Often referred to as the ‘black screen of death’ as a nod to the blue screen of death in Windows computers, this issue has been a part of Android life for a few users for years. Ever since Android 2.2 Froyo, an unfortunate minority of users have had their device reboot to a black screen with no way to get out of the cycle. Fortunately, there is a way out of the black screen after turning on your Android device.
The typical scenario involves a reboot, the manufacturer or Android logo appearing on screen, a button may flash and then nothing but a black screen. Essentially, this means the device hit a serious issue and couldn’t load the operating system. Don’t worry though, there are a couple of things you can do.
Reboot into recovery mode to fix black screen issues
1. Power off the device.
2. Press and hold the volume down and power button until the Android System Recovery screen appears.
3. Navigate using volume keys and select using the power key.
4. Select Wipe cache partition and allow to complete.
5. The device should automatically reboot, select the reboot option if it doesn’t.
In the vast majority of cases, this has addressed the black screen issue. This usually indicates an app is causing stability problems. If this is the case for you, begin troubleshooting apps by disabling or uninstalling them until the device works normally again.
Factory reset to fix black screen issues
If the previous step doesn’t work, the only other option to fix a black screen after turning on an Android device is a factory reset. This will wipe the device of all your personal data so should only be attempted as a last resort and after backing up your data if possible.
1. Power off the device.
2. Press and hold the volume down and power button until the Android System Recovery screen appears.
3. Navigate using volume keys and select using the power key.
4. Select Wipe data/factory reset and confirm.
5. The device should automatically reboot or select the reboot option if it doesn’t.
If this final step fails, it is likely a hardware issue and you should follow that up with your provider.
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