iPhone could get stuck on Apple logo while trying to update to the latest available OS, you don’t have to panic though since you are not the first person it would happen to. Known as the “black screen of death”, your iPhone freezes and you can’t go forward nor go back.
There is a number of ways to go around this problem.
Restart Your iPhone
This is normally the quick fix to any smartphone problem. When you force-restart your device, most of the problems it encountered before goes away when turned back on.
Restarting iPhone X or iPhone 11
Press and hold either the volume up or volume down button together with the side button, wait until the slider appears to power off. To restart, press and hold the side button until your iPhone boots up again.
Restarting iPhone SE (2020), 8, 7, or 6
Press and hold the side button until you see the slider, drag the slider and wait for 30 secs for your iPhone to power off. To restart, press and hold the side button until your iPhone boots up again.
Restarting iPhone SE, 5 or Earlier
Press and hold the top button until you see the slider to power off, drag and wait for 30 seconds. To restart, press and hold the top button until your iPhone boots up again.
Use Recovery Mode
If force-restarting your iPhone does not work for you, it’s time to get deeper and use recovery mode.
- Connect your iPhone to your Mac computer. If you are running macOS Catalina, open Finder. For those running macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes.
- Locate your iPhone or your computer. If you are running macOS Catalina, you will find your iPhone at the sidebar when you open Finder.
If you have a PC or a Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes. You will see your iPhone icon at the upper-left corner of the iTunes window.
- Now that your iPhone is connected, for iPhone 8 or later – press and hold the Volume Up button, then quickly release it. Press and hold the Volume Down button, then quickly release it. Now, press and hold the Side button until the Recovery Mode screen comes up.
- For iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus – press and hold the Top button together with the Volume Down button. Continue holding until the Recovery Mode screen comes up.
- For iPhone 6S or earlier – press and hold the Home button and the Top or Side button at the same time. Continue holding until the Recovery Mode screen comes up.
- Your connected PC or Mac will show you the options to Restore or Update. Choose Update. Your computer will attempt to download the latest software for your iPhone and reinstall it. Wait till the process is completed.
- If the process takes longer than 15 minutes, your iPhone will exit Recovery Mode. You will have to reconnect and restart the earlier steps here again.
Use Third-Party Recovery Tools
If you still have your iPhone stuck on Apple logo, it may be time to try out third-party tools. Some well-known tools are Reiboot Pro, dr.fone and Phone Rescue. You can diagnose the problem with these tools for free, but for you to use them to fix the problem you have to go Premium.