If your phone won't start, there could be several reasons. Perhaps your battery is simply deeply discharged or an important system file is damaged. Here we explain exactly how you can proceed if your mobile phone no longer works.
Battery deeply discharged?
First of all, you should check that the battery of your smartphone is not deeply discharged. This means that the capacity of the smartphone battery is completely exhausted. The voltage in the battery is no longer high enough to start the device. So simply connect your smartphone to a power source with an original charging cable to charge it. You may have to wait up to half an hour for something to happen.
Also have a look at our articles "Save battery on Android" and "Save iPhone battery".
If your smartphone is charged, but the screen still remains black, you can try to start the phone in recovery mode and reset it. How to Use Recovery Mode on iPhone and Starting Android smartphones , you'll find out if you read on.
iPhone recovery mode
Before you start, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes on your computer. In order to restore iPhone , it needs to be connected to iTunes. So open iTunes on your PC and connect your iOS device. Now force a restart and only release the buttons when " Connect to iTunes " appears on the smartphone screen, not when the Apple logo appears! The following buttons must be pressed:
- iPhone 6s and older: power button and home button
- iPhone 7/7 +: Power button and Leister button
- iPhone 8 and newer: Briefly press the volume up button, briefly press the volume down button, hold down the power button
As soon as " Connect to iTunes " is displayed on your smartphone , check your PC. A window should open in iTunes. If you can choose between " Update " or " Restore ", select " Update ". iOS will then be reinstalled without erasing your data . If you don't have the "Update" option, select " Restore ". Your phone will be reset to factory settings and restarted. Attention : Your data on the smartphone will be lost!
Android recovery mode
First, connect your smartphone to a power source . Because if your battery is empty, you cannot start the recovery mode. You then have to hold down several keys until the manufacturer's logo can be seen on the screen. Only then can you let go of the buttons. You can then use the volume buttons to navigate..
Samsung recovery mode
You have to keep the following keys pressed:
- Samsung 7 and older: power button + home button + volume up button
- Samsung 8 and newer: Bixby button (below the volume buttons) + volume up button + power button
After the Samsung logo appears, the screen will turn blue. The smartphone is now looking for updates. If it does not find any, recovery mode starts . Select " wipe data / factory reset " and then " yes ". Attention : The data on your Samsung mobile phone and your SD card will be deleted! Then select " reboot system now " and confirm again with " yes ". Your smartphone will now restart.
HTC recovery mode
The following buttons must be pressed:
- Hold down the volume down button, briefly press the power button
Once you see the Android manikin on the screen, you can release the volume down button. Use the volume buttons to navigate to " FACTORY RESET " and press the power button to select. Attention : All data on your smartphone will be deleted! Then navigate to " RECOVERY " and select " Hboot " to start your phone..
Huawei recovery mode
You have to press the following keys:
- Power button and volume up button
When the Android manikin appears on the screen, you can let go of the buttons. Select " wipe data / factory reset " and then " reboot system now ". Warning : This process will delete the data on your smartphone! Your phone will now restart.
