Some users who are new to the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro series are finding they can’t turn on their device, or that iPhone 15 won’t turn on when they press the Power button on the side of the device.
This is usually a super simple fix, so if you’re having issues with the iPhone 15 powering on, read along and you’ll have it resolved in no time. And yes these troubleshooting steps apply to all iPhone 15 models, including iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Plus, and iPhone 15.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- If your iPhone 15 Pro won’t turn on, first make sure you’re switching it on the right way.
- You can fix an iPhone 15 Pro that won’t turn on by restarting it or checking for charging or hardware issues.
- When all else fails, plug your iPhone into a computer to see if you can back it up before making an appointment with the Apple Genius bar to fix your phone.
It can be really terrifying if your iPhone 15 Pro won’t power on — especially if you’re not a tech guru. It might seem like there could be a million things wrong, and who knows where to start? Is it even fixable?
There are many possibilities as to why your iPhone 15 Pro is not powering on. Here’s how to figure out why your iPhone 15 Pro won’t turn on and how to fix it.
How to turn on an iPhone 15 Pro
You need to make sure you’re turning on your iPhone 15 Pro the right way before trying any of the troubleshooting steps mentioned below.
To turn on your iPhone 15 Pro, press and hold the side button, on the right side of your device, until you see the Apple logo appear.
What to do if your iPhone 15 Pro won’t turn on
Once you’re sure that you can switch on your iPhone 15 Pro properly, you can try to get to the bottom of why it’s not turning on.
1. Try restarting the phone
You probably know that your iPhone is turned on all the time, even when the screen is off, unless you deliberately shut it down via the Settings app. When the screen is dark, the phone is powered on — albeit "sleeping" — and a software glitch in an app could be preventing the phone from waking when you press the Side button, tap the screen, or raise it to your face.
The easiest solution is to force restart your iPhone 15 Pro and see if it will turn on. Here’s how:
- 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.
If your phone restarts successfully, your problem is probably solved. This problem can happen occasionally without suggesting a serious underlying issue. But if your iPhone 15 Pro won’t turn on frequently enough that it’s a nuisance, that suggests you have a misbehaving app or some corrupted data on your phone.
In that case, you might need to reset your phone to its factory settings and then manually reinstall apps from the App Store to see which one is bugged.
2. Try charging your phone
If it doesn’t appear that you can restart your iPhone 15 Pro, then it’s likely that your device is already powered off, and the battery might be dead.
Try connecting your iPhone to power and wait to see if it was simply drained. If your iPhone’s battery is completely dead, it may need to remain plugged in for a few minutes before it will power on. Should that not work, try different outlets, power cables, and power bricks. Apple recommends using only certified charging accessories, especially if you’re having issues.
Quick tip: if the problem still persists, there are more troubleshooting steps you can try to fix an iPhone 15 Pro that won’t charge.
3. Troubleshoot a hardware problem
If your iPhone 15 Pro won’t respond to a hard reset and doesn’t appear to be charging, the number of potential issues has narrowed, probably signaling that it’s a hardware issue. This isn’t good news, because it suggests you might have a serious issue. Some of the most likely issues include:
- Water damage. You might have gotten your phone wet and it has caused some components to fail.
- Drop damage. If you’ve dropped the phone, it might have damaged the screen (most likely) or internal components (less likely), preventing it from working.
- Component failure. As reliable as iPhones are, it’s always possible that one can fail due to a manufacturing defect. It’s rare, but it can happen.
To see if your phone has any life in it at all, try this:
Use your Mac
On your Mac, open a Finder window from the dock. Check to see if the computer recognizes the phone. If so, you’re in luck — the phone is actually powered on, and you can probably back it up.
To backup your iPhone, select your device from the sidebar under Devices. Then on the right-hand side click on the General tab. Finally, click Back Up Now. Depending on how much data you have, this could take a while.
Use your Windows
If you’re on Windows, good ol’ iTunes is still alive and kicking (you can download it here), and you can use it to back up your iPhone.
Plug your iPhone into your computer.
Check to see if iTunes recognizes the phone. You should see the icon for the phone appear in the top left of the iTunes window. If so, you’re in luck — the phone is actually powered on, and you can probably back it up.
ive your devices permission to talk to each other and then click on the small iPhone icon on the top left side of the iTunes window.
Scroll down to the Backup section, and under Automatically Back Up choose This Computer. After some time, your computer will have a backup file of your iPhone. You can later use this backup to restore your phone after it’s serviced or replaced.
Make an appointment with the Genius Bar
If your iPhone 15 Pro still doesn’t turn on, it may be time to take your device to Apple for evaluation.
You can schedule an appointment with the Apple Genius bar by visiting support.apple.com, selecting your product, and following the prompts.