iPhone 12 Pro / Apple logo "flashes" at start-up....is this normal?

My new pro max is flashing the apple logo on start up. Everything else seems fine BUT this phone is expensive and should be working perfect upon purchase. I’m very concerned as I only have a few more days where I can return it for another. I don’t want a defective phone😢

Hi Becca! 

At present I am in the process of working with senior engineers about this issue on my own phone. The last that I heard from them is that they are continuing to investigate.

As for whether it is merely cosmetic or not, some have said it doesn’t affect their phone’s functioning at all and some, like myself, have experienced other issues that may possibly be tied to it. Everyone has their own opinion as to whether the other issues that are being experienced at the same time are related or not. I am waiting to hear back from the engineers on that front as any opinion here is one provided by a customer and not by Apple techs or engineers themselves.

Three other people in my family alone have 12 pro series phones (2 max and one just pro) and none of them have the flash issue which has caused me to wonder if the issue is truly only software related then why don’t all 12’s display the behavior? 

Should you return the phone? Only you can make that choice. I have returned 3 and all the ones I’ve gotten still have the issue because it seems that it happens with all 12 pros manufactured after mid December 2020 and those are all that seem to be available currently— at least in my area. I opted to work with the engineers rather than trading again in the hope that it would help them to find the exact cause. Good luck whatever you decide to do!

Hi, I would say let's wait for the next IOS 14.5 as many have already confirmed in this thread that it resolved the issue. I have the same issue but I am not restarting the phone often and also it didn't impact any of the general phone's functionality.

I just bought the iPhone 12 Pro Max and have this issue. It makes me nervous because it happens on a regular shutdown and the hard shutdown and the phone struggles to come back on. I called the store where I purchased my phone only a week ago and asked if anyone else has been letting them know of the same issue. I was told that my call was the first time they have heard of it (hard for me to believe) I have iOS 14.4. I was also told I could not exchange the phone since it eventually comes back on and then runs as normal and that I should not be doing a 'hard shutdown' anyway. I told them that it happens if it is a normal shutdown or hard shutdown and that I wonder if it will eventually not turn on at all since it takes so long. Thank you for posting this information, and I did tell the store clerk that they should take a moment and read this thread so they understand it has been happening to many people.

RodneySharon wrote:

I just bought the iPhone 12 Pro Max and have this issue. It makes me nervous because it happens on a regular shutdown and the hard shutdown and the phone struggles to come back on. I called the store where I purchased my phone only a week ago and asked if anyone else has been letting them know of the same issue. I was told that my call was the first time they have heard of it (hard for me to believe) I have iOS 14.4. I was also told I could not exchange the phone since it eventually comes back on and then runs as normal and that I should not be doing a 'hard shutdown' anyway. I told them that it happens if it is a normal shutdown or hard shutdown and that I wonder if it will eventually not turn on at all since it takes so long. Thank you for posting this information, and I did tell the store clerk that they should take a moment and read this thread so they understand it has been happening to many people.

I experienced exactly the same, it struggles to turn back on after the flashing logo and that's what concerns me. Also, today I had to do a hard reset due to my microphone not working properly (my recorded audio suddenly sounded tinny and bad quality) - after the hard reset it worked fine again, but the hard reset took ages and the logo flashed again.

Does anyone know if this has been fixed ? I received my iphone 12 pro max on 02/202021 and it does this too but my phone has locked up around 5 times already been on att tech support but the phone is still locking up ? Is there a problem with this phone ? I am not getting any solutions ? For $1,400 you would think the phone would at least work properly ?

If it freezes up that it completely independent of the minor cosmetic glitch when starting the phone. Freezing up has not been associated with the Apple logo appearing twice during startup, as per the other posts in this thread.

Hi Curveball99...

I have also experienced the same issue with the text scrambling sometimes. When we are on a WhatsApp call and we minimize it then the notification of that call is also scrambled sometimes.

Apart from this sometimes my phone goes into a vibration loop. And yes the apple logo flashing at startup problem is also present.

When I went to the apple store here in Norway they don't seem to answer by queries properly instead they were saying that if this is a major issue apple will release a official statement on this.

We would definitely like to see a official statement from Apple soon!!!

My iPhone 12 Pro Max that I just got Thursday last week does the same EXCEPT it will NOT boot up normally unless I go through the process a couple of times. If I hold the power button for the first time it will do the bright flash of the logo and disappear and it will not load the OS no matter how long you hold the button down without letting go. I have to usually do it 2 - 3 times then it will finally load and go. Mines an AT&T phone/128GB. I am going to return today and when I fire up for the first time new I am NOT going to load the update if available and see if it still does it. I want to keep on iOS 13 if possible and see if does the same. Of course that will be based on what software the phone shipped with but will update after I get the phone.

1QAZ2WSX_J wrote:

My iPhone 12 Pro Max that I just got Thursday last week does the same EXCEPT it will NOT boot up normally unless I go through the process a couple of times. If I hold the power button for the first time it will do the bright flash of the logo and disappear and it will not load the OS no matter how long you hold the button down without letting go. I have to usually do it 2 - 3 times then it will finally load and go. Mines an AT&T phone/128GB. I am going to return today and when I fire up for the first time new I am NOT going to load the update if available and see if it still does it. I want to keep on iOS 13 if possible and see if does the same. Of course that will be based on what software the phone shipped with but will update after I get the phone.

DON’T hold the button down and not let go; that prevents it from booting. Hold it until the logo appears, then let go and wait. It will start on its own in about 30 seconds.

Just installed new update 14.4.1 and my phone is worse. Takes longer w more flashing logos before actually booting up. I’m so irritated. This phone is brand new and expensive not to mention my entire life is in it. 12 pro max should function better than this.

I’ve tried everything the  support guy said and even bring it to a local store, which I found a tons other people who had just recently bought iPhone 12&12 Pro and 12 max also encountering the same problem. For a phone with over 1000$ price tag and in another country, this amount of investment in a phone but just to have it fail is extremely infuriating. I hope Apple take responsibility for this severe software problem.

I have the same issue in my brand new 12 pro max. During turning on the device I see the apple logo for 2 seconds and the screen goes dark for 6 seconds and again the logo flashes and boots up normally. I connected with the customer care and they ran a diagnostic test and confirmed that it is not a software issue and might be a hardware issue. So taking my device to Icare to check with them.

Whenever I re-start my new iPhone 12 Pro, the white Apple logo will appear VERY briefly (less than a second) then the screen goes completely dark for 3-4 seconds. Then the Apple logo reappears and the phone re-starts normally. Is this a new normal process, or is there possibly a hardware or software problem with my phone? I've never experienced this before having been an iPhone owner for 7+ years.

Whenever I re-start my new iPhone 12 Pro, the white Apple logo will appear VERY briefly (less than a second) then the screen goes completely dark for 3-4 seconds. Then the Apple logo reappears and the phone re-starts normally. Is this a new normal process, or is there possibly a hardware or software problem with my phone? I've never experienced this before having been an iPhone owner for 7+ years.