iPhone 4 or 4S Won’t Turn On or Wake Up?

by michael on March 16, 2011 · 228 comments

Earlier this week, I had quite a scare with my iPhone 4. One minute it was working fine, and then all of a sudden it stopped. I pulled it out of my pocket, hit the “home” button to wake it up, and the screen flashed and then went black.


That was it. It had a full charge, but I couldn’t wake it up. I hit the home button. Nothing. I hit the power button. Nothing. I tried holding each of them down. Nothing. I plugged it into the wall. Nothing. I plugged it into my computer. Nothing.

Jailbreak = void warranty

It’s still well within the warranty period, so it wouldn’t be a huge deal, except… My iPhone is jailbroken, which technically voids the warranty. While it’s a simple thing to reset your iPhone to its factory settings, you can’t do that if you can’t get your phone to turn on.

I’ve actually been having some minor issues with a dark spot on my iPhone screen, so I didn’t mind making the 45 minute trip to the nearest Apple store to get it swapped out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t walk in with a jailbroken iPhone and expect them to help me.

How to get your iPhone to turn on

The good news is that I figured out how to get my iPhone to turn back on. After a bit of Googling, I tried holding down the home and power buttons simultaneously to reset my iPhone. I held them about 12 seconds before anything happened, but then the silver Apple icon appeared on the screen and it proceeded to boot up.

Once it booted up, I ran a quick sync to get everything backed up before putting it in recovery mode and resetting it to the factory settings. From there, it was just a matter of driving to the Apple Store to swap it out for a new handset with a fully functional display.

For what it’s worth, when I mentioned the difficulties getting my iPhone to turn on, the guy at the Genius Bar said that it was almost certainly a software issue. His advice was to reset my phone to the factory setting and then restore my data from the latest backup.

FYI: If the problem persists after restoring your phone, then it might be a corrupted file in your backup. In this case, you’ll need to sync you data instead of restoring from backup, and then manually re-set all of your preferences.

Topic(s): Technology & Gadgets
Keyword(s): apple, iphone, reset, troubleshooting

{ 228 comments… read them below or add one }

1 diane April 9, 2011 at 2:36 pm

Thank you very much Mike. I had a similiar issue with my iphone 3. I saw some resetting stuff on utube, but I couldn’t get anything to come up. YOur trick of simulataneously holding the two buttons worked like a charm. I knew my phone was fully charged, but it was so weird that it just crashed. I love simple fixes like you recommended. Thank you again for your posting.

2 Caroline May 1, 2011 at 2:26 pm

This was really helpful, thank you. My iphone went blank and wouldn’t charge but your advice about holding the 2 buttons has done the trick. Cheers!

3 Whitney May 16, 2011 at 3:21 pm

GAH! Thank you so much. I went to check the time on it and it wouldn’t turn on or anything and it wouldn’t work when I plugged it into anything either but this worked…I’m so relieved I thought it was done for.

4 Kenni May 16, 2011 at 7:19 pm

Had the random “I dont WANT to turn back on” issue today, and your solution was the only one that worked. You’re a life saver.

5 Lindsay May 22, 2011 at 10:46 am

Thank you so much.. the two buttons at the same time was a lifesaver!!

6 a May 23, 2011 at 2:30 am

this is exactly what happened to my iphone4 just now and i can not get it to work! it’s not jailbroken, but i had a lot of numbers not in contacts and just in my text message folder and would rather have access to them. plus, it’s 3am and the apple store isn’t open. the two button reset is common on apple products but won’t work. the apple logo when i turned awhile ago popped on then froze on there. super!

7 Paul Nolan June 1, 2011 at 8:28 am

Exact same thing just happened to me… a mere one day after jailbreaking my iphone 4. Thanks for the tip. Crisis averted. I’m in the process of unjailbreaking as we speak.

8 Wendy June 9, 2011 at 12:59 am

Thank you! My husband’s iphone 4 just had this same issue.

9 kyle June 12, 2011 at 2:16 pm

Thanks I was at church taking pictures when I pulled it out of my pocket and it wouldn’t turn on or anything and it had 62% charge, but it’s back working now thanks!

10 KC June 15, 2011 at 5:09 pm

It worked!!! Thank you!!!

11 Amy June 17, 2011 at 6:57 am

I nearly had a heart attack when my phone quit. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to post this!!! :)

12 Trace June 20, 2011 at 12:18 am

I had to hold the two about 20 secs, but thankfully it worked. Woo-hoo!!

13 Grace June 30, 2011 at 8:04 am

Thank you!!! I nearly died this morning when the same thing happened to mine! I was on the train – it was working fine. I locked it, got off the train to check the bus schedule and it wouldn’t do a thing – nada. Got to work and put it on the docking station to charge – nada. Thankfully found your solution here and it worked! Phew!!

14 kelly July 2, 2011 at 9:29 am

Thank you!! My husband is in Afghanistan right now so when my iPhone 4 suddenly went blank I about flipped out….this phone is my only link of communication to him! I tried everything and then googled the issue, finding your advice….worked like a charm!

15 Ron July 2, 2011 at 9:38 am

Thanks for the advice, it worked for me as well. My phone was fully charged and then just went blank. Thanks again your advice restored my phone

16 Caitlin July 2, 2011 at 12:49 pm

Thanks so much!!!

17 Jenna July 8, 2011 at 1:05 pm

Thank you! Never would have thought of that! Saved me a trip to the apple store!!

18 blackpawn July 12, 2011 at 8:58 pm

w00t! thanks a lot, this saved me $200 :)

19 Jason July 12, 2011 at 10:33 pm

Thank you!!!! Lifesaver!!!

20 courtney July 13, 2011 at 9:55 pm

thank you I thought my phone was broken!

21 Josh July 15, 2011 at 12:51 pm

Thanks for the great information, saved me a long trip to the Apple store!

22 Sylvia July 18, 2011 at 11:40 am

I really appreciate this!!! Thank you! I’ve had no problems with my phone until now, and with your tip, it came right back on! Phew!

23 SB July 19, 2011 at 6:32 pm

Thanks – this was very helpful!

24 Deb July 21, 2011 at 6:16 pm

Mike, Thank you so much for posting your tip. It worked like a charm and I did have to reload anything! You are a lifesaver!

25 Berry July 22, 2011 at 12:57 am

Am having the same problem, yes the 2 click cutton simultaneously solve the problem. but, recently, it went black again, and after 2click button, the apple logo appear and it froze. when click 2button again, it requesting me to link into ITunes. major problem, my iphone is jailbreak and i never back up it. could someone advise, tq….

26 Sarah July 22, 2011 at 10:13 pm

Omg I nearly had a heart attack. I seriously thought “I’m screwed. This sucks”. Why does that happen? Beats me. But I’m sooo glad I came across this! Thanks so much.

27 nATALEE July 23, 2011 at 3:47 pm

so i jailbroke my iphone 4 through jailbreakme.com and it was fine for a month then it died and wont turn back on!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!

28 Christine July 26, 2011 at 7:32 pm

Thanks for the advise to hold down home key with restart button – it worked on my old phone…. apple wanted $30 for a one time phone support – bogus – you saved the day!

29 jonathan August 1, 2011 at 12:52 pm

thanks a lot!!!! it made me nervous a bit. it worked.

30 Kieran August 1, 2011 at 8:41 pm

Thank you so much! you saved me a trip to the verizon store!!!

31 Brooke August 5, 2011 at 9:26 am

It worked for me too. When I went to bed it worked and when I woke up it wouldn’t turn back on, even though it was charged. Holding down the 2 buttons for around 12 seconds worked great. Now it seems to be just fine. Thanks!

32 digi August 8, 2011 at 9:30 pm

Thanks for reminding me of this Apple trick! This worked like a charm for me, and I didn’t do a sync or restore. It’s been fine since.

33 Jeff August 10, 2011 at 2:09 am

Thanks for the tip! Your trick worked. Held the 2 buttons and got it turned on and the battery was half charged.

34 Luciano August 10, 2011 at 9:49 pm

Thanks a million. Real life saver.

35 Michelle August 11, 2011 at 12:17 am

I appreciate you posting the restart method. Thanks a bunch!

36 RICKVOHNS August 13, 2011 at 9:12 pm

thank you very much!!!! u just saved my life!!!!!

37 Yasser August 16, 2011 at 2:17 pm

My wife got depressed seeing the iP 4 not responding to anything staying with blank screen, it is not jail-broken .. I hit the googling and in 10 second + the 10 sec using ur solution things back to normal! nice one to post and the trick in your post is the words u used so it can hit search engine quickly and right to the point :-)

38 Steve August 16, 2011 at 4:38 pm

Thanks for the post. Mine also had a full charge and just randomly went unresponsive. Holding the two buttons for about 16 seconds worked great. Thanks again…

39 Michele August 17, 2011 at 4:42 pm

Same problem! Thanks. It seems to be working

40 Allen August 18, 2011 at 2:43 pm

Thanks a lot for the post. Its lifesaver.

41 porgsta August 26, 2011 at 4:37 pm

This did the trick for me too! Thanks! :)

42 Nancy August 28, 2011 at 10:58 am

This trick worked for me too. Saved me a trip to the store – thank you. Now the question is…why is this happening to so many people?!

43 Ellen August 30, 2011 at 12:19 pm

Ditto with the gratitude! Holding the two buttons until the apple appeared worked. Now I’ll make sure I sync my files more often and periodically turn the phone off as someone told me that was also important.

44 Alex September 3, 2011 at 1:09 am

Very helpful! Thank you very much!!

45 Lauren September 4, 2011 at 9:29 am

WOO! i usually just hold it for a few seconds and it works!! this time i had to hold it for amost a min…. never even thought to hold it that long! glad its working again though!!

46 Richelle September 7, 2011 at 10:05 am

WOW! Thank you Thank you Thank you!! This has happened to me several times over the past few months and I had to take it in but they would not tell me how the fixed it! Thanks again :) This has made my day since my phone has been out since yesterday!

47 Mel September 7, 2011 at 6:37 pm

I set my iphone to charge at 60 percent before going to bed. When i woke up it was off. When i press the buttons or do the reset sequence I get no response.-nothing. When i connect it to my computer or outlet there is absolutely nothing happening. Ive tried holding the home/sleep buttons for full minutes at a time. Does anyone have ANY suggestions? Ive searched everywhere and this simple fix seems to work for a lot of people but not for me. ANYone???? Thanks!

48 Fred September 8, 2011 at 4:51 pm

thanks worked for me!

49 Ben September 9, 2011 at 3:25 pm

Thanks I did it to my sisters phone and it helped a lot

50 CMC September 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

THANK YOU. Mine totally died and would not come back on even though I held down both buttons at the same time. The trick was holding them both down for 15 seconds. BLESS YOU. Now I don’t have to go to the bloody Genius Bar

51 Mochu September 11, 2011 at 1:59 pm

It works !!! Thank you so much!

52 nick September 12, 2011 at 9:54 pm

I almost panicked but your solution helped me! It’s not so much about the phone, it’s about all my pictures and videos from the last year, full of memories, I better transfer!ty

53 phillip September 13, 2011 at 11:13 am

THANK YOU!!! You just saved me from committing suicide at the thought that my iphone was broken! I was able to fix it : D

54 robbie September 16, 2011 at 8:56 am

i still can’t turn it on, it just got turned off when i wasn’t looking, i tried to do what you said, that i was gonna hold the on/off button and the menu butto at the same time, but nothing happends, i guess since the phone is such an old iphone (3 years old, iphone 3g), i won’t turn on anymore. well thanks apple. can’t wait to get my new android phone.

55 susan September 16, 2011 at 12:15 pm

another thank you for getting my iphone 4 to work. i tried the technique before i googled and it didnt work. then i googled and followed the directions carefully. i held it down for a full 15 or 20 second and it worked like a charm. at first i just held it down for 8 or 10 seconds. what a difference! so many thanks.

56 swizz September 17, 2011 at 11:54 am

Thank you so much!! I was at a loss when my phone went dead, and am not very savvy when dealing with such things. I at least had the sense to google the problem and your trick was not only quick but easy too, LOL. Thank you!!

57 Heather September 18, 2011 at 10:06 am

Thank you so much for sharing! I almost cried because my phone wouldn’t turn on. LOL Didn’t know how I was going to live without it.
It worked right away by following your advice. Thanks!

58 Heath September 19, 2011 at 7:15 pm

Thanks so much. I was really panicking because I’d had mine around water. What a feeling of relief when I tried your solution and it worked perfectly. Thank you.

59 Tonya September 22, 2011 at 1:01 pm

Thank you! My phone would not turn on either. I tried to hold down the power button and the home button but it did not turn back on, I wanted to cry. After reading your post I held it down for about 15 seconds and the apple icon popped up! Thanks once again!

60 Debbie September 24, 2011 at 10:17 pm

PHEW! this worked for me! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

Lifesaver!

I know most of us can’t live without our iPhone’s!!!

61 Roslyn Mitchell September 25, 2011 at 9:18 am

I really hope you guys get paid for this. I’m new to all of this gadets stuff. Internet, phones, ( I like to think I’m smarter then a fifth grader)
Thank you, Thank you. My IPhone went to black. My boyfriend said he would never buy me another new computer anything, I showed him. I was able to follow what you said and Bam!! I’n up and running.

62 Manny September 25, 2011 at 11:04 am

Thank you Mike…i was pretty stressed today until i found this message.

It worked…I even took it to Verizon yesterday they mentioned something about that but they didn’t hold it for no 10 seconds.

Thanks man!

Manny

63 Emily September 25, 2011 at 11:08 pm

Thank you! You saved me so much! mine only took 11 seconds :) haha I was beginning to freak out.

64 PJ September 29, 2011 at 7:47 pm

Another thank you, Mike.

65 mws September 30, 2011 at 9:09 am

Thank you! I still feel sick to my stomach but at least my phone is back on! :) thinking happy thoughts to calm down. I can’t be without my phone…….ugh! Thanks for the help

66 Mindy September 30, 2011 at 11:32 am

Mike, I cannot tell you what a lifesaver you are!! I had my phone stolen a couple weeks ago and after some pretty good detective work, tracked down the girl that had it. I was just happy to have my phone back. Then it did the black screen thing and I thought my bad phone luck was starting all over again. You swooped in and saved the day!! May God bless you :)

67 Tonia September 30, 2011 at 7:30 pm

I panicked thought my Iphone 4 was broke. I had just used it laid it down, pick it up again to use and nothing. my heart sank, didn’t want to stand in a line on a Friday night so I google the problem I was having. I can not thank you enough your a real life saver. :)

68 Christine October 2, 2011 at 2:50 pm

Thank you so much! I almost had to drive down to the Verizon or Apple store! Other people’s advice never said exactly how long to hold down the buttons so I had tried it well over 50 times but didn’t know how long to hold down. Thanks again!

69 karen October 2, 2011 at 7:23 pm

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH ALL I HAD TO DO WAS HOLD DOWN THE POWER BUTTON AND HOME BUTTON AND EVERYTHING WORKED THE EXACT THING HAPPENED YOU ARE A LIFESAVER!!!!!!!!!!

70 Ryan October 3, 2011 at 3:59 am

THANK YOU!!! gotta love the internet. Sadly I run my life off my phone..

71 Jessika October 4, 2011 at 2:00 pm

Gahhhh!!!!! Thank yo so much!! It’s amzaing what a little googling can do! I just had an identical problem to yours, and not it’s fixed! thank you thank you thank you!

72 Lauren October 4, 2011 at 4:42 pm

Thank You SOOOO much!!! My phone just did the exact same thing and my heart just dropped. This was the first link I pulled up and I am SO happy!! Held them down for about 11 seconds and the apple appeared. The apple stayed for almost 30 seconds (thought it froze), then my passcode popped up. Working fine now :)

73 RK October 6, 2011 at 5:27 am

It worked!!! Thank you!!!

74 yen October 9, 2011 at 1:46 am

i nearly died when my phone crashed. thank you for saving my life!

75 M.S. October 9, 2011 at 5:26 pm

Thank you so much…it happened to me today when my daughter was playing with my phone. Today is sunday and verizon/Apple is already closed. Thought I would be without it til Monday but got to give thanks to Google when I found this website and BAM…it worked… My phone is less than 2 months old.

76 georgiabolderson October 10, 2011 at 3:32 am

omg, thank you SO much, i woke up this morning about to get ready for school, it worked for a few minutes, i fell back asleep, and it wouldn’t do anything! now it’s on and nothing’s deleted or disappeared :’)

77 Jen October 10, 2011 at 7:01 pm

It worked! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

78 Sean October 14, 2011 at 2:02 pm

YOUR AWESOME! totally worked!!

79 Gage October 16, 2011 at 9:35 am

Hey, my Iphone 4 wouldnt turn on at all last night. I tried the two buttons simultaneously this morning, you have to hold them down for about 12 to 15 seconds and the apple logo stays there for quite a while. Now everything is back to normal, thanks!

80 Deb Wilkey October 16, 2011 at 10:15 am

I thought I was going to have to get new phone, but your web help took care of major problem and restored my phone. Thank you!!!!!

81 Rachel October 17, 2011 at 8:09 am

THANK YOU!!!! My daughter’s suddenly, fully charged would NOT turn on. A trip to the Apple store for.us is 90 minutes eacb way….& pretty much having to take time from work.to do so. She just got her phone back up & running, thanks to your advice. You also saved us $50 in gas & 2.5 hours of travel so THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!! :-)

82 Shunicee October 18, 2011 at 11:12 am

Thankkk uu iithouqht iiBorkee it Forr Ah Min Smh

83 Creshawna October 18, 2011 at 6:51 pm

Thanks you so much! U are awesome!

84 delim October 20, 2011 at 7:03 am

i hold the power and home button together for 12 seconds and It turned up. I was so happy to see that my iphone4 is working again.

85 Oumou October 20, 2011 at 11:15 am

Thank you. It worked!!!!

86 Lisa October 21, 2011 at 8:40 am

Was FREAKIN’ OUT this morning when phone would not power up. Held both buttons for around 12 seconds and saw the apple. THANKS YOU!!!!

87 Steve H October 21, 2011 at 6:50 pm

The fix worked like a charm, thank you!

88 Laura G October 23, 2011 at 1:37 pm

THANK YOU!! I thought I was done for!! I tried this and turned right back on!!!!!!!

89 Mike M October 25, 2011 at 9:45 pm

Worked, no sweat. Took more like 15 seconds plus a few minutes with the boot screen sitting there if yours is jailbroke. Takes longer to load the unteathered jb.

90 Jim L October 26, 2011 at 10:38 am

Had this problem with my new iPhone 4s, not jail broken. It was working – and then it was not working. Held both buttons for about 10 sec and it started working again. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the tip.

91 rachel w. October 27, 2011 at 12:09 pm

I LOVE UUUU!! Thank u so much. I was freaking out because i didn’t buy my phone from apple, i bought it off of craigslist, so if anything happens to it or goes wrong, I’m screwed! But thankfully ur trick worked. Ur a lifesaver!!!!! <3

92 Ronnie October 29, 2011 at 1:23 am

thank you so much, your simple trick worked like a charm! you are indeed a lifesaver. God bless you and your kind.

93 mbz280sl October 30, 2011 at 1:57 pm

12 seconds was the trick! Thanks so much. You should get an award when the responses hit 100!!

94 Rose October 30, 2011 at 6:44 pm

THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just had a mild stroke after stopping by 2 Sprint stores, both being closed of course because it is Sunday!!!!! You are a life saver!!!!!!! I read this, did what you said and BAM….we are back up and running…lol

Thanks again!!!!

95 Court October 30, 2011 at 7:08 pm

My phone crapped out today and won’t turn back on. This is the second time this has happened. Unfortunately holding down the buttons isn’t working. Any ideas?

96 kelly October 31, 2011 at 9:05 am

Had same problem as all of you- BUT did you happen to notice unit can go from fully charged to nearly empty of power when you reboot back on. 12 seconds worked- but all my energy is g o n e !

Iphone is only 4 days old- :(

97 samson October 31, 2011 at 11:02 am

thank you very very much…this really helps a lot.. what a life saver you guys are

98 moses meza October 31, 2011 at 4:03 pm

thanks man this really helped, i dont know why my moms iphone 4 has been turning off for no reason

99 Jonnie October 31, 2011 at 8:35 pm

I was trick or treating with my son and I took the IPhone 4S out to take a picture and it was completely black. Thanks this really worked.

100 MPM October 31, 2011 at 10:36 pm

Thank you, my roommate just got the iPhone 4S and it happened to her, she was very upset. I Google and found your answer. She is very happy now. They told her to bring the phone to the store. Hehehehe

101 PAUL November 1, 2011 at 1:02 am

THANKS YOU GOT IT!!!!!

102 Hishiko November 1, 2011 at 4:09 am

Hi Mike, Million Thank you so much.

103 Sarkawt November 1, 2011 at 7:31 am

Thanks indeed for the informative tip. It actually worked.

104 Luis November 1, 2011 at 4:11 pm

Thanks, my wife almost threw the phone against the wall. Everytime, the iPhone gets a snag, I get blamed for it. I can hold off on the buying an Andriod phone for now.

105 Ben November 3, 2011 at 11:54 am

Thanks so much bro-seph. Yours was the first site Google hit after running into this problem just now, and the phone woke up as usual. Going to have to coddle it better. Thanks!

106 anna November 3, 2011 at 8:28 pm

my phone just crashed and it was at 90-somethin percent
i want to do this 2 button thing but will it delete all my photos, contacts, ect.? i reallyy dont want that to happen

107 Misha November 3, 2011 at 10:32 pm

Anna, I just held the buttons down for 12-15 seconds and rebooted with no loss of contacts/pictures/notes. I did not do the second part of factory reset…that for sure will cause loss of data. Try the reboot, then back it up, then consider if you want to take it to the next level or not

108 Yloduc November 4, 2011 at 9:19 pm

My phone went dead about 30 minutes after I installed “find my friend”. After getting the phone back on- I deleted that app…

109 Dana November 5, 2011 at 5:42 pm

hey just wanted to say your trick worked for my iphone4 i was sooo worried but thank you soooooooo much!!!!… but thank you so much

110 Chloe November 8, 2011 at 12:25 am

You just saved me a night of panic!!! The 12 seconds of waiting to see if it worked was agonizing but thank you sooooo much. So glad to have found this. Unfortunately although I am now relieved of the phone scare I am super awake from the momentary anxiety attack. :/

111 Bronwyn November 8, 2011 at 3:55 pm

Thank you SO much for this–I was beside myself at the idea of being without my phone all day on campus. You’re a lifesaver!

112 Jenna November 8, 2011 at 10:07 pm

I just went through the same nightmare. Did a bit of googling and your site came up with a perfect fix. Thank you so much! You saved us all a lot of money, time, anxiety and heartache. You are a true diamond – and if you put up a donate link, I’m sure a lot of us would be willing to send you a couple bucks to compensate you for your wonderful help.

For those of you experiencing the freeze after the apple logo comes up, try pushing the home button again. That’s what I did, and then the enter passcode screen finally appeared. I hope it works for those of you with the same problem as well!

FYI, I think this problem may be related to a problem with iOS 5 considering how many people are having it and the timing of the crashes. Seems Apple needs to release a patch for the software.

Thanks again,
Jenna

113 Del November 10, 2011 at 1:39 am

This saved my ass. I thought I screwed my phone up. Thank you for this write up.

114 Corey November 10, 2011 at 2:16 am

Ohhh my Gosh, ! Thank You for this help tip! It really help to hold down home and power bottom for reset!

115 tony November 11, 2011 at 4:18 pm

This tip worked great, thank you! I do have a question though… now that it is turned back on, how important is it to reset everything back to factory settings? Is that really a necessary step? I’m just afraid of losing my music, apps, etc somehow!

116 Kiri November 11, 2011 at 7:16 pm

Thank-you so much!!! My iPhone 4 just stopped working and nothing would turn it on, I held the power and home buttons down as you suggested..it took about 15 seconds and then it just turned on!

117 ashley November 12, 2011 at 10:11 am

that wont work for me and im freaking out! the apple appears for 10 min. at a time then the screen goes dark, my dad keeps saying it needs to be jailbroken for free aps. is that why? well i also think someone could have spy work on it, so is that another reason? i do not know what to do! please help

118 Aubree November 13, 2011 at 1:23 pm

Thank you SO much!!! I was having a fucking heart attack. And now it’s working perfectly!!!! Eeek!

119 nikki November 14, 2011 at 3:43 pm

Thank you SO much, My phone wouldn’t turn on until you told me what to do !!

120 Jennifer November 14, 2011 at 10:09 pm

Thank You!!! I was freaking out that my iphone 4 suddenly stopped working. It wouldn’t respond to anything, and I don’t have a warranty so I thought I was screwed! I held the buttons for about 12 seconds just like you said and presto it started working again! So glad I found your post, nothing else I found on google was helping.

121 Kristen November 15, 2011 at 10:29 am

Thank you so much, you saved me!!!!

122 meaghan November 18, 2011 at 8:37 am

Thank you SOOOO much, my head nearly exploded this morning when my phone shut off and wouldn’t turn back on! =)

123 Katie November 18, 2011 at 1:03 pm

It’s been a rough week. I was about to burst into tears when my phone wouldn’t turn on. found your tip and it worked GREAT.!!! thank you. saved me from a melt-down for sure.

124 Abu November 19, 2011 at 2:46 pm

thank u very much!!! my device is now working!!!!

125 George November 22, 2011 at 10:44 am

While talking my iphone stopped as the batery charge was zero.Even after recharging for long time not getting restarted Please advise

126 James November 22, 2011 at 3:22 pm

Thanks the two button trick worked for one of my users. We knew the phone was charged and held the buttons for 20 seconds and the logo came back onto the screen

127 Christine November 23, 2011 at 8:07 am

OMG!!!!! Thank you so much!!!
you’re such a life saver

128 chen November 23, 2011 at 9:43 pm

thanks! referring to your comment i recover my iphone thanks for sharing

129 Meagan November 25, 2011 at 12:33 pm

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

130 Zoe Butchers November 26, 2011 at 5:56 pm

Thank you sooooooooo much!!! I am away from home travelling in south america for 6 months and my phone has been my lifeline for skyping home, thought I was going to cry when it wouldn’t respond to anything! Brilliant, thanks again.

131 nate November 27, 2011 at 4:27 pm

thanks :) , i knew about the that trick but i thought that made it go into safe mode so i was weary to try. thanks again

132 Seow Kong Song November 28, 2011 at 9:27 am

Thanks for the posting. It ready save me alot of trouble. It works…

133 nina November 29, 2011 at 12:16 am

OMG i was freaking out when my phone just died on me… thank u sooooo much for taking time to post this u r a lifesaver

134 Cindy Mo November 29, 2011 at 3:37 pm

How long did it take to start back up?

135 CP November 30, 2011 at 8:10 am

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! my iphone 4 is back up and running. i would have been lost without my phone. thanks for the help :)

136 MOHA November 30, 2011 at 5:11 pm

everyone here is thanking even me, cause Nina phone worked when red this,

137 JD December 1, 2011 at 12:42 pm

I didn’t remember this trick and I get really scared when my iPhone 4 went dead this morning, after reading your suggestion and following it, my phone is back to life!! Thanks!!!!

138 jake December 2, 2011 at 1:51 am

well done mike. never seen so many people so emotionally thankful online.. i was probably going to eventually drop kick an apple employee after this last week i’ve had with them. explains why you’re the first hit when you type ‘iphone 4 won’t turn on’ in google. apple should be paying you for this

139 jake December 2, 2011 at 1:51 am

well done mike. never seen so many people so emotionally thankful online.. i was probably going to eventually drop kick an apple employee after this last week i’ve had with them. explains why you’re the first hit when you type ‘iphone 4 won’t turn on’ in google. apple should be paying you for this

140 MP2RN December 3, 2011 at 1:14 am

Thanks SO MUCH :) . I was almost in tears when my iphone went black. It up and running thanks to you. What a relief!!!!!

141 tom December 3, 2011 at 7:06 am

You’re a legend. I’m on call at the hospital so need the phone today – you’ve just saved me 2 hours of tedium in the phone shop on a Saturday afternoon.

142 kathy December 3, 2011 at 7:34 am

thankyou!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ive panic so much but thanks to your advice

143 Pieter R December 5, 2011 at 6:17 am

Grateful to Michael for the advice.
What is concerning though, is how many incidents of the same kind has occurred, and perhaps Apple should be advised to check out this page.

144 Michelle Longueira December 7, 2011 at 4:20 pm

sending out huge thanks as well. I’m always on the road for business, have had my phone for 11 months now – it is my life! one minute it was fine, next minute totally dead. made an appointment at the Genius bar then found your link – 12-15 seconds worked like a charm. my main concern now is why so I am still taking my phone in, still under warranty to try and get an answer from Apple.
once again, thanks so mucg for your advice, I’m breathing again :-)

145 Kesha December 7, 2011 at 9:48 pm

Thank you so much! I was getting ready to head to Best Buy and deal with the whole “black tie” service when I decided to give it a shot and google my issue. YOU SAVED ME A TRIP!
Thanks again….

146 jess December 9, 2011 at 5:55 pm

Oh my bob, this helped SO much! Thank you! thank you! thank you!! :) )

147 Tia December 10, 2011 at 3:24 am

your trick worked so great!!! I held it for exactly 12 seconds and the logo popped up. My phone does this constantly and each time I would have to wait hours for it to come back on, thank you so much !

148 Alexander December 10, 2011 at 10:47 am

Thank you so much!! It almost give me an Heart Attack!! But Thank any way ^^

149 Daniel December 11, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Have the warrenty so it wasn’t too big of deal but sweet worked like a charm. Impressive

150 Dave December 13, 2011 at 12:38 am

Hey…Thanks for posting this suggestion. You should do tech support for apple or sprint…I called their tech support and all they said was ill make you an appointment to take it to the store. Your advice saved me going to the store and fighting with their tech just to get a refurbished model. Thanks your a life saver!!! keep up the good work!!

151 Dimitri December 13, 2011 at 8:15 pm

thank you so much i was about to go to the apple store but this helped so much you had the exact detail of what i had thanks

152 Will December 13, 2011 at 11:53 pm

Thanks! My phone just died on me, worked perfectly. It freaked me out, and I was out of warranty…

153 erica December 15, 2011 at 4:48 pm

Thank you! Your tactic worked great on my iphone 4s thanks a bunch!

154 Kara December 16, 2011 at 3:43 am

Thank you so much for your advice, Mike. My iphone 4 did the exact same thing.I had held down the two buttons but not for long enough, waited a couple hours then googled for help. Read your review and 12 seconds worked like a charm:)

155 Jujubee December 18, 2011 at 3:16 pm

You saved my phone! Thank you greatly for your advice! :)

156 Ashley December 19, 2011 at 3:17 pm

Thsnk you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

157 BigMOney_ABMEnt December 20, 2011 at 1:43 pm

Thanks man for this article!!! Saved me!!!!!

158 Gillagin19 December 21, 2011 at 2:15 am

Thank a lot you saved me a fortune from my old lady wanting a new iPhone cux she though hers was messed up

159 @AlpoMontana December 22, 2011 at 12:53 pm

you saved me from going crazyyyyyy i literally didnt know what to do get wild, cry, or just go nuts I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!! thank you very much

160 Regina December 22, 2011 at 10:44 pm

This just happened to my phone like 10 minutes ago, and i started freaking out. I keep having to take my iphone 4 back to the apple store to get them swapped because I keep having issues and am getting quite sick of it. I love my iphone but not enough to keep having issues and taking trips to the apple store. I’ll switch to a blackberry or hcp if i have to. Your trick worked and thank you for your help. I’m glad that I looked on here or I would have never been able to turn my phone back on.

161 jose gomez December 24, 2011 at 3:14 pm

thank you very much it work on my iphone also

162 foz December 29, 2011 at 3:51 am

thaks a lot thank you so much for your advice.

163 Bert December 29, 2011 at 3:08 pm

Worked for me.

164 niyogi December 30, 2011 at 10:12 pm

its working …
thanks .. :)

165 Ferreteh January 1, 2012 at 12:19 am

I can’t thank you enough! This just happened to mine, and I started freaking out (What will my dad say?! I just got this bitch and it’s dying on me already?!), so I went to my computer as a last resort. Thank God for you…!

166 Katie January 1, 2012 at 6:38 pm

Mine did the same thing and I pretty much had a panic attack. Never would have thought of that trick – or at least not to hold them for a full 12 seconds (mine took about 20 seconds to turn on). You are a savior! Thank you for taking the time to post that!

167 bECKY January 1, 2012 at 6:46 pm

OMG, thank you so much… I was getting scared as I hit the 12 second mark but at 14 I was that ever so wonderful Apple logo!!!

168 Deb January 1, 2012 at 6:55 pm

Thanks a lot it worked..don’t know what happened suddenly …and your trick worked …Thx

169 beki January 3, 2012 at 9:51 am

Worked for me too..but i’ve only had my 4S for a week….why does it crash like that, especially when it’s so new and still has tonnes of memory left???

170 Lars January 3, 2012 at 3:36 pm

Another happy reader. Worked like a charm.

171 walter January 4, 2012 at 7:34 pm

thanks dude it worked :)

172 kais January 5, 2012 at 12:27 pm

Thank you Michael, i had the same problem with my iphone 4s and i was very upset i had to receive an important call, with your help it works very fast thank you again

173 Pete January 6, 2012 at 10:35 pm

Thank you for your timely tip! It worked perfectly to turn my iPhone4 back on after going black suddenly. My phone has been actingly strangely for the last couple of weeks. It started running more slowly, switching off from one program to another with out my touching the screen for the change. I hope this was just a temp glitch!

174 luz January 7, 2012 at 9:20 pm

OMG !!! I was freaking out when I can’t turn my iphone 4 on. It was fully charged and used it once to call a friend for couple of minutes and left it in my bag, when I took it out it was off and won’t turn on. I tried charging it thinking the battery was drained but it didn’t work.
Thank you so much for sharing this idea , pressing the two buttons for at least 20 seconds but I did it 4X , before it turn on.
Thanks, I can use my phone now without going to verizon or apple store.

175 Tess January 8, 2012 at 5:10 pm

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I had the exact same problem today. One minute the phone is fine, the next minute, nothing. The last time this happened, plugging it in worked, but not today. I immediately went online and this is the first Google search that shows up. Your home button + power button for exactly 12 seconds did it. I hope Apple is watching your page so they can see how many of their customers are having to go through this. Thank you again!

176 jonathan January 9, 2012 at 3:09 pm

thank uuuuuuuuuuuuuu so much dude it was worth it I just push both buttons at the same time and it woke up.

177 yuggie January 13, 2012 at 6:40 pm

dude thanks alot, u just saved me from lonely nite without my iphone

178 Sam January 13, 2012 at 11:46 pm

HOLY CRAP! I hate a FREAK OUT! I was texting someone one second, not even a minute after getting my coat on, and getting into my car MY iPHONE WOULDN’T TURN ON! I was freaking out. Thank you so much!

THE TWO BUTTON TRICK WORKS!

179 SouthernCharm January 14, 2012 at 12:19 am

My iPhone 4 is having that similar issue. I tried the simple button thing but it wont turn back on still… It has the apple screen but its not booting back up. Its very aggravating. My phone has blacked out many times and now not working at all.

180 Katie January 15, 2012 at 1:42 am

Thank you so much! My week old phone did this to me today and I had a little panic attack. But your advice was a life saver.

181 Arnold January 15, 2012 at 3:24 pm

My iPhone 4 is having that similar issue. I tried the simple button thing but it wont turn back on still….My phone has blacked out and now not working at all.

182 joe dirt January 16, 2012 at 4:51 pm

u saved me big boy, thanks

183 Sara January 16, 2012 at 8:05 pm

Thank you! I just purchased my iPhone4S last week and I was cleaning/applying my invisashield and when I went to check it out my phone was completely black. It wouldn’t respond or charge. I went into a mini panic. I then read this and held in the buttons for a long time and it finally worked! =)

184 lynn January 19, 2012 at 12:16 pm

dude! thank you sooooooooooo much for this fix, exactly 12 seconds

185 Addy January 19, 2012 at 9:29 pm

My iphone 4 died all of a sudden and cant turn it back on even it has half of its battery life. it really scared me coz some of my important account passwords are stored on it. thank you so much for this very helpful no cost fixing. i just pressed simultaneously the home and power buttons for 8seconds and the apple logo came on……..works like MAGIC…

186 Karen January 20, 2012 at 7:58 am

My iphone 4s is only 2 days old, i love it, but last night while turning on angry birds which I paid for, the screen went black and wouldn’t turn back on. It was 100% charged. I tried holding down both the home and on buttons but nothing. Woke up this morning and found your blog, tried holding down both buttons again and in about 5 seconds the battery picture came on the screen and indicated it was almost empty! Plugged it in to recharge and it’s charging now. I’m disappointed that the battery would drain from 100% to nothing so fast when it seemed the battery was really holding it’s charge the 1st 2 days. Time will tell…But thanks for your blog, nice to know other people are having the same problem!

187 Gee Moore January 20, 2012 at 12:11 pm

Thanks very much! Got my iphone from Dubai airport on a stop over and have no way to get it back there on the warrenty (which sucks!!!) – Only had the iphone a week, on the first day the camera stopped working (still not working – frozen screen). Then today the thing just stopped working and i was this close to throwing it against the wall untill i saw your blog… Not happy with this phone, just dont trust it, would never buy one again. Apple iphone is crap but you rock!
cheers :G)

188 Laura January 20, 2012 at 5:00 pm

Thank you so much, you are my hero! I follow the steps that you mention and I was able to turn it on! Thank you so much!

189 Al January 21, 2012 at 5:25 pm

thx dude, i had a hart attack it works now but should i get a new one???

190 maz January 23, 2012 at 12:49 am

oh my god, i can’t loose my setting and apps. they’ve got lots of saves. i don’t wanna loose them. i’ve got jailbrokken iphone 4. and i installed lots of setting from cydia. if i restore them i will loose them all. help me thanks!:((

191 Danni January 23, 2012 at 8:48 am

You are an absolute angel! Thank you :-)

192 bailey abimbola January 23, 2012 at 6:49 pm

hi thanks so much for this …my phone suddenly went blank and vibrating nonstop without been able to put it on..but i tried holdin cown the power and home buttons simultaneosly and seriosuly it worked..thanks so much ..thank God too ..God bless you

193 mem January 24, 2012 at 5:32 am

i iphone4 its not turning on i av tried to hold the home and power button but nothig happen and when i put on charge its requesting me to link to itunes. plizz help

194 mem January 24, 2012 at 5:45 am

iphone4 its not turning on i av
tried to hold the home and power
button but nothig happen and
when i put on charge its
requesting me to link to itunes.
plizz help

195 Tiana January 24, 2012 at 5:01 pm

mine wont turn on at ALL. i tried EVERYTHING! i had my iphone updated to IOS.5(the latest update) i have it jailbroken and people have been saying it wont turn on again. what do i do?!!

196 colly January 26, 2012 at 8:55 pm

This isnt really that helpful to me i have tryed to do that but it hasnt helped but ty anyways i hope i get it fixed!!!!! im fresking out ….. lol maybe i can take it to the apple store:(!! and it will prolly cost alot bc i have no warrnaty buts o well!! AND IF ANYONE HAS A SUJESTION LET ME KNO!! ASAP PLEASE AND ty!!

197 jaime January 26, 2012 at 11:32 pm

If you are having this problem then try holding the home and power button down simultaneously if the siphoned has the silver apple logo the press the home and power button down again at the same time and go to your computer and open Itunes then connect the cord into the computer but before connecting it the your phone press the home button down and keep it pressed and connect the cord if this works then your welcome and if you have any other questions send me an e-mail.

198 Aston January 27, 2012 at 4:54 pm

Heart attack averted. Thanks

199 Bhc January 29, 2012 at 12:28 pm

Life saver! Thank you so much. I quit breathing!

200 Drone January 29, 2012 at 1:59 pm

if all else fails,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnsSQ67CD7k

disconnect the battery harness, don’t have to take off the esd shield piece wait 5 seconds or so, connect it back up, put the backpplate back on, power it up, charge it up if you need to and you’re ready to go.

201 charles January 30, 2012 at 9:37 pm

dood, +1 to thank you for saving my ass

202 Kathy January 31, 2012 at 11:59 am

Thanks so much for this advice! Worked like a charm!!

203 frank February 1, 2012 at 2:42 pm

Ur a g..thanks a lot works on d ipad 2 aswell…

204 Hannah February 1, 2012 at 6:41 pm

I was totally freaking out!! Because of course you have dreams where all of the sudden your phone dies and you wake and your like OMG I HOPE THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!! Then it does?? And your like “did I ever drop it in water???”
lol
Thank you so much!!!

205 Erna Koh February 1, 2012 at 9:20 pm

It really worked ! Heart attacked and sad whole day when my iphone 4 had sleep whole day hahaa.. thank you all :)

206 Potato Laura February 2, 2012 at 11:09 pm

Thank you SO much! This happened to me and I feared it was due to the minor drop a couple weeks ago. I did try holding both buttons down for about 3 seconds before I found this page and when that didn’t work, I felt hopeless…I’m so glad I found to hold them down for longer :P
xoxoxo

207 riza February 3, 2012 at 7:02 pm

ei! thank u so much for this simple trick! it really works…! just few hours ago was so sad when suddenly my iphone went blank..and i did a lot of pressing on home and power button but didn’t work until after reading this awesome trick of yours…now my phone is back! thanks to YOU! ;)

208 Ben-Jamin February 4, 2012 at 1:15 pm

hey i pressed the power button and the home button at the same time and waited for the silver apple to show up it did like after like 12 secs but its taking a long time to boot up how long did your iphone take please anwser!

209 Melvin February 7, 2012 at 9:37 pm

Thanks a bunch!!!

210 ken February 8, 2012 at 4:46 pm

my iphone4 wont stop booting. its been booting for hours.

211 noel February 9, 2012 at 5:25 pm

dude my phone just went black. like you described i tried what you said took about 15 seconds but phone is back to the way it was.. thank you very much!!!

212 PEARL February 10, 2012 at 12:35 am

THANKS IT HELPS ….TOOK ME BOUT 20 SECONDS TO REBOOT
SAVED ME

213 Pamela February 10, 2012 at 5:36 am

Thank you so much!!! Holding down both buttons worked! I was so freaked out.

214 Tabitha February 10, 2012 at 8:57 pm

Thank you so much for putting this info out there. This happened to me about 30 minutes ago on my less than 1 month old phone. I started going into panic mode very quickly. Both Apple and AT&T were closed. I just went to google to see what was out. I never thought I would find a blog telling me exactly what I need to do. It worked!! It also made me feel better to hear that it has happened to others.

215 Gracie February 12, 2012 at 10:32 am

This is awesome!!! thank you so much! I just got my iphone 4s two weeks ago. This morning, the page wouldn’t load and the screen just turned black. I tried hitting the home button or the power button – nothing! I tried hooking it up to the computer – nothing!. And my husband told me “I told you so…iphones sucked they always crash”. I almost went back to AT&T to exchange it to a different smart phone. Luckily i found this site!!! I’m glad I didn’t have to make that trip to exchange my phone!

216 Julie February 12, 2012 at 10:15 pm

I just did this and it worked. So simple, yet I did not know. Thank you sooooo much!!

217 Sharon G. February 13, 2012 at 4:14 am

Thank you so much for posting the solution. When it is during the middle of the night and you can’t get your iphone to turn on, this was a real lifesaver!

218 bing February 14, 2012 at 8:13 am

thank you very much,my phone worked again after i followed your advice.i can kiss you for this.

219 sara February 16, 2012 at 4:53 pm

oh my god. you are my absolute hero…thank you!!!

220 Melissa February 17, 2012 at 3:02 pm

Thank you so much for this!
Just basically saved my mums life. Thanks a lot!

221 Ali February 18, 2012 at 8:35 pm

Thank you so much, your tip helped me

222 Sue February 20, 2012 at 10:48 am

I just wanted to add my thanks to the many that are already here. I never knew how much I depended on my phone until it went blank and wouldn’t turn back on – it really does put you in panic mode! Thanks so much for the great advice.

223 petition February 21, 2012 at 12:32 am

omg it totally woks i love this tip . omg i was begining to panic .

224 hesham February 21, 2012 at 10:24 am

i love u.
i had thrown my pants with the phone in its pocket, but nothing happened to it, so i went to sleep, and when i woke up, it wouldnt start at all.
so i thought that had something to do with that, maybe it did, but all is fine now
thank you so much.

225 Oscar February 21, 2012 at 12:36 pm

Thanks alot it worked for me. I was almost giving up on my iphone 4.

226 usha February 21, 2012 at 9:54 pm

HI Thanks for a great advice. I bought the iphone 4 in singapore & gifted it to my daughter in India, & when it happened to her phone in india both of us panicked, not sure if there is nearby apple service centre also.

227 Ralph February 22, 2012 at 4:34 pm

thanks man!! never thought that he’s that slow to get it ! 12 sec!!

228 Wendy February 23, 2012 at 1:43 am

Thank you Thank you Thank you………………

You saved my life..

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