hard reset mode and the Iphone is stuck on Apple logo for more than an hour. Please help!
Hi please help, my phone was lagging so i power-offed it while it was charging and turned it on again, now its stuck on the apple logo, and every minute, it will become a black screen for one second and go back to the apple logo again. I tried to connect it to my macbook then it said that i had to allow access on my iPhone first which I could not. I also tried to hard reset it, but it still did not work. What should I do?
David. My wife has an iPhone 6s. It went into recovery mode on its own when trying to update to another OS the latest one to be exact. It shows the usb going into iTunes symbol and on top it has the apple/support/restore. I tried to update numerous times using iTunes and restore completely using iTunes but zero luck. It will extract the software and nothing. It will try to restart get to the Apple logo and nothing. Back to the usb iTunes screen. I used a recboot and a reiboot program and i could not get out of recovery… Read more »
i tried to turn off my phone by clicked the home and lock button and suddenly my phone only shows the apple logo, and i can’t do anything.
worked like a charm! thanks!
I can put my phone in recovery mode and restore it and its fine, but as soon as it is powered off and then back on, it hangs up again. As long as the phone is never turned off or battery does die its fine. As soon as it is turned off or battery dies, it gets stuck on Apple logo during the next start up. EVERY TIME!!!
this dose help but i did most of these things but its still stuck on the apple logo i think it may have to do with the screen causr it was resently cracked but i can click the home button perficty fine im thiking abt going to sprint and just dealing with it but for know i have no phone
I tried to test my iphone 7 in the water for a couple of minutes just to test it if it’s really waterproof nor water resistant. Then after that it started blinking and I don’t why. So I panicked and I removed all the left water inside the phone with the use of tapping the phone on a clean cloth and by also wiping it. And then it started acting weird, like the touch button doesn’t vibrate at all and then the volume button keep on decreasing. And also the mute/unmute button won’t show off. I turned off my phone… Read more »
Made phone call on IPhone 7 (4 months out of warranty). I could not hear the other person or tell if it was connecting to the call, so I restarted the phone. The phone got hung at the Apple logo and would not complete booting. I’ve performed every step including the DFU restore. I’ve taken phone to Apple store and worked through the same steps with on phone tech. I’ve been told that I have to replace the phone which is annoying given that I did not drop it nor have I ever damaged it in anyway. It’s obviously a… Read more »
HI David, so my phone has been low on memory all the time and with the constant whatsapp messages and pictures I receive, it only gets worst. I would check my memory capacity and its always down to 0 kb of memory so I would resort to deleting pictures just to free up space. So finally, one night when I was charging my Iphone 6 plus, it got stuck on apple logo in white screen. When I woke up, it was still on the same apple logo screen. I did a hard reset but it didn’t fix the problem. Please… Read more »
My iphone is 4s its keep say full memory before its hang n deleting my datan photo.suddenly hang after i off n turn on until now…. My hole button also malfunction already so hard reset wasnt the best choice
Thank you so much! This article was perfect.
So I got to the point where it allowed me to restore on the computer but then when iTunes says waiting on iPhone it does nothing.. then the restore fails.. what should I do next??
Hello, I’ve tried all of these methods and none of them worked, I actually have the suspect that it may be caused by having full storage, because when I try to restore it with iTunes in DFU mode it says “error 4013”
So, knowing this, do you think there is anything else I could do? I have an iPhone 4s and it’s not uner warranty anymore
Thanks a lont in advance
not workig for me i using up my time trying to fix this.. i can not connect to i tunes becaude i can not find box ipad came it and i looked for over 3 hours.
Device :iPhone 7 Plus
I tried all these things and since there is no apple store in my town and I have to travel somewhere else for repair I want to know if there is any way else u can help me recover it by itunes instead of travelling 🙁
how to do when my home function button is not working and i cannot connect to itunes? pls help me.. do i need to buy a new iphone?? *crying*
i plugged my iphone back in and said i needed to connect to itunes. it brought me to a prompt saying i need to either update or restore phone.. but ive now tried both options and it doesnt do anything, in fact, the only option that i clickable is the Done button.
any suggestions
i have the iPhone 7plus I have tried evrytime I need help I’m an artist I hve my music in my phone my phone is still after like 2-3 days still stuck n the apple logo white screen it acts as if it will cmon I tried to hard reset reboot restart holding the the pwer button and the volume down button as well as connecting it to iTunes and it acted as if it wad gonna work like it was uodating and restoring my iPhone is updated and iTunes is uodated to the latest versions my phone was working… Read more »
Thanks David, holding down the power and home button did the trick/
Geez! All these problems, over & over, again & again…Android phones aren’t sounding so bad now!!