Phone Black Screen

Introduction

Is your phone not displaying anything? This problem page will go over several common occurrences when it comes to your phone showing a black screen. The problem can be caused by either software or hardware causes, so read on to determine the right solution for you!

First Steps

Force restart your phone. Your phone may be in a glitched state where a force restart is necessary.

Hold the home button and power button for 10 seconds. Release both buttons and hold down the power button until it powers on.

Press the volume up button. Next press the volume down button. Hold down the power button until the phone reboots.

Physical Case Obstruction. The case sometimes presses down on the phone’s buttons, not allowing the phone to function normally.

Remove your phone’s case and try powering on the phone.

Causes

No Power

There is a good chance your phone's battery is depleted and needing a charge.

Leave your phone in to charge for 30 minutes. If it’s completely dead, it will take time to charge enough to power on.
Try a different cable, power adapter, and outlet if there is no change while charging.
Try a wireless charger. Your phone’s charging port may be broken or dirty. Again, leave your phone on the wireless charger for 30 minutes to ensure it’s charging.
Try a different battery. If your phone is not charging, try replacing the battery. Some phone batteries are not easily swapped out.

Bad Charging Connection

As we stuff our phones into our pockets, lint, dust, and other debris build up inside the charging port. Clean out the debris with a toothpick or something similar to ensure a good connection to your phone. Avoid using metal tools as these can damage the charging port.

Once the port is cleaned out, plug your phone into a computer to see if it recognizes your phone. Either your computer or your phone will make a noise, letting you know that the device is connected. From there you can run a backup and recover files.

Screen Damage

Your phone could be powered on but the screen isn’t working. Check for physical damage around the edges of your phone. The phone may still work but the screen may be disconnected or broken from fall damage or a recent repair.

Once the charging port is cleaned out, plug your phone into a computer to see if it recognizes your phone. Either your computer or your phone will make a noise, letting you know that the device is connected. You can back up and recover files from there.

Extreme Temperatures

Phones seize up when they are exposed to extreme hot and cold temperatures. Remove your phone from that environment to a temperate condition. Both iPhone and Android phones will alert you when the device is too hot or too cold and ask that you refrain from using it until the temperate lowers or rises back to an ideal zone (between 32º to 95º F).

If your phone is hot, place it somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight, turn down the screen brightness, and let it cool in the shade. It's also a good idea to turn off the phone while it cools down.
If your phone is cold, place it somewhere warmer and keep it out of moisture if possible.

Faulty Third-Party App

A recently installed app may be causing issues with the phone booting. Boot into safe mode (Android) uninstall the app or game causing the issue or use DFU mode (iPhone) to test if the phone is still functional and needs to be reset. If the phone is not in a stable state with its firmware, booting into some kind of safe mode helps to troubleshoot, repair the issue, recover files or reset the phone.

To enter Safe mode, hold the power button. After a few seconds hold the phone's volume down button. Continue to hold it down until you see Safe mode on the screen.
Once you’re done, exit Safe Mode by holding down the power button for 30 seconds. Some phones require tapping Restart.
Recently installed third-party apps may be the cause of the unresponsive black screen. Boot into Safe Mode to check if your phone is responsive and uninstall the app at fault while you’re there.

Use this How to Put an iPhone in Recovery Mode guide. Resetting the iPhone is the last resort.

Faulty Firmware And Cache

Wiping your phone cache is a step to try before factory resetting but can only be done with Android-based phones.

Hold the volume up button and home button at the same time. Continue to hold those buttons down while holding the power button until you see the word Recovery on the screen. Navigate using the volume buttons to select Wipe Cache Partition. Press the power button to start the process. When it’s done, navigate to Reboot System Now and press the power button to select.

A factory reset is the last resort regarding software bugs as this will completely wipe the phone of all personal data and reinstall the phone’s operating system. Since factory resets will completely wipe your phone’s data, make sure you have a backup of your phone before attempting this.