iPhone 16 Pro won’t turn on after charging all night

Sorry for not replying yet again to multiple, continuing pleas for help. I’m new here and I didn’t want to step on replies from more experienced members. I now from hard experience how truly frustrating it is when you keep applying instructions that do not work for you. But this same issue is what brought me here recently. I’m guessing, based on errors I made repeatedly, that you have read and applied sberman’s correct instruction, posted earlier, multiple times without it working for you. I had seen the same online, and thought I was applying them correctly, all without effect. So with apologies to Sberman, try this:

“Force restart the iPhone as follows:

1. Press and [instantly] release the volume up button.
2. Press and [instantly] release the volume down button.
3. Press and [Hold] the side button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the side button.”

[Brackets mine].

Note that the brief presses must simply be ‘clicks’. Do not hold either Up or Down and definitely do not hold either while pressing the Hold on the side button. Yep, I tried all that before the Apple employee showed me the two simple clicks required before the hold. Truth be told, I began to press those ups and downs very hard as if to make sure they activated. Suggest you might also see my earlier post here regarding clicks.

And for those concerned about how one has charged a phone and found it unresponsive: I used a third-party induction charger, and in each case, I found my iPhone 16Pro 100% charged once I got it started.

Hello, this just happened to me and I fixed it using the steps below:

Force restart the iPhone as follows:

1. Press and [instantly] release the volume up button.
2. Press and [instantly] release the volume down button.
3. Press and [Hold] the side button. (I held it for like 10seconds).
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the side button.

It seems that the phone got stuck on an Update or something because after the force restart was successful I got and message about an successful update.

Force restart the iPhone as follows:

1. Press and quickly release the volume up button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume down button.
3. Press and hold the side button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the side button.

An inconvenient trip to the Apple Store showed me that I had been doing this wrong. The instruction is correct, but the volume Up/Down presses must be done as “clicks,” on the order of a split second of perhaps 1/10 second. I had forgotten this today when my iPhone 16Pro, OS 18.1.1 simply would not respond to my much-too-long presses. Then I remembered the delicate light clicks of the Apple Store employee.

See this article.

If your iPhone won't turn on or is frozen - Apple Support

There has been a hardware failure on the iPhone.

Make an appointment at the Apple Store / Genius Bar or take the phone to an authorized Apple service shop.

You can find a list of authorized shops in your area using this link:

Find Locations

If your phone is only one week old and having issues i would recommend visiting an Apple store or wherever you purchased from and getting in person assistance. If there is a problem with your specific phone they can get a replacement if needed.

beverlyfromroma wrote:

My iphone is 1 week old and already staring with problems? is there another solution?

Sure. If you purchased this iPhone new in a factory sealed box directly from Apple or an Authorized Apple Retailer, you may exchange it within two weeks of purchase.

I was told today that this thread has been visited more than 5000 times. Many users seem to be having this problem, and I see that nothing said here appears to be working for some. 

This has happened to me, a fifth time, now.  So I know too well how crazy you feel, trying all day to restart a useless iPhone while carefully entering the correct restart sequence many dozens of times. And it doesn’t work, every time.

Nothing I did all day - save one - worked for me.

But that evening I handed my phone to my wife and asked her to restart it. I simply gave her the bare-bones directions without elaborating except to ask that her touches be brief and more like clicks.  

The phone started the first time she tried. So something like that may work for you, asking a roommate, spouse, or other friend to do it. Just don’t let them know that you think it’s hard.

Feedback as to whether this works for you would be interesting to me and may help others.  I think I know why it worked.

The volume buttons have to have very quick and light touch

My new iPhone 16 pro keeps needing a forced reset to be able to turn it on after charging overnight. It takes a long time to get it to turn on sometimes I have to do this several times. This seems very common over 100 other reports… this is not acceptable apple please could you resolve this , these phones are not cheap. Maybe we should all take them back and perhaps they will act then

I didn't think it was working for me either , but it seems to be all in the how you click the volume buttons

This doesn’t not work! I have been on a week trip to my grandmas! I forgot my phone. When I came back to put it on the charger it will NOT turn back on or show the low battery logo. The charging port is not dirty, it did not fall into water and I did not drop it. Force restart does not work for anything. I tried the blow dryer method, the massage method, the smack method and the freezer method. And I do not have any phone technician or a apple store near me. What can I do??

My new Apple 16 pro phone was turned off and put on charger. It will not turn back on. I have held the volume up and volume down buttons briefly, then the side button. It will not turn back on. ( I am using iPad now)

help! I am not in an area that has walk-in Apple Store help.

Thanks this worked for me. I setup a NEW iphone 16 pro max - transferred the data from my Android and then charged it overnight while it was off. Next morning it wouldn't turn on (!?) I followed your instructions and it worked like a charm! I wonder why this iphone does this though...?