If your new iPhone isn’t turning on after a data transfer, some potential ways to fix it include waiting a bit longer, forcing a restart, charging the device, or even performing a device firmware update.
Getting a new iPhone can be an exciting experience and after transferring your data, you want nothing more than to play around with it and learn more about all the new features. However, what should you do if your new device won’t turn on after performing the data transfer?
Keep reading this guide to learn more.
Contents
Key Takeaways
- After giving it a few more minutes to see if it eventually turns on, you can attempt a force restart to see if that helps. This is a simple process and will only take a minute.
- Sometimes, it’s as simple as the device not being charged. So be sure to attempt to charge your phone and see if that allows it to turn on.
- If nothing else has worked, you can attempt a device firmware update as a last resort to get the iPhone to turn on.
Fix 1: Wait a Few More Minutes
The first thing to try is actually to do nothing at all. It is normal for the data transfer to take some time to complete, especially if you are transferring a large amount of data. In some cases it may take up to half an hour or longer to complete.
As a result, if you are worried that the device won’t power on after a data transfer, give it a few more minutes and do your best to be patient.
Fix 2: Force a Restart
If you have waited for a long enough period and your device still isn’t turning on, you can force a restart to try and power it on. The way to force restart an iPhone is by:
- Pressing and quickly releasing volume up button
- Pressing and quickly releasing volume down button
- Pressing and holding the side power button
- When the Apple logo comes on-screen, release the side button
In most cases, this should allow the device to start back up as normal and let you finally use your new device.
Fix 3: Make Sure the Device is Charged and in Good Shape
If a force restart doesn’t work, there is a chance that the new device simply has a fully depleted battery and needs to be charged. As a result, plug it into a power source and give it a few minutes to get charged up and see if it will start after that.
Even if you have it plugged in, I would recommend trying another power source and even another charging cable to ensure that neither of those is the issue.
It is also a good idea to briefly check the phone for any damage that could be preventing the device from turning on.
Fix 4: Perform a Device Firmware Update
As a last resort, you can also try to perform a device firmware update (DFU) on your iPhone to see if it can recover it and get it to turn on.
The first step is to connect your iPhone to your computer, and then open up either iTunes (PC and macOS Mojave and earlier) or Finder (macOS Catalina and later). After this, you need to perform a few button inputs to enter DFU mode.
The buttons you press are similar to when you force a restart but with a bit of a twist. You need to:
- Press and quickly release the volume up button
- Press and quickly release the volume down button
- Press and hold the side power button for about 10 seconds
- Once you have been holding the side power button for 10 seconds, begin to hold the volume down button for 5 seconds (while still holding down the side power button)
- After these 5 seconds, release the side power button, but continue holding the volume down button for another 10 seconds
Your iTunes/Finder program on your computer should recognize the phone and it should appear on the computer screen if the button inputs were successful. Be patient and don’t hesitate to try a few times, as getting the timing of the different button presses can be a bit of a process.
Then, simply follow the on-screen instructions and press Update and let it work to see if it was successful. In order to manually exit DFU mode after the update, it’s as easy as performing yet another force restart.
Here is a great video that highlights how to enter DFU mode on your iPhone if you want to see it done as opposed to only reading about it.
Keep in mind that recovering your device via DFU mode will erase its content and settings and restore it back to its factory settings, so make sure you have a backup created to preserve your phone’s data.
If this is unsuccessful or you couldn’t even start the process for one reason or another, it’s a good idea to reach out to Apple Support in order to get assistance with the device.
Final Thoughts
Having a device not be able to turn on can be an annoying, frustrating, and worrying experience. This is especially true when it is a new phone that you have just attempted to transfer all of your data to.
I hope that this guide has been able to help you fix this issue and be able to enjoy your new iPhone.
Is there anything else you feel I should have mentioned in this guide but left out? If so, don’t hesitate to let me know in a comment.
