Why is my new iPhone 16 not turning on?

As soon as I turned off the beta release feature, 18.2 became available! I had always assumed that the beta release would be ahead of the latest non-beta release. That hurt my head a bit. I've always liked getting an early look at new features.

My iPhone 16 won’t turn on and this isn’t the first time. I know the side trick buttons but that is not working this time. My question is , What is Apple doing about this? Not how to fix it. If you are going to travel and you can’t turn your phone on, what good is it? Very disappointed with this phone and Apple.

Your reply to elainefromocola was not really on point. You wrote:

Apple is doing nothing for the problem with your phone

unless you contact their support. This is a problem specifically for

your phone and perhaps a few others, but does not happen with around 100 million other phones.

The comparison is not to 100 million phones. It is to how many users of THIS SITE have iPhones 16s and have even thought they might find help here. So far, 130 of them have said they have the same problem. The number seems to be going up every day.

I am one of those people, as you can see by my earlier posts. I have no speedup, etc., apps installed. I also doubt they could cause this particular problem.

I will say that your comment about contacting Apple directly and describing how to do it seems helpful in theory. However, it would be even more helpful if anyone reported trying this and actually getting the problem fixed. I haven't had the problem in a week. If I do again, I will follow your approach. So thank you for that.

I'm not hesitant to call Apple Support, and I do have Apple Care+. If the problem recurs, so that maybe a remote diagnostic will show something, I will do it, just as you suggested.

I came here first to see if this was a known problem, which obviously it is, and to see if there was a known and simple fix, which there isn't. There is just the workaround that you and a few others posted. It did work for me a few times. Since the last time, no problem recurrence. Maybe it was the upgrade to 18.2.1, though nothing I've read in the release notes says anything but "bug fixes".

Again, as I wrote, if it does recur, I will contact Apple support.

Since I updated to iOS 18.2.1, the problem has not recurred. I have tried leaving my 16 plugged into the charger all night but turned off, fully charged but not plugged in, etc. Nothing triggers the problem.

Coincidence, sunspots, or ?? Anyway, I'm glad not to have any problem with my iPhone not turning on. Fingers slightly crossed, of course.

Thank you for this tip. it worked and my brand new phone turned back on. Does any one know why it wouldnt power back on normally? am i going to have to do this every time i shut it off? should i shut it off? etc

Is it possible that not pressing the power button long enough on startup can cause the phone to go into the failed startup state and then need the forced restart procedure? I was able to reproduce the effect a few days ago. Can anyone confirm this is the case generally?

You're right that these forums are unofficial. The 100+ "me too" on this problem don't make it a problem as far as Apple is concerned.

I get the same response from CenturyTel when all the landlines on my road go down. "It isn't showing as a system error on our computers so it must be the wiring in your home. We'll send someone out in a couple of weeks to check and you'll pay us if we find a wiring problem." And it is never a problem with my wiring.

At least, make sure you have updated to the latest iOS - 18.2.1. Since I did that, the problem has not recurred for me. I can't promise it will work for you. So far, no one else has said this fixes the problem.

Seriously? This is my 4th iPhone and I always plug it in, turn it off at night, and it’s always turned back on. Today it did not. Why turn it off? It was my work phone and I did not want any calls in the middle of the night. No weird apps. Just got it a month ago. It’s brand new. Going to Support next. Insured. Getting a new one. Unacceptable.

Same thing happened to my Wife’s iPhone 16pro as well. Turned it off from the switch, when it bit Less than 50%. After coming home I put it to charge, it never charged and not turning on, no beeps and no apple logo. Tried volume down button and power button, no response at all. I spent about over AUD2000 on this and only used for about 3months.

Shawn, you might also try the three button trick described several times in this very long message thread. It worked for me three times. Then after the 18.2.1 update, I haven't seen the problem recur.

I will note that the "me too's" keep going up. Apple needs to address this problem. Also, when you get a new iPhone, there is no info about any special way to turn it off (as Lawrence suggests) or turn it on when it won't start up normally.

I have exactly the same problem as Mr Finch above with my Iphone 16 pro not turning on. It started barely a month after I bought it and has happened 3x now. The trick of vol up and then down and switch on does not work. I was told to visit an Apple store genius bar, which I have done on 2 occasions, but this is an ongoing pattern now, and to say I am disappointed would be an understatement. This phone is a dud and Apple refuse to acknowledge it is their problem but something in the software, ext to them. I thought Apple was a world-class customer-orientated company, but this has proven to be elusive, to say the least. Beyond exasperated

The button trick worked once but, longer does. Dam quality control. Apple, like all other American companies, once they market you into their products, they iterate, meaning your customers pay the company for developing their products. And, customers waste their life, money and become frustrated and comatose to tech scams like what I'm feeling with the purchase of the new iPhone 16...it doesn't work any longer.

AverageMick wrote:

The button trick worked once but, longer does. Dam quality control. Apple, like all other American companies, once they market you into their products, they iterate, meaning your customers pay the company for developing their products. And, customers waste their life, money and become frustrated and comatose to tech scams like what I'm feeling with the purchase of the new iPhone 16...it doesn't work any longer.

That’s why there’s a 1 year hardware warranty.

Apple does not seem to know specifically why this happens and says it is a software issue. They don’t know what software it is causing this and seek to do a deep reset in the HOPE this will resolve the problem of iPhone 16 not turning on reliably 100% of the time. On 4 occasions, one with Apple support and other with 3 genius on 3 different occasions this is what I was told. They won’t replace the phone with a new one but with a refurbished one. Thank you but I don’t want to inherit other people’s problems. This creates a lot of trust issues with Apple company. Bit of a good kind. Best you can do is leave the phone on 24/7 and that way you won’t have to switch on and enter a lottery.