iPhone 16 Pro not turning on

Lilisbuddy wrote:

I have used the Apple site to contact to report problems, but it says that they will not reply unless they have a specific reason to contact you. Additionally, I saw an article on MacWorld about an issue with iMac M1 screen issues that they called a time bomb waiting to happen. As an owner of an iMac M1, I contacted the editor on 11/26 commenting that I have not had this issue yet ( hopefully I won't since the warranty is long gone ) but since he wrote an article about a problem, that maybe he should look into this iPhone 16 start up issue. I sent a link to this discussion, but to date, I did not receive a reply from the MacWorld editor or have I seen anything on the MacWorld site about our startup issue.

You probably haven't seen ANY articles about this issue on iPhone, because out of the millions upon millions upon millions of iPhone 16 Pro's in the hands of users, the numbers of people who may be having an issue are infinitesimally small. That doesn't mean you or others aren't having an issue. But the vast majority of iPhone 16 Pro owners are out there enjoying their phones, without issue and not posting on a forum.

Anyone who is having an issue like this, needs to schedule an appointment at their Apple Store Genius Bar.

brad_cohen wrote:

When will there be a software update to fix this issue?

No one can answer that question. This is a user to user only forum. We have no inside knowledge of what Apple may or may not be working on. This issue is tricky. It doesn't effect the vast majority of users. Have you updated to the latest iOS version of iOS 18.1.1?

We have two 16 Pro's which have never had an issue. I'm sure determining why some users have this issue, while other users don't is a challenge.

To let Apple know you are having an issue, use this to provide feedback keeping this on their radar --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Genius on front door took about 60 seconds to fire up my 3 day old iPhone 16.

Says she pressed volume, volume,power in quick succession and it started.

Apparently they "glitch out".

Not sure what order of volume buttons was pressed first.

Personally i dont believe it was just that since right before she did this she had the dead phone right next to the apple store one and pushed a few things right before it started.

Im sure i would of accidently pressed those three buttons in that order in the dozens of times i tried to get it started.

I got a new phone replaced in Sept. still with issue. Intermittent. Key to having it happen is turning phone “Off” and charging overnight.

clearly reproducible enough to correct with software update.

trouble is, they don’t read this forum.

The method you used which worked IS a Forced Restart. I'm curious why you choose to power the phone off while charging? I realize it shouldn't have an issue turning back on in the morning, but there really is no reason to power the phone off while charging. In fact, it SHOULD remain on, connected to Wifi, so your phone will backup to iCloud at night. It's best practice to charge it at night, powered on, every night with Optimized Battery Charging enabled (Settings > Battery > battery Health > Optimized Battery Charging).

Since this is a user to user only forum, NOT Apple Support, have you contacted Apple directly for help? No argument here, that you should be able to power it off and expect it to power back on. I was just letting you know it's not only not necessary, it isn't what Apple recommends.

If you want Apple to know you are experiencing this, provide feedback here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

I have an iphone 16 Pro which is 90 days old. It suddenly will not turn on using and power button. I have to jump start it every time it is turned off correctly. Apple needs to fix this bug in the software!!!!!!!!

iPhone 16 pro max charged overnight while turned off. Used a different but compatible lead and wouldn’t turn on. Volume up and down quick tap and held power button sorted it. Sorted but disappointing and complex for someone who doesn’t look on YouTube for an answer. A phone of this level and pricing should be more full proof I would have thought.

All these answers of press this and that will not work. Please see the gurus coupled with AI answer. It worked for me and all I did was click on itunes.

"If your iPhone 16 isn't working, the "trick" of clicking on iTunes is essentially putting your phone into recovery mode by connecting it to your computer with iTunes open, which allows you to potentially restore your phone's software and potentially fix issues that are preventing it from functioning normally; this usually happens when you see a "Connect to iTunes" screen on your phone after attempting to restart it, prompting you to connect it to a computer with iTunes to troubleshoot further." 

mcubed33 wrote:

Having same start-up problem with an ipro 16 plus just purchased this week (February 4). Never had a problem like this with previous iPhones. Happens when I have turned off the phone and charged it overnight. Clearly a serious bug that Apple should have fixed by now. Hello, Apple, are you reading this and listening?

This is a user to user only forum, so no Apple isn't reading or listening here. You can provide feedback to Apple here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Now, to your issue. I'm not sure why anyone believes it's a good practice to charge their phone powered off? It's not recommended and it stops important things from happening in the background while you sleep. Like updates, backups, etc., are all interrupted and nowhere does Apple recommend charging your phone powered off.

You can try this:

A. Press and quickly release the volume up button.

B. Then after that, press and quickly release the volume down button.

C. Then after that, press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo (this takes around 10 seconds).

After this it should turn on.

If you see a battery empty picture, like this

check your hardware and charge your iPhone again

If your iPhone still doesn't turn on, learn what to do.

ParamdeepSingh wrote:

Seems the iPhone 16 has a different hard reboot process.

Well, no, it is the same reboot process for all iPhones released after the iPhone 7; meaning the iPhone 8, all SE models, and all Face ID iPhones.

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.

Thanks for this helpful post!

Iphone 16 died and wouldn’t come on tried different chargers, tried to force start. Finally, a little over an hour, did force restart again, unplugged it and tried to plug it back and the logo appeared. Phone is fairly new, approximately 2 months.

Me sucedio lo mismo hoy telefono cargado al 100% se apago , se quiso encender a la mañana siguiente y no hubo caso de encenderlo, se fue a negro no respondia a los botones ni al cargador, nada de nada, luego de intentar encenderlo alrededor de 20 veces o 30 veces con los botones de encendido y subir volumen y baja volumen, encendio. esto nunca me habia sucedido con un iphone... mal antecedente de hecho preocupa...

ebone148 wrote:

I had this issue and then I bought a wireless charger and it turned on. To afraid to let it die again so I keep it charged so it won’t turn off.

Good idea. But doesn’t a cable work? If you had a previous post about this I could find it…