Anyone who has ever held an iPhone knows that the most frustrating thing is when your iPhone is stuck on the Apple logo screen. At first, you think iPhone is just busy loading the data or installing updates. But as seconds turn to minutes and minutes pile on with no end in sight, the reality of the situation dawns on you that your iPhone has frozen.
If you are one of the iPhone users who this has happened to when you are booting up your iPhone and it remains stuck on Apple logo, then it’s time to fix the problem. Let us look at different ways to troubleshoot the problem.
The solutions introduced here also apply to the iPhone stuck on Apple logo after updating to iOS 17.
The Causes of iPhone Being Stuck on Apple Logo
Before we have your phone fixed, we first need to look at different reasons why your iPhone is stuck on the Apple logo in the first place. Understanding the root of the problem means that you will be able to do the best step to fix it and prevent it from happening again in the near future.
- The hardware was damaged. While iPhones are durable there is still a limit to how many accidents they can take. They are after all made from minuscule machines that are susceptible to impact, force, or liquid damage. The motherboard of iPhone is easy to get broken.
- You were restoring your iPhone from an iTunes or iCloud backup. For some reason, restoring your iPhone from iTunes or from iCloud can cause it to get stuck on the Apple screen when it is loading the data.
- You were updating the software or restoring your iPhone to factory settings. iOS updates regularly for a variety of reasons, all of which are valid. You may be updating to the newest iOS version like iOS 17 and then you find your iPhone frozen on Apple logo screen for hours thinking about just how large the iOS 17 update is that it is taking so long. You may be trying to restore your old device before selling it to others and only find that it doesn’t finish and never pass the Apple logo screen.
- You tried jailbreaking your iPhone. First of all, don’t jailbreak your iPhone as it loses its warranty. But if you did or a technician you paid to do it did, then you should expect some blowback like your screen freezing.
Solution 1. Forced Restart iPhone
The quickest and usually most reliable solution to a stuck screen is to force the device to restart. This works best if there are no other underlying problems on your iPhone like physical damage. Before you do this though, you need to know your iPhone’s model as there are specific ways to do this base on the model.
a. Force restarting iPhone 8 or later models
Starting with the newest model, if your iPhone is stuck on the Apple logo, do the steps below to force restart it. The steps should be one in quick succession.
- Quickly press and then release the Volume Up button.
- Quickly press and then release the Volume Down button.
- Press and then hold the button on the side. Release it once your iPhone reboots.
b. Force restarting iPhone 7 and 7s
There’s a slight difference in force restarting iPhone 7 and iPhone 7s.
- Press down on the Volume Down and Side buttons at the same time. Don’t release them when the screen turns off.
- Keep holding them until the Apple logo appears.
c. Force restarting iPhone 6 or earlier models
If you have an iPhone 6s or an earlier model, here are the steps to force restart.
- Press and then hold the Home and Power buttons at the same time.
- Hold the Power and Home buttons until the Apple logo appears.
Solution 2: Using Recovery Mode
If force restarting your phone did not work, you can try updating or restoring your iPhone through the Recovery Mode. A word of caution before doing this: all the data that was in your iPhone is going to be erased if you choose to restore your device. The data on your device will be kept and the latest software iOS 17 will be installed on your device if you choose the Update option.
The process will also require you to have the most current version of iTunes on your computer. Then you can follow the guide below to fix your iPhone stuck on Apple logo.
a – Updating or restoring iPhone 8 or later models via recovery mode
- Connect your iPhone to your computer then open iTunes.
- Now, set your iPhone into recovery mode. Press then quickly release the Volume Up button then do the same to the Volume Down button. Press and hold the Side button until you can see the screen showing it’s connecting to iTunes. The recovery mode screen has 2 types shown in the screenshot below.
- You will find iTunes saying that “There is a problem with the iPhone ‘your iPhone name’ that requires it to be updated or restored”.
- In the dialog box on iTunes, click on Update first as this can sometimes resolve the issue. If that does not work, click on Restore next time. Wait for iTunes to finish updating or restoring your iPhone. In most cases, iPhone will not be stuck on Apple logo after that.
b – Updating or restoring iPhone 7 and iPhone 7Plus via Recovery Mode
- Connect your iPhone to your computer then open iTunes.
- Press and then hold down the Volume Down and the Side buttons at the same time
- Don’t release when you see the Apple logo. Keep holding the two buttons down until you see the ‘connecting to iTunes’ logo.
- Then the following steps are the same as iPhone 8 or later models.
c – Updating or restoring iPhone 6s or earlier models via Recovery Mode
- Connect your iPhone to your computer then open iTunes.
- Press and then hold down the Home and the Power buttons at the same time
- Don’t release when you see the Apple logo. Keep holding the two buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.
- Then the following steps are the same as iPhone 8 or later models.
Solution 3: DFU (Default Firmware Update) Restore
Doing a DFU restore should be the last option to take since it will result in complete data loss. After the restore, iPhone will be like a new device and the latest version iOS 17 will be installed if it is an iPhone 8 or later model. This will also require the latest version of iTunes and you will need to plug your iPhone into your Mac or PC.
a- Restoring iPhone 8 or later models via DFU mode
- Connect your iPhone X or iPhone 8 to your computer and then open iTunes.
- Now put your iPhone into DFU mode. Quickly press and then release the Volume Up button. Quickly press and then release the Volume Down button. Hold the Side button until the screen turns off.
- Press and then hold down the Volume Down and the Side button together.
- Release the Side button after 5 seconds but not the Volume Down button. Continue holding down the Volume Down button for about another 5 seconds until you see the “iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode” message on your computer screen.
- Click on the OK button then click Restore iPhone.
Please note that a device in DFU mode has a black screen, and iTunes will detect it in recovery mode. If it is not the case, repeat the above steps to put your device into DFU mode.
b- Restoring iPhone 7 and 7 Plus via DFU mode
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and then open iTunes.
- Press and then hold the Volume Down and the Side button at the same time for a minimum of 8 seconds.
- Release the Side button but not the Volume Down button. Continue holding down the Volume Down button for at least 5 seconds until you see the “iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode.” message on your computer screen.
- Let go of the Volume Down button and the screen should go black. This means you did it correctly. If it does not, repeat the process.
- Restore your iPhone through DFU mode now.
c- Restoring iPhone 6s and earlier devices via DFU mode
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and then open iTunes.
- Press and then hold the Home and the Power button at the same time for a minimum of 8 seconds.
- Release the Power button but not the Home button. Continue holding down the Home button until you see the “iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode” message on your computer screen.
- Release the Home button. The screen should turn off. This means you did it correctly. If it does not, repeat the process.
- Restore your iPhone through DFU mode by clicking OK and then Restore iPhone.
Above are all the solutions that you can try at home when your iPhone gets stuck on Apple logo. I hope this helps. If none of the above methods can fix your iPhone, the only solution is to get help from Apple support team. They will check for hardware damage with your iPhone.
