Apple logo flash at startup

After more than two weeks, I think that it is time to sum up the situation: the "flashing Apple logo" issue described by Blue-per does not occur when we unbox and boot the iPhone 12 (mini)/12 Pro (Max) for the first time, it occurs when the iPhone is already set up.

In most cases the phone performs normally after it boots up. Some users found hardware problems when using their new iPhone (phone needing to be connected to power in order to boot up, screen burn-in, battery charges very slowly, camera not taking HDR photos, etc.).

In my opinion those problems are not related with the flashing logo at startup, because they are very different from each other and they are isolated cases. They are just coincidences.

That does not mean that the flashing logo is not an issue: there are iPhone 12/12 Pro which boots with the (classic) steady Apple logo and some iPhone 12/12 Pro that do not, so it is obviously not a normal thing. It is not a "new feature" or "expected behavior".

After reading other answers on the forum, we can deduce that the issue does not occur on iPhone 12/12 Pro that were shipped with iOS 14.1 or with iOS 14.2 pre-installed, it (mainly) occurs on iPhone 12/12 Pro shipped in January with iOS 14.3 pre-installed. As a matter of fact a lot of people returned the device during the last weeks and got a new one with the same problem.

Now, we suppose (and hope) that the issue is part of iOS 14.3 and not in the hardware of the phone. In this case Apple should be able to fix it with an update, maybe already with a sub-dot-release (iOS 14.4.X) or later with iOS 14.5. There are some comments in favor of that supposition too, where people noticed that issue after updating from iOS 14.2 to iOS 14.3.

On the other hand, it is strange that (most) iPhones who updated the operating system from 14.2 to 14.3 did not experience the issue. And it is even stranger that I read a reply from a user who encountered the problem already on iOS 14.2. Those facts contradict our supposition above, and maybe the flashing logo has nothing to do with iOS 14.3.

I am sure a lot of people have this problem too; they do not notice it, because nowadays we do not shutdown and restart our phones very often. And even if they do that, they (probably) don't keep looking at the boot screen for issues.

It is very hard for us to guess if it is a software or a hardware problem. Only Apple can give us an official answer, and in order to solve the problem as soon as possible I ask you to continue upvoting this and other similar posts (clicking on "I have this question too"), commenting if you have some news from Apple and reporting the case to the Apple Support.

An update. 3rd iPhone 12 pro, 512GB. Called apple technical support. Put into recovery mode, install 14.4 with my iMac instead of update from the phone. Solved the issue. No more flash logo at startup. According to the technician, there is a difference between install from iMac vs on the phone. He recommend not to upgrade to beta version by ourselves. Good luck, everyone! Pretty sure it is software issue.

Hello Again Everyone,

SOLUTION WHEN WITHIN 14-DAYS; especially if you are not comfortable waiting for the update.

@GreenEyedDi01

@Uban-Jiji

@MzKeek

@JoshnHaley (you have 2-days, I think)

@Eman1970

I apologize for the delay.  Work has been quite exciting, as of late.

As promised, the best solution without having to wait for an update would need to be done within your 14-day return period.  Here is how I succeeded.

First, these users and their respective posts are the reason I was able to buy my family logo-flash-free iPhone 12 Pro Max (512 GB) devices; three of six had the issue, as noted in my earlier post, and as of today all six are logo-flash-free.

1. Jan 21, 2021 2:03 PM GMT (user: roT-)
2. Jan 22, 2021 7:23 PM GMT (user: roT-)
3. Jan 23, 2021 8:01 AM GMT (user: ayyu8m)
4. Jan 23, 2021 8:17 AM GMT (user: ayyu8m)

The solution is to buy a device made prior to week 52 (December) of calendar year 2020.  The link that will help you achieve this was graciously provided in @ayyu8m’s January 23, 8:17 AM GMT, post.  I will make reference when to use it in my steps below.  Here is the link:

http://www.chipmunk.nl/cgi-fast/applemodel.cgi

I had first called Apple, was transferred to a Senior Apple Technician, discussed the four threads I noted, then received the following advise.  The Senior Apple Technician said to go to the Apple Store and do the following:

STEPS:

1. Ask for the store manager
2. Explain the situation and the conversation that I had with the Senior Technician
3. Show the manager the flashing issue, and reference this thread; specifically the ones by the user’s I credited.
4. Ask to return and repurchase a new device, but explain that you would like to isolate the device based on the serial code; make reference to the post with the link.  You can type the serial code from the back of your box and show him the production date the site is showing.  Just to note, the website only gave me 10 searches.  You may want to test it at home before going in so that you’re familiar with how the site displays the data.
5. Ask the manager to bring about five devices for you to check before purchasing.
6. Verify the production date by searching the serial code found on the back of each new box.
7. If the production date was prior to week 52 (December) of calendar year 2020, you will be safe.  Anything week 52 (December), and on, had issues.

I did this very methodically and meticulously, and was very patient.  Be loving with the folks at the store; if they aren’t following, try to re-explain it as clearly as possible.

Also, I did a full return and repurchase during all of my interactions because the Apple Care+ Theft & Loss was tied to each device already, and they were not able to unlink it.  I didn’t mind since it extended my return period each time, but I did call my charge card to let them know I would be returning/repurchasing devices due to an issue since it would look weird after my initial large purchase.

One tip.  I found that half of the devices I ended up with were assembled in the United States.  Their serial codes start with G0NDV; the remaining alpha-numeric characters were different.

Please let me know how it goes for you.

My wishes of a good and easy outcome to anyone that is able to tackle this within their 14-day return period; in addition, may everyone’s heart be content.

Maryanne

Update Feb 5: So I talked to an Apple Senior Advisor last night and told me to try restore factory setting my iPhone 12 Pro via itunes to download the new OS and see if the problem can get fixed. Result was, it did not fixed the issue. But notable experience was: BEFORE I need to press power button once and get the flashing apple logo then press the power button again and a steady apple logo appears and starts up the phone. NOW I only have to press power button once, flashing apple logo appears then after 5 to 10 seconds the steady apple logo comes out. I don't have to press power button twice. Apple called me back and said that their developers are well aware of the issue and hopefully the fix will be in the next update. So it is confirmed that this is a software issue and not a hardware issue. To anyone new to the thread, I got my iPhone 12 Pro 1/31 with 14.3 pre-installed, after setting up I got the flashing apple logo so I did an exchanged the following day. The new replacement after setting up had the same issue. I don't want to exchange for the 3rd time this time so I'm gonna stick to this one until hopefully they release a software update to fix the issue. All the best!

Spoke to an Apple support person yesterday, courtesy of their executive escalation dept. Basically, if you turn on the phone, as soon as you see the Apple Logo flash, release the power button. In about 5-8 secs the regular apple logo will appear and the phone will boot normally.

This splash screen issue is something Apple is aware of and they indicated there is NO resolution for it at the moment.

I asked about 14.5, and Apple did not know if that would fix it. Like I stated earlier, it was said that 14.4 would fix this issue, but it did not. Hopefully, Apple will correct it in an update.

It is a normal boot up, some programmer just forgot to disable the screen during boot up so you see one of the steps in the start process. See my post above. And if you want an “official” answer from Apple you are unlikely to ever get one, and I guarantee you will not get one in this user-to-user forum. I hear that it is “fixed” in the next release, however, the logo will still be there, you just won’t see it because the screen will be turned off during startup. But in your heart you will know that the logo appears twice, even though you can’t see it.

I actually have already spoken to apple numerous times both in store and on the phone and have returned 3 other iPhone 12’s that developed this problem, each time at their recommendation not my request after they ran in store diagnostics on the phones. But thanks for sharing your “suggestions”. Lol

BTW — both phone support and Genius Bar support agreed that the behavior is “abnormal” and their solution was to replace to phone each time. That was their choice, not mine.

I came here to discuss the issue with others to see what their experiences had been surrounding it and it’s been informative to be sure!

Do not waste your time going to the store or replacing your phone right now. I replaced my wife’s phone twice same problem. Spoke to Apple support and they called me back after speaking with senior engineers that they know about the problem and it should be fixed in upcoming software updates. Keep a record of your case number and let’s see what happens

I called Apple support. Once the Apple logo flashes let go of the button. In about 20 seconds the phone will boot up and start. It’s a glitch but it doesn’t stop the phone from working properly. I kept holding in the button which was wrong.

Hi all, I got a response from the Apple support team. They have confirmed that Apple is aware of this issue, it is not a hardware thing and will get fixed in the next software update. They ran a diagnostic test on my phone and told me that everything seems to be ok and that I just need to wait for the next release

I can also confirm the flashing Apple logo issue has been resolved after updating my 12 Pro Max to 14.5 - good job.

Admittedly why it took so long and previous minor incremental updates didn’t fix the issue sooner is a shame, but at least it’s finally done. Also I can’t help but wonder whether the update fixed a software glitch in the iOS (and why in that case did it not affect all hardware iPhones’), or whether it is merely ‘masking’ a small hardware defect in certain batches of iPhones; this we’re unlikely to find out or ever know.

Personally for me although the logo flash glitch was somewhat a little frustrating each time it happened, it was no where near as frustrating as the ever so subtle hint of a yellowish tint on the display of the 12 Pro Max which I and many are experiencing - I was really hoping iOS 14.5 could address/resolve this (without loosing screen brightness power).

But at least I guess, it’s one problem/issue that’s out of the way now.

Just called Apple and spoke with a senior advisor directly. He mentioned that currently Apple knows nothing about this issue happening yet so they opened a case for me and I was able to send in and attach a video clip of this issue happening so they have a better understanding of what's occurring. They also said as long as this issue is not causing any operational phone issues to not worry about the iphone because Apple would replace them under there 1 year warranty or even beyond that timeframe should this possible manufacturing defect / issue cause other problems outside of direct iphone damage. So since they do not know about this problem yet maybe that is why a software fix is not yet in or working on beta 14.4.

So my own experience has been that this issue only occurs right after you sync your backup, or after you put it on a charger for the first time (my wifes new iphone)... since my first replaced phone after it was erased and reset at Verizon store did boot up normally again from the reset.

Hopefully Apple will do something to recognize this issue and address it.

I am facing a similar issue on my iPhone 12 that I purchased recently. The phone works absolutely normal after restart. I informed the same to Apple care. They said that after restart, if the Apple logo brightens for few seconds, and then the Apple logo reappears on its own , there’s nothing to worry about. ( I restarted my iPhone almost 10 times today 😔) I was explained that this is an expected functionality. I think this has come along with IOS 14.3. Because previously with 14.2, I noticed nothing like this.

Anybody else if updated to 14.3 and facing same issue do post here.Thanks!

Hi again. I went down to the service provider shop and they gave me brand new one! They could se the error when it turned on and also the burn-in on the screen, even though its hard to see. The new iPhone 12 Pro i got instead had ios 14.2.1. and didnt have the flash error when turning on the phone... It starts normally, like an iPhone should! I'm not updated it to the newest ios, before they fix it... !