iOS: Not responding or does not turn on

Products Affected

iPad, iPhone, iPod touch

Symptoms

Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch may occasionally stop responding to buttons, switches, or touchscreen input and may exhibit one or more of the symptoms listed below. 

Resolution

If any of these symptoms occurs, follow the steps in this article to resolve the issue. The device:

  • Does not return to the Home screen after pressing the Home button
  • Does not wake from sleep after pressing the Sleep/Wake button
  • Does not turn on (or power on) when pressing any button
  • Appears frozen or unresponsive
  • Is unable to "Slide to Unlock" or "Slide to Power Off"

If a single application is not responding or freezes when it opens, you can force it to close

  1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the red slider appears. When the red slider appears, release the Sleep/Wake button.
  2. Instead of dragging the red slider, press and hold the Home button for six seconds.
  3. If the device does not return to the Home screen, see the steps below to restart.

If the device is unresponsive or certain controls aren't working as expected, try restarting

  1. To turn off the device, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the red slider appears.
  2. Slide your finger across the slider to turn off the device.
  3. To turn on the device, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears.

If the device remains unresponsive or does not turn on (or power on), try resetting

  1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds.

If there is no video, verify that the device has enough charge to turn on

  1. If you are using an iPad, ensure that it's connected to the 10W USB Power Adapter.
  2. Let charge for at least twenty minutes, then see if it starts normally.
  3. If there is no image on the screen, press the Home button to attempt to wake the device.
  4. If the screen displays a red battery icon, let the device to continue to charge until it turns on.

If the above steps do not resolve the issue, or the if the screen remains black or shows a persistent Apple logo, try restoring with iTunes

  1. Connect the device to your computer and open iTunes.
  2. If the device appears in iTunes, select and click Restore on the Summary pane.
  3. If the device doesn't appear in iTunes, try using the steps in this article to force the device into recovery mode.

Additional Information

Ensuring that your iOS device is kept updated to the latest software should minimize the occurrence of these issues.

Not helpful Somewhat helpful Helpful Very helpful Solved my problem
Ask other users about this article
in Apple Support Communities
See all questions on this article See all questions I have asked