Q: i dropped my Ipad sideways, the screen is only black and it wont turn on

Why so sceptical when there is repeated testimony of success! Anyhow, it is the same principle as shaking a tv remote control or transistor radio with a lose battery connection.

Well done to you and the latest batch of satisfied posters!

My ipad was knocked down tonight and I  came across your posting. .thanks so much. Saved me some mulah

Amazing!!  My daughter dropped my ipad twice in 2 days, on the second drop it stopped working.  I could tell that it was still "alive" as I could find it on find my ipad, but nothing happening on the screen.  In despair took it to the local apple reseller, and he tells me I will need to send it back to apple and pay $300 to get a replacement.  I read these posts, and laid it on my knee upside down and gave it a smack...nothing...a couple more and voila!!!  It worked!!!  Very relieved, will be taking extra special care of it though now   Thank you so much!!!!!

You are welcome!

Yeah, this worked for me a few months ago. I was in the Apple store about to cough up some money and this worked. Thanks guys!!!

I had to hit it a lot! But, it worked!! Thanks, @alanfromnewtownards !

I have been trying for days to get in touch with Apple and I can't seem to get anyone to respond. I did the same thing as everyone else.  I have new iPad mini with retina and cellular and I dropped it.  For me to go to the Apple Store is a 2 hr drive one way.  Today I tried againto contact Apple and nothing.  Anyway, I lookedagain in the discussion groups and found you.  I want to thank you so much for your help.  You wouldn't think something so simple would work.  I remember one time my husband was having trouble with a sprinkler head and threw it in the woods.  After a while and a cooling off period he went in the woods and retrieved it. IT WORKED.  Not everything has to be complicated to work.  Thank you again and God bless you.  Have a great week.

I Just dropped my MacBook Pro. It slid off my bed and fell on its side. I opened it to see if it was okay, and it wasn't. The screen was black, but all the buttons worked, etc. After frantically searching the internet for ways to remedy this disaster, and actually scheduling an appointment with the Genius Bar, I found this thread and was so desperate, I thought maybe it'd work on my laptop even though it's not an ipad like everybody else. AND IT WORKED. Holy smokes! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! HOW DOES THIS WORK?! WHY DOES THIS WORK?! I'm amazed and so relieved and so happyyyyyy that I found this thread, because I was about to cry. I'm a performer who has a show in two days and was taking a break from some writing I had to do for this upcoming show. I would have been toast. Thank you thank you thank you.

I Don't know how old/new this thread is but thank God for it. I dropped my iPad yesterday and I was devastated thinking that I might need to replace it, since of course I never get the warranty when I buy things. I had to slap the back a few times but it worked. This also happened to me a while back. The screen wasn't working and my 1 year old got a hold of it and dropped it, and she fixed it! My husband and I were laughing about it for days and that's how I found this thread, I knew that something like another fall can fix it again. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! It works for me aswell

The firts time I went soft and didnt work so I did give a big smack and it worked

I haven't been able used my iPad for a month and read this post. I got out of bed to get my iPad to see if it would work. I flipped it over gave it a smack and then held down both buttons to reset and bualah my screen saver popped up. Im so happy it worked. I thought id have to take it in and pay major bucks to get it fixed. Curious why this works:D

Ya hes right. in 3 words: IT IS BROKEN

If its still operational then plug it into a computer and open itunes. then hold the home screen button down untill it says Recovery mode

I tried the smacking it on the back, but it did not work. What do I do? I can hear the camera take pictures. Is that a good sign?

Also, Alan when I smack the back, in the center of the screen appears a white blob with each hit.