iPhone 16 Pro not turning on

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.

susagoode wrote:

I had the problem with my 16 and now a week or so later my husband had the same problem this morning. It took him several times trying the hard reset before turning on. Apple needs to fix this. I took mine in to the Apple store when it wouldn’t go on and the lady there that fixed it didn’t mention the hard reset or that this is evidently a problem but acted more like I just didn’t hold the power button long enough, although I had the phone for 2 weeks with no problem turning it on. I really do know how to turn the phone on.

Come on Apple, fix it!

You aren't speaking with Apple here. This is a user to user only forum. If you want Apple to hear you, provide feedback here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

That said, I own iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, which I've owned since launch day and I've not had this issue at all on either phone. Why you may be having such an issue is unknown, but it's not a universal issue affecting all iPhone 16 Pro's.

carvalho75 wrote:

Well just got my son and iPhone 16 and had it for one day and it isn’t starting up! So frustrating brand new phone and so far the worst experience with this phone. Maybe a recall should be in the works. Seeing this happening to everyone with their iPhone 16 pro. Ugh .shouldn’t have gotten this new model . Very frustrated!

This is most definitely not happening to "everyone" as you suggest. If your sons iPhone isn't turning on, Force Restart it.

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

JMODC wrote:

This morning, my iPhone 16 pro would not turn back on after being charged overnight. I turned it off to not be disturbed. I did the steps of up and down buttons then held the right button. As I read many posts, I retried the steps but held the right button for more than 15 seconds and then it turned on. Thanks everybody but it seems to be a problem regardless. Apple, please create a fix!

There is no reason to need to turn your phone off at night in order to not be disturbed and it will charge just fine, and backup while it's charging too.

Enable a Do Not Disturb focus on your phone, to not be disturbed while you sleep. My phone automatically goes on this at 11 PM and off at 7:00 AM. Here is how to create a scheduled Do Not Disturb Focus --> Turn on or schedule a Focus on iPhone - Apple Support

blforbes wrote:

This doesn't work. I had tried this before making a comment on this forum.

How long did you hold the side power button? It can take a long time if the phone isn't powering on. And it often takes a few tries to get the sequence of quickly pressing and releasing the volume up then volume down buttons, the pressing and holding the side power button.

That said, if your phone really won't power on, then you need to schedule an appointment at your Apple Store Genius Bar for evaluation and options --> Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

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

You have to contact Apple Support to receive a reply.

Apple Support Community is a public discussion forum for fellow Apple users to assist each other and share tips and solutions. Apple hosts the community, but is not a participant and will never read your comment.

If you’re in the US please call 1-800-MY-APPLE or outside the US, consult the support articles below.

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Choose your country or region - Official Apple Support

susagoode wrote:

One can do the force start and yes, it eventually turns on. Sometimes after 2-3 tries and sometimes after 40. The point is, WHY should we have to go through this time consuming and frustrating endeavor? Apple Store, the first time I went in a month ago, acted as though they didn’t know this was a problem. They have all been aware of this since the iPhone 16 was released. Also according to the numerous posts, it is all types of 16 and it doesn’t matter how one transferred data from previous phone or if it’s plugged in to charger or not, they still have this problem if one powers off their phone. Not every time, but one time is too many and Apple needs to fix it or recall these phones! Stop selling them.

Then tell Apple what they need to do. By posting here, you are only commiserating with other users like yourself on this user to user only forum.

Feedback which Apple does read goes here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Have you updated your iPhone to iOS 18.2? I've not ONCE had an unexpected shutdown on our 16 Pro or 16 Pro Max. It can often be difficult to isolate an issue, which only happens to a small minority out of the millions upon millions of iPhone 16 Pro models out in the world.

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.

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

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.

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"

outlyer6079 wrote:

This just happened to me too. I got the iPhone 16 Pro Max about 2 months ago. First time this has ever happened to an iPhone I own. Really scary. Thought the phone had died. It took about 10 attempts at force restart for the apple to show on the screen. Hopefully it's a software issue and they solve it on the next iOS update.

It won’t take you 10 times if you do it correctly the first time.

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

afrida09 wrote:

Bought this iPhone less than a month ago, i woke up this morning and the phone is turned off. I had to try to reset for an hour and it finally came back on thanks to this community. This is ridiculous it is a $1000 brand new phone , with this much factory issue. What are apple makers doing? People could be in a life of death situation and the phone would just stop working. They need to take accountability for this situation - how are you charging an arm and leg for a phone and making a terrible phone.

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

• 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.