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 LCD 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, I 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.
my iphone 7 screen blacks out whenever i use the front flash. i thought it was due to the battery health which was at 75%, so i got a battery replacement and for the first couple of days the front flash worked fine, but now the problem came back and i don’t know what to do.
Same! But a 6s. Did you ever find a solution?
Hi, My Iphone 7 screen are become black but the power on my iphone and when i touch my screen to unlock without see the screen stil fucntioning. I have do hard reset several time but still can solve this. 2 weeks ago i just replace my screen but today my screen become black.
I have the exact problem with my Iphone 7. Did you ever find a way to fix it?
My Iphone 7 has not been updated for a long time. When I want to update the phone the phone became black in the middle of update. Why and how can I fix this. Thank You
Hey dave so about a week ago tomorrow i dropped my iphone 11 when i tried to turn it on it wouldn’t. It started to heat up for a while afterwards, i’ve tried every method. When i charge it still gets warm, do you have any idea what possibly happened to my iphone and how i can fix this issue
So, I cracked my iphone 11 screen and then black “dead” pixels began forming around the crack, growing and growing until most of the screen was unusable. I got the screen fixed at a repair shop, and everything was fine except sometimes the screen wouldn’t light up when using GPS and other times it was temporarily unresponsive to touch (until i locked and then unlocked the phone again and then everything was fine). Tonight, a month after the repair, in the middle of an app it just went black. The screen still lights up and notifications come through, but I… Read more »
My iPhone died suddenly it wont turn back on at all a tried to hard reset it and that didn’t work i cant hear the ringing from when someone calls i haven’t dropped it or got water in it It doesn’t show the apple logo on it or anything like that plz help.
I have the exact problem with my Iphone 7. Did you ever find a way to fix it?
I dropped my phone 7plus into the muddy water and picked it up right away. It was working all fine, but after a while it turned all black, not even the apple logo showing. Nothing works. Please tell me a way so that I don’t lose my data ??? Pls!!
This article was great to follow but I’ll share my experience to help others as a little different. Iphone 8 black screen suddenly after using flashlight app, phone is not one of the recall serial#, touch works, home button works.phone charging works. battery life great. Factory hard reset using volume buttons trick did not work but prompts itunes/mac to say it needs restored. phone screen good/ no white lines… but back to black after a little use or middle of first call. Restore and update software same result this time for a moment could see most apps still reloading with… Read more »
Yesterday while i was at work, i was running up the stairs and my phone fell out of my pocket and fell down the stairs. When i looked at my screen i saw that my screen was shattered. The screen image looked kinda of glitchy as if my screen was multitasking when i dropped it. I pressed the power button and the screen went black and it hasn’t been turning on since. I can hear the notifications and i can still use siri but i have to tell my phone ” hey siri” before she pops up. I can still… Read more »
sounds like your right both LCD connection and your shattered screen. Check if touch screen is also not responding like with no sounds or vibrations. Mirror your screen to a computer to investigate further.
My Iphone 6s suddenly went nuts! for the past week the battery drained while i was asleep it was at 70%! it also needed about 5 hours to reach to 100%.. so i thought that it was a battery problem because after checking it in the setting it says that it needed service (it was at 69% capacity).. But my sister has the same iphone with the same capacity and everything was fine. anyways, i changed the battery two days ago.. still the same. plus when it dies, it needs 40 min to of charging until the apple logo come… Read more »
Some say to let phone charge for long time after you try to do hard reset and restore. If you keep restoring with the same apps that are causing the problem with 13.6 ios that could be it???
its me again updating… i took my phone to a mobile shop, they said the motherboard is damaged. i changed it and everything got fixed.
My iPhone 8 isn’t working the screen continues rebooting and when it turns on the screen is black then reboots itself. This started yesterday I was mowing the lawn and I believe some sweat got into the cracked part of my screen. The rebooting happened yesterday however I left it charged in some rice and it worked again. Later on the battery drained and after charging it rebooting started again and will not stop.
That happen to my iphone 6. same pattern of phone behavior. in pocket with me generating humidity inside jacket. constant rebooting stopped and screen just black. opened up phone and all moisture sensors had turned red. brand new phone with only little screen crack 3mm long. With waterproof rating for immersion really surprised all sensors tripped just being in pocket with silicon phone skin on. Proly fried mother board.
my Iphone 11 was working perfectly fine, even after I dropped it but after a few days ago my phone suddenly have lines lines then it turned black but the speaker is working fine, i even hear calls
That is definetly the connection jarred loose for LCD and or touch screen IMO.
my iPhone 6s isn’t working I was at a pool party with some friends and my friend was on my phone she handed it back and said my phone went back and was prob dead but I was on 70% my phone was ringing and vibrating but my screen wasn’t working. the thing is tho my phone wasn’t dropped or anywhere near the water. Will I have to get a new phone, if not how much will it cost to fix
If you’ve tried everything in this article already, it’s likely that your screen is damaged. You’ll probably have to go get it replaced, but it’s more likely it will be less expensive in the long run for you to get a new phone. The iPhone 6s was released in late 2015 — almost five years ago. Pretty soon, Apple will stop supporting the iPhone 6s, so you won’t even be able to go to Apple for official help with the phone. You’ll have to go to third party repair shops like Puls to fix it. It’s more cost effective, despite… Read more »
hi am meshika and i am having problem with my iphone
my iPhone 8plus battery drained out and after that when u tried charging it ,it won’t turn on and not detected I tried to hard reset it didn’t work can you pls help to suggest something as I want my data to be recovered not really worried about the phone
Hi, I am on the phone while I am talking and the iphone goes black but I still can hear the other person is talking. It’s not a live person. I can’t shut it down. The person on the other line is still talking. Please help! Thanks so much!
my iPhone 7 was charging upstairs and I went downstairs then came back up and my phone wouldn’t turn on at all. I haven’t dropped it or got it wet and it hasn’t turned on. the home button wont even work
my iphone X all of a sudden went into a black screeen Ive trued the button up and down thing but it doesnt work! please help
my iphone 7 was working perfectly fine and then it went black after I set it down for a few minutes. I tried doing the thing the article said but it still won’t turn on
Ok everytime I get on Snapchat it goes black and it’s like sum gray at the top and I turned off my phone already I updated my phone and the app and it still goes black and gray at the top
Hi, last night my phone’s just perfectly fine. But after I replied to my friend’s message, the screen suddenly turned black. I tried to press power button and do a few of your suggestions, but the screen still black. My phone’s not getting wet or anything. It’s perfectly fine. I still receiving notice of messages or call but nothing on my screen. I can still press my passcode but since there’s nothing displayed, it always wronged. It’s frustrated since I received the notice but couldn’t do anything about it. I have a lot of things that I need to do… Read more »
Although the touchscreen is working, the display is not. Since you tried a few different troubleshooting steps, I think that your display is broken or one of the contacts under the screen came loose. Something along those lines. You’re going to need to explore your repair options or consider getting a new device. If your device isn’t that old, I would just go the repair route.
hello, i was operating my iPhone 8 plus and it automatically turned black, but it is still on cos i am getting calls but can not answer, please cold be the problem.
Sounds like the screen itself is broken. You should look into your repair options or consider getting the phone replaced.
Actually that’s same thing I was told that the screen needed to be replaced till I took it to a Hytell Accessories, they backed my files up and did some factory reset, then updated it to latest version, I’m now using my iphone comfortably fine //:0
i want to try this, but i dropped my phone in water so maybe it just does need to be fixed
Hello so it was July 22,2020 at 9:36pm when It started to have a black screen.I thought it was a new update that when the top part of your phone is covered it will be black screen and so I tried it many times and nothing much happen but when I played a game (5min later) it suddenly turned BLACK SCREEN , so I search youtube and some solutions worked but today it turned into black screen again and I’m tired, my sister,my fav cousin and my aunt knows this but my mom and dad doesn’t know. My Phone State… Read more »
I tried the method which you told here for 2 hrs but it didn’t work so can you please tell the solution for as its very urgent. I need to do my online classes there only.
If none of the above options worked, your iPhone screen is probably damaged, so you should consider getting it repaired or replaced.
Ok
Hi, my iPhone X got wet because it was raining, i can use my phone after that for a while and suddenly it blacked out but i can still receive calls and notifications. I can still unlock with my face id or password by guessing it but nothing displayed on the screen. I have tried to hard reset, it did reset but there is no apple logo. What are the possible problem for this?
Same thing happened to me, the screen is still black. Any ideas for how to fix it?
this is exactly what happened to me. The phone worked for anout 30 minutes after it got wet, i t was a little glitchy so i turned it off and put it in rice… and now its receiving calls, texts, and comes up on “find my iphone” as if its on…but the screen is black and it won’t connect to Itunes.
i wonder if the screen is broken. I mostly just want my photos and videos off the phone, that shouldn’t be compromised should it? and is there any way to get it off the phone with the screen broken?
My I phone 8 was charging last night and this morning my screen is black?
Tried charging with a cord and not a thing on the phone?
What should I DO?
go and buy a new iphone
cuz its have 3 years my iphone was not turning on
I was looking at my iPhone 6+ screen and it just faded to black. It did not get wet nor did I drop it. I have tried holding the power and home button simultaneously, nothing. Then held the power button for 3 seconds and then the Home button, nothing. Help!
my iPhone 6s just shut off you can see the screen is on just no display, i tried hard resting it but it didn’t work. i was just looking at my emails from apple but i can still get calls through and answer i just have to guess were the buttons are.
my iphone Xs Max fell and the screen went blank calls could come through but I couldn’t receive it cos I could not see through the screen. The screen didn’t break. what might be the possible cause, pls.
Even if the screen wasn’t broken, there might be something broken underneath the screen. You should look into your repair options or look into getting a new phone.
Liam what Is the best option for me.
Screens can be replaced, and the XS isn’t that old, so I would look into seeing if your warranty is still active (if you have one). If so you might be able to get your screen replaced for free from Apple. If not, you can probably still pay for the screen replacement, which is less expensive than buying a new phone. I should also mention, iPhone 12 is coming out soon (September, probably), so keep an eye out to see if it’s something you might want instead. Although to be honest it’s probably going to be absurdly expensive. ? Yeah,… Read more »
last night my iPhone 6s just turned off and went black. I have tried everything that it says to do online but nothing has worked yet. any ideas?
mine has too looking to see if i could do anything to fix it i have tried everything on here and i didn’t drop it i just was looking at my emails from apple.
same here i have a iphone 7 it was fine untill i turn of and never turn on again
same for me
Hi! one day i left my iphone with flash on and i turned it off, and when i went to turn the flash off, My iphone 7 plus didnt want to Turn on and the screen is black 🙁 Help me please.
Hi can u help me. My Iphone X went black screen since yesterday. Ive tried resetting; turned voiceover off; turned off the cam app still it is the same. I cant capture pictures and record videos. Other apps are fine but the iphone camera app is not functioning; few minutes it was fine but the entire time its always black. Timelapse; portrait; panorama are also not working which all are related to the iphone camera. what to do?
around 2 weeks ago my iphone 5 screen went black while i was watching a video, it had no major damage anywhere and had not gotten wet, the battery was at 81% and when i plug it in a charger it makes the charging sound
Sounds like your screen just went toast ?. You can look into your repair options, but since the iPhone 5 is an older model you might be better off looking into getting a new iPhone.
I have an iphone 7 and I went for a walk I took my phone out of my pocket and it started gliching then shut off and hasn’t turned on since I got the phone today, I tried charging it and it still don’t work, what do I do?
I have a IPHONE8 lets see you figure this one out.. i spent a day out in the sun and my phone got moderately hot but never displayed the too hot warning. i went into work and set my phone in my lunch bag beside my air pods and when i decided to pull my phone out again the screen wouldn’t turn on. so i charged it for 2 hours and came back and it still wouldn’t show anything although the home button would still vibrate meaning it was still on… i got my friend to call me and it… Read more »
hello! i woke up to my iphone having the restart screen with the apple logo on it then i tried plugging my phone in on my charger and it did not turn on but instead told me that i had no battery so i kept it plugged in, tried putting it back on and it has been on the restarting screen for about an hour. what can i do about this? and what exactly is happening?
Plugged my iPhone into a car charger and the screen went green then yellow then black now nothing pops up not even when I plug it in
My phone suddenly crashed throughout my game. I tried hard reset and it works, although it dimmed and hanged then it turns to black screen again after couple of minutes. What should I do?
My i phone 6 went black on me but the audio still work and i have tried every step. What should i do??
If you have tried all the steps in this article, and your iPhone screen is still black, then there might be a hardware problem with the screen. You should explore your options for getting your phone fixed or replaced. iPhone Repair: The Best “Near Me” and Online Service Options
my phone screen was flickering on and off and kind of dim. the phone was on and working but the display would go on and off. I kept trying the hard reset which didnt work. it would come on with a black screen no display but backlight. now the display screen doesnt come on at all just black but still works and the backlight still comes on . please I want to know if i can fix this with a screen replacement or if its a motherboard issue.
Have iPhone 8 and all of a sudden it just died and has sufficient charge and I have tried resetting it several times and nothing’s worked, help
Sounds like your battery has gone bad. Sometimes batteries go bad before their expected lifetime is over. You should consider getting the battery replaced by a professional. I highly recommend that you do not attempt to replace the battery yourself unless you know what you’re doing. It can be difficult to get the back off the phone, and dangerous to remove the battery unless there are pull tabs.
I’m having the same issue, after I replaced the home button of the iphone 7
I connected everything as it should be but the screen went black
the hard reset will not do anything.
the Iphone 7 works because i connected it to the laptop (itunes) and did a hard reset or DFU and it recognize the phone
but it cannot restore or interact with anything…I’m stuck
Sounds like the screen was damaged or the connectors behind the screen were disconnected. Your iPhone screen is black, but you can still connect it to iTunes, so only the screen appears to be broken. You’ll probably have to take your phone to get it repaired. They’ll have to either replace the screen or reconnect it if it’s a connectivity issue.
Jesus i was so panicked, thinking that my display got busted, but after doing the hard reset you advised here, it works just fine!!
Hey, my Iphone screen wen black a lone time ago, in that moment I can still hear the alarm but I just can’t see the scree, and I went on google searching for help I have try what you said and the tricks and it doesn’t turn on.
Sounds like there’s a problem with the screen hardware. You should consider taking it to get it serviced or replaced.
the same thing has happened to me. The touch screen still works but i cannot see what I’m touching.
happened to me – just got it back from Apple $279 for a new screen
My iphone 6 screen is not working and it is in black but the buttons are working i don’t the reason for it and can’t access to my phone in no way beacause i kept it in flight mode
i brought my phone in the shower many times but when i brought it yesterday i placed it down and it had weird colorful lines on the screens and than it went complete black i could here all the notifications and people calling me i just couldn’t see the screen i tried your trick it worked but when i use my phone for to long it turns black again what do i do?
Sounds like there might be some moderate water damage. You should consider getting your device repaired when you can if your iPhone screen is black after using it for a while.
Hi! My screen is black althouhg I can feel the vibrations on the phone when i press the home button. I thought it was a faulty screen so I replaced it But I still have the same problem. It is somewhat responsive with itunes but the screen is still black. What to do? Also, the screen went black while it was in my hand. first it became really really hot, to the point I thought i would burst into flames (luckily it didn´t) and then it just went black?
Same happened to my IphoneX. A few weeks ago it got sooo hot and then turned black. But was still working. 18 hours later it worked again. Yesterday the same happened AGAIN. Can’t find any help on the internet. At this point I don’t even want to get it fixed and I’m thinking about just getting a new phone. Did you get yours checked?
Hi , my iPhone 7+ is going through the same problem but it’s not a software issue . So what I would like to know is wether all the data in my phone go or not ?
If it’s not a software issue, then it really depends on what the hardware issue is that’s making your iPhone screen black. If the screen itself isn’t working, but everything else is working, then the data should still be on your device. If your internal storage is damaged somehow then it’s possible that your data may be gone. The only way to find out is to have your phone serviced. A professional will be able to see what’s wrong and they’ll be able to tell you if they can repair it or not.
hi, so my screen from out of know where got black. I can feel the vibrations an I can use hi Siri and get texts but the screen is black. I have tried the force restart. I have an iPhone 8.
There may be something wrong with your screen hardware. You may want to consider having it serviced by Apple or by a third party to see if they can fix the problem. You might be able to get a new device from Apple if yours is defective.
Thank you! Luckily the hard reset worked