iPhone Not Turning On? This Simple Trick Will Fix That

It's a scary moment: You plug in your dead iPhone to charge, yearning for it to light back up, but it doesn't. Hours pass by — maybe even days — as you stare into your reflection on the black screen.

It happened to me.

The battery on my iPhone 6 had been slowly deteriorating for some time. This time, however, was different. After plugging in my dead iPhone to charge, nothing happened. It remained plugged in for over 3 hours without ever turning back on. As the internal panic set in, I began to Google my options.

There is an entire section of the internet devoted to traumatized iPhone users. I found myself among emergency iPhone forums, blog posts of desperation and advice from developers written in code that meant nothing to me. And that's when I found it: "Heat it up with a hairdryer, it will work," an ifixit.com poster said.

Could it be true? I was without a blow dryer, so I had to make the most of my resources. I made a hot cup of green tea, removed the phone case and placed the back of the phone up to the hot cup. I held it there for a moment or two longer, making sure the heat reached the entire back of the phone.

About a minute later, it appeared. That crisp Apple logo popped up on my screen and I rejoined the digital world.

Here's what to do:

1. If your screen is showing the low battery signal, plug it in to charge.
2. Wait at least 15 minutes.
3. If nothing happens, attempt to force restart it. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake (power button) and Home key together for 10 seconds or until you see the Apple logo.
4. If nothing happens again, it's time for the secret trick.
5. Find a blow dryer or another heat source that can be used to activate the battery.
6. Remove your case and blow the hot air (or other heat source) on the phone for about 60 seconds. Pause and repeat if needed.
7. You should see the Apple logo appear on the screen and the phone should soon turn on.

So, why does this work? Science.

"You only need to get the voltage in the battery to raise a percent or two to reconnect the protection circuit so that it will charge again and you can do that by warming up the battery," a user on iMore.com explains. Heating the battery with a blow dryer or hot surface will raise the internal voltage enough to reconnect the protection circuit, he says.

Please use this method at your own risk. This is not a permanent solution to repairing a broken phone.

Image by helloolly via Pixabay