Your iPhone is on, but the screen is black. Your iPhone rings, but you can’t answer the call. You’ve tried resetting your iPhone, letting it run out of battery and plugging it back in, and your iPhone screen is still black. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPhone screen went black and what you can do to fix it.
Why Is My iPhone Screen Black?
A black screen is usually caused by a hardware problem with your iPhone, so there usually isn’t a quick fix. That being said, a software crash can cause your iPhone display to freeze and turn black, so let’s try a hard reset to see if that’s what’s going on.
To do a hard reset, press and hold the power button (also known as the Sleep / Wake button) and the Home button (the circular button below the display) together for at least 10 seconds.
On the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, you perform a hard reset by pressing and holding the volume down button and the power button at the same time until the you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.
And if you have an iPhone 8 or newer, perform a hard reset by quickly pressing and releasing the volume up button, then quickly pressing and releasing the volume down button, and then pressing and holding the power button (iPhone 8) or the side button (iPhone X or newer) until that Apple logo appears.
If the Apple logo appears on the screen, there probably isn’t a problem with your iPhone’s hardware — it was a software crash. Check out my other article on frozen iPhones, which will tell you exactly what to do to fix your iPhone. If the Apple logo doesn’t appear on the screen, keep reading.
Let’s Take A Look Inside Your iPhone
iPhone Logic Board
A brief tour of the inside of your iPhone will help you understand why your screen is black. There are two pieces of hardware that we’ll talk about: Your iPhone’s display and the logic board.
The logic board is the brains behind the operation of your iPhone, and every part of your iPhone connects to it. The display shows you the images you see, but the logic board tells it what to display.
Removing iPhone Display
The entire display of your iPhone is removable, but it’s a lot more complicated than you might think! There are four major components built into your iPhone’s display:
- The LCD screen, which displays the images you see on your iPhone.
- The digitizer, which is the part of the display that processes touch. It digitizes your finger, which means it turns the touch of your finger into a digital language your iPhone can understand.
- The front-facing camera.
- The Home button.
Each component of your iPhone’s display has a separate connector that plugs into your iPhone’s logic board. That’s why you might be able to swipe across the screen with your finger, even though the screen is black. The digitizer is working, but the LCD is not.
The black stick is touching the display data connector
In many cases, your iPhone screen is black because the cable that connects the LCD to the logic board has become dislodged. This cable is called the display data connector. When the display data connector becomes dislodged from the logic board, your iPhone can be fixed by plugging it back in.
There are other cases where the fix isn’t so simple, and that’s when the LCD itself is damaged. When that happens, it doesn’t matter if the LCD is connected to the logic board or not — it’s broken and it needs to be replaced.
How Do I Know Whether My Display Is Dislodged Or Broken?
I’m hesitant to write this because it is by no means a hard and fast rule, but I have noticed a pattern in my experience working with iPhones. There are no guarantees, but my rule of thumb is this:
- If your iPhone display stopped working after you dropped it, your screen is probably black because the LCDÂ cable (display data connector) has become dislodged from the logic board.
- If your iPhone display stopped working after it got wet, your screen is probably black because the LCD is broken and needs to be replaced.
How To Fix A Black iPhone Screen
The way you choose to proceed may depend on whether your iPhone LCD cable has become dislodged from the logic board or if the LCD is broken. You can use my rule from above to make an educated guess.
If the LCD cable has become dislodged, the Genius Bar at an Apple Store may repair it free of charge, even if your iPhone is out of warranty. That’s because the fix is relatively simple: They’ll open your iPhone and reconnect the digitizer cable to the logic board. If you decide to go this route, make an appointment with the Genius Bar before you arrive — otherwise, you could end up standing around for a while.
If the LCD is broken, that’s another story. It can be very expensive to repair your iPhone display, especially if you go through Apple. If you’re looking for a high-quality, less-expensive alternative, IÂ recommend Puls, an in-person repair service that will come to you, fix your iPhone on the spot, and give you a lifetime warranty.
If you’d rather get a new iPhone than have your current one repaired, check out the UpPhone phone comparison tool. You can compare the prices of every smartphone on every wireless carrier. Carriers are eager to have you switch to their network, so you may find that you can get a new iPhone for roughly the same cost as repairing your current one.
Repairing Your iPhone Yourself Usually Isn’t A Good Idea
Star-shaped (pentalobe) screws keep your iPhone closed
iPhones aren’t meant to be opened by the user. Just take a look at the two screws next to the charging port of your iPhone — they’re star-shaped! That being said, there are excellent repair guides out there if you’re feeling adventurous. I took the images in this article from a repair guide on iFixit.com called iPhone 6 Front Panel Assembly Replacement. Here’s a brief excerpt of that article that may sound familiar:
“When reassembling your phone, the display data cable may pop off its connector. This can result in white lines or a blank screen when powering your phone back on. If that happens, simply reconnect the cable and power cycle your phone.” Source: iFixit.com
If you believe your iPhone LCD cable (display data cable) has simply become dislodged from the logic board, you’re very tech-savvy, and going to an Apple Store isn’t an option, reconnecting the display data cable to the logic board isn’t that difficult, if you have the right tools.
Replacing the display is very complex because of the number of components involved. Let me be clear: I do not recommend you try to fix this problem yourself, because it’s just too easy to break something and “brick” your iPhone.
You Know What You Have To Do
Most readers won’t be able to fix their iPhone screen just by reading this article, because a black iPhone screen usually isn’t caused by a software issue. Everything was working fine until your iPhone screen went black. Now you can’t use your iPhone at all, but you do know what to do next. I’m interested to hear how you fixed your iPhone in the comments section below, and any experience you can offer will undoubtedly help other readers with the same problem.
Thanks for reading and all the best,
David P.
All iPhone images in this article by Walter Galan and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.
Thank you SO MUCH, you safe me from a trip to the Apple store, Thank you,Tank you!
ooo my god am so happy right now the hand reset you wrote just fit my phone thank you so much
It’s just the black screen I need help with
My iPhone 8 Plus’ screen is black but its still getting notifications I can’t see, an everything else is still working fine! Can someone please help me
Hi, so recently I dropped my iPhone 6 and cracked the screen. So I bought a replacement screen and my mom fixed it. It worked really well for about three days. While I was on my way to a wedding today, my phone started dying, so I shut it off and kept it out of the way for the day, because I had no charger. So I got home and I plugged it in to charge it and it showed up as a black screen with a single white line down the middle. And I tried everything, including restarting it,… Read more »
This no longer works for the 8, 8 Plus and X…if you do this it will call 911 for you. Hit the volume up button once, then the volume down button once, then hold the shut off button until the apple icon appears. You’re welcome! 🙂
iPhone 7, your reset worked THANK YOU! Useless att store said I was SOL. Thank you again!
Just to let everyone know… this just happened on my iPhone 8 and the volume down power button didn’t work. Contacted apple support and was advised to press volume up, then down, then hold power. This worked!! I’m beyond relieved. So please try this before you start to panic.
Thank you for letting us know about the power home button. It worked for me!
nothing you said works, the screen is black, but i press the button on the side it lights up, but doesnt respond, i tred the hard restart but no apple logo and itunes cant coonnect to it cause it slocked wiht a passcode and i cant unlock cause the screen doesnt come on. suggestions?
thanks guys …
Im getting a black screen somdtimes while using it ??
Ahhh my God this information was so helpful to me when my iPhone 7’s screen went off. Thank you very much
got my iphone X going thank you!
My iPhone 6 had a problem, the screen is black, but when i try to connect to Laptop for iTunes they’ll vibrate and connect to iTunes, is that only Problem with screen or another else?
my Iphone 6 turns on the apple logo shows but in 1-2 seconds dissapears and the main screen stays black but the inside or back scren shows light and I knoe is on that way
yeah pretty helpful really appreciate,my phone iphone x is water damaged and coz this everything is working except the display
my phone got a little wet and now the screen has got all balcked out but my buttons and touch works ! what should i do ? please help
Any idea what the problem would be if the screen won’t come on but I know the screen is good. I have replaced many screens, so I’m sure I have it connected – I even put it on another phone that the screen is bad (a 16gb version instead of a 64gb that this one is or I would just swap) and it works. The computer will recognize after holding the power and home button that it’s in restore mode, but when you try to restore it, you get the error 4014. Unfortunately this was a refurbished iphone 5s with… Read more »
Hmm Hello My iPhone 6s won’t turn on and just a black screen also will not charge
TBH i never have a problem or anypeople never have this problem at my area
I don’t know is the battery or screen?
I had my iPhone 8 for maybe 6 hours and achieved the black screen with the home button working. I plugged it into the charger, whined, did the volume up press, volume down press, and then the sleep-wake. It restarted. My solution is taking it back to the store because they said I have 14 days to do so. My 5S lasted much longer than this and has been dropped, put in water, overheated… (it’s in a lifeproof case) and never had this issue. Thanks for your help.
The home screen/power did not work for me. There is no Apple store within 75 miles of my residence. Guess I will just have to learn to live with it. Unfortunately, I am a visual person b/c I am deaf.
My iphone 4 screen is black and has a glitch .
my iphone 7plus just started blacking out when i help the phone horizontally. i did a hard reboot and it seems to have
fixed it.
this was so helpful and informative! thank you so much.
David this tutorial is wrong on Iphone 8 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i opened an app on my iphone 8 and the screen just went black. I tried sleep volume down, Sleep Home, just sleep, and all three. Apple logo doesnt show up no matter how long I hold them down. I can still hear notifications coming in though. I can’t do anything from my computer because it’s asking me to respond on my phone to connect.
i just tried your instructions for the hard reset for an ihpone 8 and it called a siren started and then it called emergency services….
This was so helpful.I was about looking else where to repair it before i come across your article.Thank you so much.
thank you very much
This really helps but going to take it in b/c not techy
Thank you so very much! I have an iphone 7 and it worked after pressing the power and down volume buttons. You are great!!!
my iphone is not working at all
I got my iphone 7 wet, when i restart it the phone displays the screen for less than a seconds and then goes black, is the lcd broken or is the lcd cable dislodged
The power button hold worked for me. Curious, if this fixed it does it mean it was a software issue, or something indicative of a hardware problem? I just got this purchased this refurnished phone and am wondering if this is indicative of more future problems and if I should return it while I still can…??? Appre
my home button cant work how can i do ?? to get out from this trouble? please help me!
Thanks for the restart tip. The Power Home button restarted my iphone 5s as described. This tip is a lifesaver as I was ready to buy a new phone and dreaded the loss of over 280 contacts.
Oops, meant to say they had no idea.
Thank you sooo much. I pressed the Home and Start buttons and it came back on in seconds. I’d taken it to the Apple store some weeks ago for the same problem and they had not idea (apparently) of what to do other than leave it there for further diagnosis. I wonder how many people buy new iPhones because they think theirs is failing because of this. Keep up the great work!
Thank you soooooo much! A few seconds pressing the power and home buttons together and it came back on. I took it to the Apple store some weeks ago for the same problem and they had no clue. I would have had to leave it there for further work.
My iphone 7 plus fell down and i have a screen protector and it rings and i can hear sounds but the screen is black . when i tried the volume down and sleep button the screen gave a sign like it was about to turn on but its still black . what advise do you have for me . I did notice a couple of days ago while trying to press the screen it sometimes does not respond in time . Do you have an idea how it might be fixed ?
Thank you for the quick fix for the black screen of death! Worked perfectly!
I have an SE6. The screen went black as I was leaving my house this afternoon to go to see my grandkids. When I pressed the home button, the only function was Siri, sort of. But it didn’t really work. The battery had been just under 30 percent and in the green zone before all this happened. When I got to my grandkids’ house, I plugged my phone in. In a short time, the Apple logo appeared. I got a message to upgrade the security system because my phone 8 (whihc I don’t have) had been repaired with non-Apple parts,… Read more »
I did try pressing my power and home key and it came back up, but it keeps going off when is not in use. I kind of feel is because i reset it.
Thanks very much for your helpful article. I did a hard reboot using your instructions and it did the trick! Thanks!!!
I replaced my screen earlier tonight but I put it in the charger and I came back to a black screen. Realized it was off after I tried calling it… Any solutions?
It worked hold the two buttons! Should I be looking to get a new phone.
Aggrey Mboya u made my day, this worked!
Hey David, Thanks for your post. I have trawled the internet, looking for a cure to this irritating problem. None of it worked. My black screen on my iPhone 5 was intermittent and would last for days at a time, then suddenly work. I’ve wanted to throw it against a wall so many times, it’s soooo annoying! Funny thing, when it suddenly works and I started typing, it would go black again (but remain switched on). Reboots didn’t help, I tried them all. Reconnecting to PC wasn’t a cure either because iTunes couldn’t see the iPhone (I tried all the… Read more »
My IPhone 5S is…quite…okay. VERY cracked. The screen turned black yet I can see the battery and time up top. It is also able to sense my finger. I tried the home and off button but my phone is still the same. When I try to reset it it turns purple the black. Can I do anything more? Will Apple replace it? It’s busted isn’t it?