Some iPhone 17 devices won’t turn on after battery drains

I strongly suspect that the most desired feature of a smartphone is long battery life. after all these are mobile devices, meaning they’re meant for use on the go. The longer you can wait between charges, the more mobile your phone can be. But no matter how big your battery is, sooner or later, it will drain. The issue is what if it doesn’t turn back on even though you’ve left it plugged in to the charger?

Some iPhone 17s won’t turn on

I was not aware of these claims until they came forward Post by Benjamin Mayo on 9to5Mac. In a report on Monday, Mayo explained that his iPhone Air’s battery was drained, so he plugged the device into power, expecting the Apple logo to appear as it usually does. However, according to Mayo, nothing happened, even though his iPhone remained connected to power for minutes. It seemed as if the phone was not plugged in. Mayo also tried a hardware reset, which involved quickly pressing the Volume Up button, then quickly pressing the Volume Down button, then holding down the Side button. This usually puts a damaged iPhone back in its place, but still, no dice.

Mayo found that his story was not unique. In his article he highlighted that multiple stage threads Many users are complaining about iPhone 17 models not turning on even after their battery is completely drained. Of particular concern is how many users comment on these posts sharing similar experiences. There are 144 comments on this thread at the time of writingAnd it appears that most users are confirming that this issue has happened to them, or someone they know. that’s not necessary evidence This is a widespread problem, but it suggests that there is something wrong with the iPhone 17 battery.

For full transparency, I’ve been using the iPhone 17 Pro Max since late last year and this is the first I’m hearing about it. In the months I’ve had this iPhone, I’ve never experienced any of the problems highlighted here. (I’ve been frustrated with the slow Face ID experience, but that’s a problem for another day.) That being said, I’m not sure I’ve ever really let my iPhone go completely overboard in the time I’ve had it — and I’m not necessarily passing up the chance to overclock it now.

How to turn your iPhone 17 back on after battery drain

Fortunately, this is not an issue without solutions – and some at that. Mayo was particularly interesting: He said he wasn’t able to restart his iPhone until he switched from wired to wireless charging. By throwing his Air on a MagSafe charger, he was able to get his phone back on as if there was no problem in the first place.

Some users in the forum linked above have had success keeping their iPhones plugged in for longer periods of time. One said 30 minutes was enough, while another claimed it took two to three hours of uninterrupted connectivity for the iPhone to turn back on. This iFixit user was able to force an iPhone into DFU modeWhich involves the same button combination as a hardware reset, but it requires you to plug your iPhone into a Mac or PC. Perhaps something about DFU mode triggers the iPhone to respond in a way that a simple hardware reset can’t.

We don’t know much at this time, but I hope this is a software bug, not a hardware issue. These forum posts date back several months, which suggests it is not tied to any specific iOS version. But if an iOS bug is the culprit during every iOS 26 update, Apple may fix the problem in its next update. If this is something that directly impacts the iPhone 17 hardware, or the A19 chip in each, it’s clearly a big problem. However, based on several different solutions found by users, my guess is still more software than hardware.