What Happens if Your iPhone Gets Stuck on the Little Apple Logo?

For iPhone users, especially professionals and business owners, the device is an invaluable tool for the workday. Your phone contains all your contacts and provides access to your email, instant messaging and other financial or project-tracking applications. It is worrying in the rare case that your phone does not start properly and appears stuck at the Apple logo. The iPhone is more like a computer than a phone and sometimes, like computers, the phone may need to be reset.

The first method of recovery is to attempt to restart the phone by powering it off and back on. Press and hold the "Sleep/Wake" button at the top of the phone and look for the slider to turn it off. This is the first thing Apple support asks you to attempt, so it is a quick test to see if you need to proceed to other steps.

If your phone will not turn off, then you can attempt to reset it by pressing and holding the "Sleep/Wake" button at the top and the "Home" button simultaneously. Hold the buttons for about 10 seconds until the screen goes black. Release the buttons to see if the phone starts normally. The Apple logo is displayed briefly during the reset process, but if the behavior persists, you may need to attempt to restore your iPhone. In many cases, a reset fixes the problem and your phone will start.

If restarting and resetting your phone did not solve the problem, then it is time to restore the iPhone using iTunes. To accomplish this task, launch iTunes on your computer and plug your phone into the computer. If iTunes recognizes your phone, click on the "Restore" button on the iTunes window. Then follow the prompts, which walk you through the process. If iTunes cannot recognize your phone when you plug it in, you will have to seek support.

If none of the previous attempts were successful, contact Apple Support or schedule an appointment at an Apple Store to get help in person. The Apple technicians have access to tools and software that are not available to the public, so it is well worth a trip to the store to recover your phone. If they are unable to recover the phone, then they will discuss your options for replacing the phone, which will depend on the warranty period and any extra warranty you may have purchased.

The Information in this article applies to iPhones running iOS 5 or iOS 6. It may vary slightly or significantly with other versions or products.