Alexandrine Ford Tech 06.03.2021 01:Jun AM EDT

iPhone Black Screen of Death: 5 Ways to Revive Your Device From Black or Frozen State Without Losing Saved Data

iPhone Black Screen of Death: X Ways to Revive Your Device From Black or Frozen State Without Losing Saved Data — The iPhone Black Screen of Death may seem like all hope is lost, but you can still revive it. If your iPhone still works, that means you can still bring it back to life safely. Photo : Mia Baker/Unsplash

Devices, through age and wear and tear, inevitably break down. This could be due to little things like a short lag when you're accessing apps or maybe your battery life isn't as healthy as it used to be but still bearable.

Sometimes, however, it seems like your phone is ready to give up and is one tiny accident away from going up to electronic devices heaven.

The so called "iPhone Black Screen of Death" seems like one of the instances. But don't despair, you can still save it from the clutches of the Grim Reaper.

5 Ways to Fix the iPhone Black Screen of Death

First, what is the Black Screen of Death? It is when the phone's screen is black but it generally still works. It could also be that the screen is turned off and remains off regardless of how many times you press the on button or your home button or tap on your screen.

The milder case of this would be a frozen screen.

Complications that could be the cause of the screen problem include hardware issues, software issues, breakage, issues with a particular app, or a low battery, according to ESR Gear.

Don't panic just yet. You won't lose any of your precious photos and videos. Just simply follow some of these tips:

5. Force Restart

A force restart of your device will not erase the content on your device, Apple assured. You can force restart without needing to see what's happening on screen by simply pressing a few buttons.

For iPads with no Home button, press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Now do the same thing to the Volume Down Button: press and quickly release it. After which, press and hold the Power button, the device should restart.
iPhone 8 models or later can go ahead and restart their devices by pressing and quickly releasing the Volume Up button, move on to the Volume Down button and do the same press and release action. Then press and hold the Side (on/off) button until you see the Apple logo.
iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and 7th Gen iPod Touch owners can press and hold both the Top (or Side) button and the Volume Down buttons until the Apple logo appears.
iPads owners that have the Home button, iPhone 6s and earlier, and 6th Gen iPod Touch or earlier, simply press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons until you see the Apple logo.

4. Charge Your Phone

It may be silly, and you've probably done it, but maybe you didn't do it long enough. If the battery unknowingly got completely drained, it would take a while for your screen to flash the charging screen.

Apple said: "If you don't see the charging screen within an hour, or you see the connect to power screen, check the jack, USB cable, and power adapter. Make sure that everything is plugged in firmly, free of debris, and not damaged. You might want to try a different USB cable or power adapter."

3. Close Apps

(Photo : Martin Sanchez/Unsplash)

A screen going pitch black in the middle of your phone usage could be an isolated software issue, meaning it could be a problem with the app you are using, ESR Gear noted.

It could also be that the app is loading something, like your Netflix and Youtube waiting for the video to load, making black screen on display while it waits.

What you can do is exit the app, close it, and go to the home screen.

Check the App store for any App updates and install them, especially for the apps that crash on you. This could be a bug and the new update will fix that.

Finally, restart your iPhone. That should do that trick and if any app problems persist, it is best to contact the developer.

2. If Your iPhone Gets Stuck During Start Up

This is for when you see the Apple logo or a red or blue screen during start up. Apple laid down the steps:

Connect your device to a computer. If you own a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15, head over to Finder. If you own a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier, or on a PC, go ahead and open iTunes.
Find you device using this link.
While your device is connected, follow these steps:

Owners of iPhone 8 or later models, simply press and quickly release the Volume Up button and do the same press and quickly release motion for the Volume Down button. After, press and hold the Side button until the recovery mode screen appears.
iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPod touch (7th generation) users can go ahead and press and hold the Top (or Side) and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Keep your finger down on the two buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.
For iPads with Home button, iPhone 6s or earlier, and iPod touch (6th generation) or earlier, take your device and press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons at the same time. The buttons should be pressed down until you see the recovery mode screen appear.
For iPad models that don't have a Home button, go ahead and press and quickly release the Volume Up button, followed by the same action for the Volume Down button. Then proceed to press and hold the Top button until your device begins to restart. Keep holding down the Top button until your iPhone goes into recovery mode.
Once that's finished, you will get to choose between restoring or updating your device, choose Update. After that, your computer will try to reinstall iOS or iPadOS without erasing your data.

Apple said your computer will download the software for your device. And if it takes more than 15 minutes, your device will exit recovery mode. Apple instructs that you'll need to repeat steps 2 and 3.

1. Contact an Expert

Solving device problems at home is more practical and will definitely save you a bit of cash. However, if the problem isn't solved by means of Apple's tech support or a reputable source, it is best to leave it to a professional.

Please, do not try to do any hardware repairs or extraneous software repairs to your iPhone if you are not qualified. You will more likely do more harm than good.

Contact Apple Support to help you out, they will most likely ask you to send it in for them to run some diagnostics.

If you are a little bit more economical, a simple Google search can help you find a trustworthy phone repair expert in your area that will probably charge less.