My iPhone 16 was below 10% battery, so I plugged it in using the original charger. After about 20 minutes, it was losing battery faster than it was charging. Before it shut down, Battery Health showed 88%. Now the phone has been connected to power for about an hour but remains completely unresponsive—there's no low-battery or charging icon on the screen. I've already tried different cables, chargers, outlets, and rooms. What could be wrong, and what should I try next?
3 Answers
You could try recovery mode, but don’t jump straight to DFU mode unless you have a backup—restoring through DFU can erase the phone. If a computer can’t detect the iPhone and it won’t display even the charging screen, that points more toward a hardware problem than a software glitch.
Try a force restart while the phone is connected to a known-good charger: quickly press Volume Up, quickly press Volume Down, then hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears. It can take 20–30 seconds, so keep holding it. Also check the charging port for lint or debris and make sure the cable is seated fully.
An 88% battery-health reading doesn’t necessarily rule out a battery or charging-system failure. Since different chargers and outlets didn’t help, the charging port, cable connection, battery, or internal charging hardware could be at fault. Apple or an authorized repair shop should inspect it, especially if it gives no response after a force restart.
I tried restarting it, but it’s still completely dead. It seems to be charging, but the screen won’t show anything or turn on.