Is Your iPad Screen Black? Here’s How to Fix it!

Learn what to do when your iPad screen is black so you can fix the problem for good!

By Abigail Shilets - Staff Writer
4 Min Read
  • If your iPad is showing a black screen that never goes away, you should try resetting it.
  • Black screens might appear if your iPad overheats, encounters a major error, or the screen itself breaks.
  • You should also plug your iPaD into a charger to make sure that it isn’t simply out of battery.

It can be frustrating if your iPad screen goes black and won’t turn on. An unresponsive touchscreen will turn your iPad into an expensive brick.

Luckily, there are ways to fix nearly every "Black Screen of Death" glitch on your iPad. Depending on the problem, you might be able to fix the problem by yourself, or get help from Apple.

Here’s what to do if your iPad’s stuck on a black screen.

How to fix a black screen on your iPad

Here are the steps to take if your iPad is unresponsive and has a black screen.

Try Charging Your iPad

It’s possible your iPad screen is black because it’s out of battery life. First, you can simply try turning the iPad on. Just hold the Power button on the top or side, depending on which model you have, of your iPad until the white Apple logo shows up on your screen.

However, if you do this and a battery icon shows up on your screen or nothing happens at all, you may have to connect the iPad to power and wait to see if it was simply drained. Apple recommends using only certified charging hardware, especially if you’re having issues.

If your iPad screen is still black, try these tips

  • Use a different power adapter or a different charging cable.
  • Make sure that your iPad isn’t too hot or too cold.

Learn what to do if your iPad won’t charge

Hard Reset Your iPad

If the above solution didn’t work and you suspect the iPad is on, just frozen on the black screen, force a restart.

iPad without a Home button

  • Press and quickly release the volume button closest to the top button.
  • Press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button.
  • Press and hold the top button until the device begins to restart.

iPad with a Home button

Press and hold both the Home button and the top button until you see the Apple logo.

If your iPad turned back on, that’s great! But we’re not done yet. The software problem that made your iPad screen black hasn’t actually been fixed. If the problem continues to occur on your iPad, we highly recommend putting it into DFU mode and restoring. Before you do, back it up first!

How To Back Up Your iPad

You can back up iPad using iCloud or your computer.

Back up iPad using your Mac

  1. Connect iPad and your computer with a cable.
  2. In the Finder sidebar on your Mac, select your iPad.
    To use the Finder to back up iPad, macOS 10.15 or later is required. With earlier versions of macOS, use iTunes to back up iPad.
  3. At the top of the Finder window, click General.
  4. Select “Back up all of the data on your iPad to this Mac.”
  5. To encrypt your backup data and protect it with a password, select “Encrypt local backup.”
  6. Click Back Up Now.

Back up iPad using your Windows device

  1. Connect iPad and your computer with a cable.
  2. In the iTunes app on your Windows device, click the iPad button near the top left of the iTunes window.
  3. Click Summary.
  4. Click Back Up Now (below Backups).
  5. To encrypt your backups, select “Encrypt local backup,” type a password, then click Set Password.
  6. To see the backups stored on your computer, choose Edit > Preferences, then click Devices. Encrypted backups have a lock icon in the list of backups.

Back Up Your iPad Using iCloud

  1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup.
  2. Make sure the switch next to iCloud Backup is on at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap Back Up Now. A status bar will appear displaying how much longer the backup will take.

Note: Your iPad needs to be connected to Wi-Fi before it can back up to iCloud.

DFU Restore Your iPad

DFU erases and reloads every line of code on your iPad. When the restore is complete, it’ll be as if you were taking your iPad out of the box for the very first time.

It’s extremely important to back up your iPad before putting it in DFU mode. If you don’t, you’ll lose all the data on your iPad.

Here’s how to do it.

DFU Restore iPads With A Home Button

  1. Plug your iPad into your computer and open iTunes if you have a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.14 or a PC. Open Finder if you have a Mac running macOS Catalina 10.15 or newer.
  2. Press and hold both the power button and Home button until the screen goes black.
  3. After three seconds, release the power button but continue to hold the Home button.
  4. Continue to hold the Home button until your iPad appears on on iTunes or Finder.
  5. Click Restore iPad iTunes or Finder window.
  6. Click Restore and Update.

DFU Restore iPads Without A Home Button

  1. Plug your iPad into your computer and open iTunes if you have a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.14 or a PC. Open Finder if you have a Mac running macOS Catalina 10.15 or newer.
  2. Press and hold the Top button for three seconds.
  3. While continuing to press and hold the power button, press and hold the volume down button.
  4. Hold both buttons down for about ten seconds.
  5. After ten seconds, release the Top button, but continue to hold down the volume button until your iPad appears on iTunes or Finder.
  6. Click Restore iPad.
  7. Click Restore and Update.

Note: If the Apple logo appears on your iPad display after Step 4, you’ve held the buttons for too long and will start again.

If a DFU restore doesn’t fix the problem you are having, move onto the final step of this article.

Repair Your iPad Screen

There’s probably a hardware problem if your iPad display is still black. If you recently dropped your iPad, or if it has been exposed to liquid, the wires that power your iPad’s screen may have become damaged or dislodged from the logic board.

Go to a nearby Apple store, or contact Apple by phone or email. Depending on your warranty, they may repair your iPad for free. Before you visit the Apple Store, be sure to make a Genius Bar appointment so that you don’t wait around for long.

If it’s easier, you can also try going to a third-party repair store. Just note that this might void your official warranty.

Learn what to do if your iPad won’t turn on

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Abigail is a staff writer for GeeksChalk based in Pennsylvania. She covers news, how-tos, and user guides for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Before becoming a writer Abigail studied computer science at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. When not creating masterpiece for GeeksChalk, you can usually find Abigail hiking, climbing, or otherwise unplugged.
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