iPhone 16 Pro not turning on

My wife’s iPhone 16 Pro is not turning on. Several times I have had to push the top volume, bottom volume and then hold the right power button until the Apple came on. And it took much longer than 10 seconds and instead of it coming on by itself, the Apple would show only after I held and released the power button. Did she get a lemon or are others having this problem? She gets a new phone every year so this is not an operator error.

iPhone 16 Pro

Posted on Sep 27, 2024 5:04 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 4, 2024 12:54 PM

Everyone is most certainly not having this issue. Force Restart your iPhone, which will likely solve this:


  • Press and quickly release the volume up button
  • Then immediately press and release the volume down button
  • Then immediately press and KEEP HOLDING the side power button. KEEP HOLDING it past the swipe to power off and KEEP HOLDING it until the screen goes dark and KEEP HOLDING it until you see the Apple Log, then let go. This stage can 15 - 20 seconds so don't let go until you see the Apple Logo
389 replies

Feb 6, 2025 4:11 AM in response to Lilisbuddy

Hi any advice on this,I’ve had my iPhone 16 pro max since oct and every now and then maybe once every 2weeks I switch it off at night so it’s 100% charged in morning,but I can’t switch the phone on it usually take me a hour or two by pressing volume up and down and then long press other button,surely this shouldn’t be happening all the time.anyone else having issues with 16 pro not turning back on

Feb 18, 2025 9:03 AM in response to Lilisbuddy

Same issue here. Mom’s new iPhone 16 Pro Max won’t turn on after being left overnight to update to latest iOS 18.3.1 version, while plugged-in to charge. Followed the button steps outlined by Apple Support to no avail. We don’t have a computer (only iPad) and don’t have the time to run immediately to an Apple Store. This is really something that Apple needs to address with an urgent fix, as it’s leaving customers without a working phone.

Feb 18, 2025 2:00 PM in response to Perscorilo2002

Perscorilo2002 wrote:

We should have had the phone available and turned it on, especially considering that we were expecting an important call.

Technology made by imperfect humans is not perfect. Sometimes, glitches happen. However, now you know how to do a forced restart which means you can probably resolve a lot of issues yourself and fairly quickly.

Feb 23, 2025 7:12 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Sorry for not getting things right on my first attempt 100% of the time. While it’s true any computer/smartphone can crash at any given time, it’s very suspicious that it has happened to at least 1,400 people with the iPhone 16. I’m glad I got my phone back to life and really hope it doesn’t happen again. But if it does, it will surely only take me 9 attempts next time

Feb 24, 2025 6:38 AM in response to outlyer6079

outlyer6079 wrote:

While it’s true any computer/smartphone can crash at any given time, it’s very suspicious that it has happened to at least 1,400 people with the iPhone 16.

Do you realize that 1,400 is only 0.0037 of iPhone 16s sold in just the first weekend of sales? It seems a lot less 'suspicious" when you put it in context, doesn't it.


Also, just because ~1400 people tapped "Me Too" doesn't mean they all actually had the same problem.

Feb 24, 2025 7:16 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

No, I consider it a problem when it happens to several devices instead of just a handful of people, even if it’s just a tiny percentage of the total (as far as we know). It is strange to me that so many people on this thread have had many iPhones and never had it happen before, just with the 16. Why is it so difficult to accept that there might be a problem with this generation of iPhone? People here get so defensive and attack the buyer (who has paid hundreds to over a thousand dollars for this device and is justifiably worried when something like this happens for the first time and on top of that sees that so many other people are having the same issue with the same model). And just as we cannot be sure whether it has happened to the 1,400 people that have hit the ‘me too’ button, we do not know how many people out there have had this problem and haven’t shared it here.

I guess people are just looking for whatever reason to fight and belittle others on the internet, instead of focusing on how to fix problems and improve future products for consumers. Have a great day

Feb 24, 2025 7:20 AM in response to outlyer6079

outlyer6079 wrote:

Why is it so difficult to accept that there might be a problem with this generation of iPhone?

Perhaps because so very few people are having problems with it.

People here get so defensive and attack the buyer (who has paid hundreds to over a thousand dollars for this device and is justifiably worried when something like this happens for the first time and on top of that sees that so many other people are having the same issue with the same model). And just as we cannot be sure whether it has happened to the 1,400 people that have hit the ‘me too’ button, we do not know how many people out there have had this problem and haven’t shared it here.
I guess people are just looking for whatever reason to fight and belittle others on the internet, instead of focusing on how to fix problems and improve future products for consumers. Have a great day

No, people are looking for reasons to help you. But, if you keep insisting that the problem is the hardware based on no evidence at all, no one here in this user-to-user forum can help you.


Sometimes, it feels as if people are posting here not to ask for help but simply to get confirmation for the assumptions they have already made.

Feb 24, 2025 8:00 AM in response to outlyer6079

outlyer6079 wrote:

Sorry for not getting things right on my first attempt 100% of the time. While it’s true any computer/smartphone can crash at any given time, it’s very suspicious that it has happened to at least 1,400 people with the iPhone 16. I’m glad I got my phone back to life and really hope it doesn’t happen again. But if it does, it will surely only take me 9 attempts next time

Isn’t it also suspicious that it did not happen to 100 million iPhone 16 users, less the 1,400 people that you claim?

Mar 1, 2025 1:38 AM in response to Lilisbuddy

This Apple 16 pro not turning on is contageous. Only had them a few days and already my husband's wouldn't turn on till he forced it and now mine won't despite trying the 'force' system twice. I so regret changing up my iphone 14 which over 2 years only had this happen 2 or 3 times. If I ever get it working I will want to switch it off again tonight so how can I trust it to go back on tomorrow.


I've spent way too long trying to simply turn it on today. This is not acceptble apple - I want to return it.

Mar 9, 2025 5:04 AM in response to Lilisbuddy

Bought this iPhone less than a month ago, i woke up this morning and the phone is turned off. I had to try to reset for an hour and it finally came back on thanks to this community. This is ridiculous it is a $1000 brand new phone , with this much factory issue. What are apple makers doing? People could be in a life of death situation and the phone would just stop working. They need to take accountability for this situation - how are you charging an arm and leg for a phone and making a terrible phone.

Mar 16, 2025 9:23 AM in response to David Stearn1

If you turn it off while charging over the long term this will shorten the life of the battery. The battery monitoring circuit requires that the phone be powered on to work correctly. In addition, turning it off stops normal background and foreground (e.g., receiving mail, texts and notifications) processes, which will then run when you turn the phone back on. If you leave it on overnight those processes will use power from the mains power source rather than the battery, so it will reduce the number of needed charge cycles.

Mar 21, 2025 6:50 AM in response to Lilisbuddy

I’m having this same problem of not turning on, the issue with me is that I can not remember the iCloud pass word and apple says they can’t run diagnostics without it. And because the phone won’t come on I can’t reset it. I have tried so hard to remember and then log in from another device but now iCloud has locked the password and won’t allow me to attempt to reset the password again unless I have proof of purchase with the imei number on it. The problem is that I got it from comcast and even though I have the box with the imei number on it my proof of purchase receipt does not have the imei number. Comcast’s says they can’t provide the imei number on a receipt because it is not assigned until after the phone is shipped. Therefore I iCloud won’t reset it and I won’t be able to access my iCloud. I fear I will be stuck paying for a phone that I can’t use. This is very frustrating!! A word to the wise make sure you know your iCloud password!!


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iPhone 16 Pro not turning on

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