iPhone 16 Pro not turning on

My wife’s iPhone 16 Pro is not turning on. Several times I have had to push the top volume, bottom volume and then hold the right power button until the Apple came on. And it took much longer than 10 seconds and instead of it coming on by itself, the Apple would show only after I held and released the power button. Did she get a lemon or are others having this problem? She gets a new phone every year so this is not an operator error.

iPhone 16 Pro

Posted on Sep 27, 2024 5:04 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 7, 2025 4:12 AM

Hi. I had the same experience today. Was very Hassled as the iPhone 16 pro 1 TB is a usd 2000 phone.


Went to the Apple store and the technician fixed it in 30 seconds. Seems the iPhone 16 has a different hard reboot process.


Sharing the same below for all


Hard reboot is first press the volume up button on the left side once only, then press the volume down button below it once only and then keep holding the power button till the apple logo shows up.


Best wishes to all and hope you never have to use it but if you do keep this thread.


389 replies

Jan 24, 2025 8:54 AM in response to Homefieldrd

  • Press and quickly release VOLUME UP


     then

  • Press and quickly release VOLUME DOWN


     then

  • Hold the SIDE button until an Apple logo appears (15-30 seconds), ignoring "slide to power off" if it appears


The operative word here is QUICKLY; and try it a couple of times, the timing is a little tricky. If done correctly this will always work unless the phone has a hardware problem. 


Feb 14, 2025 9:15 AM in response to glenna182


FIRST, do you hold the Side button for up to 30 seconds to turn it on? If that doesn’t work:


  • Press and quickly release VOLUME UP


     then

  • Press and quickly release VOLUME DOWN


     then

  • Hold the SIDE button until an Apple logo appears (15-30 seconds), ignoring "slide to power off" if it appears


The operative word here is QUICKLY; and try it a couple of times, the timing is a little tricky. If done correctly this will always work unless the phone has a hardware problem. 

Mar 19, 2025 8:57 AM in response to noobie2123

Addressing Apple in this user-to-user forum won’t help anything. You need to contact Apple support. Do it for yourself, and also for others with the same problem so Apple can get an idea of how widespread this problem is.


Best way: 

  • Install the Apple Support app on your iPhone or iPad - you can contact support directly from the app, and the tech will have (with your permission) access to diagnostic data on your device



Other options:

(Note that both of the above have options to receive a callback or chat)



Dec 14, 2024 8:50 AM in response to MsbsM

Follow the directions in this and for the last step, KEEP HOLDING the side power button for however long it takes for the Apple Logo to appear --> Force restart iPhone - Apple Support (CA)


Also you really don't need to power off an iPhone. I can't remember the last time I completely shut down my iPhone. It doesn't provide any tangible benefit. You should charge your iPhone when you go to bed with it powered on, connected to Wifi, with Optimized Battery Charging enabled and iCloud backup turned on. It's the best way to preserve your iPhone.

Apr 6, 2025 9:02 AM in response to Ralphy's House

Ralphy's House wrote:

I too am responding here in the hope that this fault gets the attention it deserves. My 16 plus is less than a month old. I had problems with the hands free speaker not working properly on calls within the first few days. When that was resolved I breathed a sigh of relief only to find this morning I couldn't turn my phone on at all. I came to this thread first and was shocked to discover how many others are encountering the same issue. I've done the whole volume up down thing and it's worked eventually but it's not acceptable. Come on Apple - sort it out please........

Posting in this user-to-user forum will not give the issue any attention at all, except to other users.


Apple’s formal support can be reached several ways

  • You can provide feedback to Apple at→ Product Feedback - Apple where your issue or suggestion will be recorded, tracked and matched with similar reports, but you will not get a reply



For personalized support

Best way: 

  • Install the Apple Support app on your iPhone or iPad - you can contact support directly from the app, and the tech will have (with your permission) access to diagnostic data on your device



Other options:

(Note that both of the above have options to receive a callback or chat)



Jan 5, 2025 7:58 AM in response to Rafnagud

You said you did a Forced Restart. Read this and for the final step, which is to hold the side power button, REALLY HOLD the side power button for however long it takes for the Apple Logo to appear. It could take 30 seconds or longer.


Force restart iPhone - Apple Support (CA)


Are you powering the phone off to charge it? It is NOT necessary to power off your phone to charge it. It actually goes against the best advice. Charge your phone, when you sleep, with Optimized Charging turned on and your phone connected to Wifi so it will charge for the next day and backup to iCloud every night.


Feb 2, 2025 7:08 AM in response to beverlyfromroma


beverlyfromroma wrote:

The exact same thing has happened to me this morning! I charged it all night and this morning it doesnt turn on! What do I do?
  • Press and quickly release VOLUME UP


     then

  • Press and quickly release VOLUME DOWN


     then

  • Hold the SIDE button until an Apple logo appears (15-30 seconds), ignoring "slide to power off" if it appears


The operative word here is QUICKLY; and try it a couple of times, the timing is a little tricky. If done correctly this will always work unless the phone has a hardware problem.

Oct 22, 2024 2:37 AM in response to Kateboo

firstly I unplugged the phone and then plugged it back in, then pressed the up button and down button then pressed the the on button and then let it go, I did this several times before it worked so try several times and when pressing the on button hold (try various lengths of time) then let go it took me about 5-10 minutes of trying this but it eventually worked, I hope this helps you

Dec 27, 2024 2:12 PM in response to Myiphone16isabrick

Myiphone16isabrick wrote:

3 days out of the box and my wifes iphone 16 will not turn on after being shut down and charged overnight . Im holding power/ volume buttons for various lengths of time, until my fingers ache actually and its a brick.


[Edited by Moderator]

The procedure you're using won't power it back on. Follow these directions --> Force restart iPhone - Apple Support (CA)


There is no need to power it off when charging. It's simply not necessary.

Jan 3, 2025 2:27 PM in response to silja288

In our experience just keep trying. Up, down volume and then hold the power button a really long time. Ours took longer than 30 seconds. We have 2 iPhones 16 and both have done this numerous times u til we took the advice not to turn it off. We use focus, do not disturb with the calls we want to come through in emergency.

just keep trying the above method. It made zero difference for us to power it on while plugged in and it’s not the charger as some have suggested. It’s the PHONE and we are waiting for a permanent fix. Good luck. One day mine took 3 hrs of intermittently trying to get it on. Then don’t turn it off at night while charging or it’s, here we go again!

Jan 26, 2025 8:26 PM in response to Mark Gregor-Pearse

After mine died, charged it for a few hours with a magsafe charger. Waited until the charger showed the phone fully charged. Removed phone from its cover and performed the vol up/vol down/power reset several times. The reset maneuver is easier to do with the bare-bones phone. On the 4th or 5th reset attempt I held the power down for about 3-4 minutes and thankfully it finally turned on. After it booted, I updated to 18.2.1.

Thanks for your suggestion.

Feb 6, 2025 9:05 AM in response to laure130

laure130 wrote:

I wish I’d never have gotten rid of my old phone. It worked perfectly. The iPhone 16 sucks. I never turn mine off anymore cause you can never turn it back on. What a shame. 😥

Well, maybe there is a hardware problem with your iPhone. I can turn mine on or off when I want to, and it always turns back on. I suggest you contact Apple Support:


Best way: 

  • Install the Apple Support app on your iPhone or iPad - you can contact support directly from the app, and the tech will have (with your permission) access to diagnostic data on your device



Other options:

(Note that both of the above have options to receive a callback or chat)


Feb 18, 2025 2:04 PM in response to Perscorilo2002

Perscorilo2002 wrote:

Update: I finally visited T-Mobile, and the salesperson there followed the same steps suggested in this thread. They clicked the up volume button, then the down volume button (in quick succession), and finally held down the button on the other side for approximately 30 seconds. As a result, the phone started up. However, this shouldn’t have happened in the first place. We should have had the phone available and turned it on, especially considering that we were expecting an important call.

While it is called an iPhone, it is actually a very powerful pocket-sized computer that can incidentally make phone calls. And like all computers, it will crash occasionally, and that’s what happened. To minimize the probability of that happening it may pay to restart it occasionally→Restart your iPhone - Apple Support


The easiest way to restart it is to say “Hey, Siri, restart this iPhone"

May 2, 2025 5:54 AM in response to amh.pjh

amh.pjh wrote:

Problems as above with iPhone 16. Just switched off the phone. Tried to switch on and performed above actions-pressing both sides etc. but still not working- mobile fully charged, just plugged into power socket to bring up apple icon - but nothing happening.


  • Press and quickly release VOLUME UP


     then

  • Press and quickly release VOLUME DOWN


     then

  • Hold the SIDE button until an Apple logo appears (15-30 seconds), ignoring "slide to power off" if it appears


The operative word here is QUICKLY for the first two buttons, then a long hold for the SIDE button; and try it a couple of times, the timing is a little tricky. If done correctly this will always work unless the phone has a hardware problem. 

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iPhone 16 Pro not turning on

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