iPhone Blinking On and Off? Restart, Then Hold the Buttons
For an iPhone blinking on and off, restart it first, then do the force restart for your iPhone type with the button steps below. Apple’s screen page puts “Restart your iPhone or iPad.” as step 1 under the heading “If your screen is too sensitive or responds intermittently to touch”, and Apple’s restart page says: “You might need to force your iPhone to restart or charge it.”
Neither Apple page cited below names blinking or flickering. The screen page is headed “If the screen isn’t working on your iPhone or iPad” and the restart page is headed “If your iPhone won’t turn on or the screen is black”.
This article puts both sets of steps in one order.
Every step below is quoted from those two pages, and each one sits under the Apple heading it came from.
What do you do first for an iPhone blinking on and off?
Start with Apple’s screen page. Its list sits under the heading “If your screen is too sensitive or responds intermittently to touch”, and above that list the page says: “You might need to set up service for your device.”
The steps under that heading, in Apple’s words:
- “Restart your iPhone or iPad.”
- “Make sure that your screen is clean and free of any debris or water.”
- “Disconnect any Lightning or USB-C accessories. If your screen works after removing an accessory, try using a different outlet, cable, or charger.”
- “Remove any cases or screen protectors.”
Step 1 is the restart. If a normal restart does not take, use the force restart buttons in the next section, which come from Apple’s restart page.
Related on this site: an iPhone stuck on Preparing Update.
How do you force restart an iPhone, by iPhone type?
Apple’s restart page opens with: “Get help if your iPhone won’t turn on or if the screen is black. You might need to force your iPhone to restart or charge it.” The page then asks you to pick your iPhone type, “iPhone with Face ID” or “iPhone with Home Button”, under the label “Choose your iPhone type”.
Under “Force your iPhone with Face ID to restart”
- “Press and quickly release the volume up button.”
- “Press and quickly release the volume down button.”
- “Press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo (this might take longer than 10 seconds).”
Under that same heading the page adds: “If your iPhone doesn’t turn on, charge your iPhone for one hour and then try again.”
The same paragraph goes on: “If your iPhone shows a” “low-charge battery” “check your iPhone hardware and then charge your iPhone for 30 minutes or until it starts.” The words check your iPhone hardware are a link on that page to another Apple page, outside the two cited below.
Under “Force your iPhone with a Home button to restart”
Under “On your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus”:
- “Press and hold both the side button and the volume down button at the same time until you see the Apple logo (this might take longer than 10 seconds).”
- “If your iPhone doesn’t turn on, charge your iPhone for one hour and then try again.”
Under “On your iPhone 6s and earlier”:
- “Press and hold both the Home button and the side button or the top button until you see the Apple logo (this takes around 10 seconds).”
- “If your iPhone doesn’t turn on, charge your iPhone for one hour and then try again.”
Under each of those two headings the page repeats the low charge battery sentence quoted in the Face ID section above, with the same link to another Apple page.
The two Apple pages cited below name no iPhone 8 and no iPhone SE in their visible text. The restart page’s Home button headings are the ones quoted above, and its other choice is “iPhone with Face ID”.
Do accessories, cases or screen protectors matter?
Apple’s screen page lists them, under “If your screen is too sensitive or responds intermittently to touch”.
Take the case and the screen protector off and unplug the cable. Then work through the restart steps above with nothing attached.
Related on this site: how to restart an iPhone.
When does Apple say to get service?
Apple’s screen page, under “Get support”, says: “If your screen still isn’t working, you might need to set up service for your device.” The link that follows reads “Get service”.
Apple’s restart page, under “If you need more help”, says: “If your iPhone still won’t turn on, you might need service.” Its link also reads “Get service”.
Neither Apple page cited below names a screen that still blinks, and neither prints a repair cost, a warranty line or an AppleCare line.
Questions readers ask
Why is my iPhone screen blinking on and off?
Blinking and flickering are named on neither Apple page cited below, and neither page prints a cause for it. The screen page’s list sits under “If your screen is too sensitive or responds intermittently to touch”, and the restart page is headed “If your iPhone won’t turn on or the screen is black”. Both pages begin with a restart, and this article follows them for a blinking screen.
Does a force restart delete anything on my iPhone?
The two Apple pages cited below say nothing about data, photos, apps or settings during a force restart.
Should I update iOS or delete apps to stop the blinking?
Neither Apple page cited below prints an update step, a software cause or an app step, so this article does not send you to either. Apple’s screen page prints a restart, a clean screen, unplugged accessories and a bare phone, and Apple’s restart page prints the button sequences and the charging line. Related on this site: how to clear iPhone caches, for when storage is the question you have.
Is a blinking iPhone screen a hardware problem?
Neither Apple page cited below names a hardware cause, a fault or damage for the screen. The restart page prints the word hardware only in the link text “check your iPhone hardware”, which opens another Apple page outside the two cited here. Both pages end with a “Get service” link, the screen page for a screen that “still isn’t working” and the restart page for an iPhone that “still won’t turn on”.