All devices have a shelf life and that’s no different with iPhones. Some parts of the iPhone may be damaged and even become unusable over time due to repetitive use. One of these parts is the power button. The power button may become damaged over time or break for a number of reasons. Sometimes the power button may be disabled due to a software problem or other times it may stop working if dirt and grease gets inside your phone. In these kinds of instances, it’s helpful to know how to turn off your iPhone without using the screen.
In this case, you may not be able to turn off your device at any time and lock it at any time. You don’t have to worry anymore if you’re in this situation which is unfortunately more common than you think. You can overcome this problem although using this method is only temporary, until you can get your phone screen fixed. In this guide, we’ll go over the steps you need to take to be able to turn off your iPhone without your screen.
Assistive Touch
The first method we’re going to look at to turn off your iPhone without your screen works only when you still have some of your screens left operating. Sometimes you may smash half of your screen with the other half still working.
On iOS, Assistive Touch acts as a virtual key on the screen of your iPhone. With Assistive Touch, you can perform the function of the home button, lock your iPhone, take a screenshot of your phone, and more. You can even use the Assistive Touch to create a virtual power button if your phone’s power button doesn’t work.
How to activate Assistive Touch
- Open the Settings section of your iPhone.
- Go to General > Accessibility.
- Finally, tap to activate the Assistive Touch.
You can now see the Assistive Touch, a virtual button on the screen of your iPhone. You can position the Assistive Touch anywhere on the screen of your phone. Just hold the virtual key and drag it around. If your screen is damaged, try pulling the Assistive Touch button to a part of your screen that isn’t damaged to use it to turn to lock your iPhone.
Locking and Turning Off an iPhone with Assistive Touch
- Go to Settings > General and then open Assistive Touch.
- Touch the Customize Top Menu button.
- You will see the Assistive Touch menu. From here you can add new options.
- Then tap to open the Assistive Touch.
Touching the Lock screen button once will lock the screen of your iPhone. If you long-press this button, you will see the screen to turn off the iPhone. Here you can also turn off your phone by sliding the virtual power switch from left to right.
The Home button method
If your iPhone’s screen is completely damaged, you won’t be able to use the slider that appears on your screen when you’re trying to turn off your iPhone. Luckily, Apple has included a ‘hidden method’ to turn off your iPhone if you can’t see your screen.
Here’s how to do it;
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button at the top of the iPhone device.
- At the same time, hold the Home button at the front of the iPhone while continuing to hold the Sleep/Wake button. It will take a few seconds before your iPhone responds.
Once the iPhone’s screen turns off, release the buttons to turn the iPhone off without having to use the screen. Don’t continue holding down the buttons or the device will reset.
This is how to turn off your iPhone without the screen power slider.
How to turn off your iPhone if you don’t have a Home button and a working screen
If your iPhone doesn’t have a Home button, don’t panic. There’s another way to turn off your iPhone without the screen.
Here’s how to do it;
- Press and release the Volume Up button. Do not long-press or hold the button.
- Do the same to the Volume Down button. Press and immediately release.
- Press and hold the Lock/Unlock button until your iPhone screen turns off, turns on, and shuts off again.
Once the Apple logo disappears from the screen for the second time, release the Lock/Unlock button.
Turning off your iPhone without the screen
So there you have it, those are the methods you can use to turn off your iPhone if your screen is damaged or it’s stopped working altogether. These are however only temporary solutions. There are plenty of services you can use to fix your iPhone screen that won’t cost you as much as if you went to Apple themselves.
