How do I turn on phone initially

Press and hold the button on the right side until the Apple logo appears on the screen. If for some reason that doesn’t work, try force restarting the phone. You may have to try this a couple of times to get the hang of it.

You can read the instructions for force restarting in here.

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

Demo wrote:

Good point, but hard to believe a brand new iPhone would need a charge to start up. Or is this something I’ve never heard of?

I wouldn't expect it, either. But, weird things happen. And, even if it is charged, plugging it in will turn it on.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

I wouldn't expect it, either. But, weird things happen. And, even if it is charged, plugging it in will turn it on.

Duh, I should have realized that. I will blame it on another senior moment.

Also, plug it in. It should turn on in a few minutes.

Good point, but hard to believe a brand new iPhone would need a charge to start up. Or is this something I’ve never heard of?

Demo wrote:

Duh, I should have realized that. I will blame it on another senior moment.

Maybe you need to adjust your morning routine! ;-)

You might be right. Maybe I should switch brands of coffee? I will never give up being a lazy slug, though.

My apologies to user NiSh9Sp59-36 for taking the thread off topic.