iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch ‘White Apple Logo Screen of Death’ Fix

Are you getting the White Apple Logo Screen of Death on your Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch? When upgrading to firmware version, many users have found their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch will not boot past the White Apple logo screen. Other users may have done nothing and also find that their device is stuck in limbo and won’t boot. Unfortunately, the only thing you can usually do to remedy this problem is to reset the device and perform a full system restore. Follow these steps to restore your iOS device and hopefully get it working again.

Note: Use these steps at your own risk. Ensure the device has a full charge before attempting.

Standard Restore

1. Connect the device to your computer using the USB cable.
2. Press and hold the “Sleep/Wake/Power” and “Volume Down” (Home on older devices) on your iOS device until it resets.
3. When the Apple logo appears release “Sleep/Wake/Power“, but continue to hold the “Volume Down”  button (Home on older devices) until you see the prompt to connect the device to iTunes appear on the screen. The screen will have a USB connector pointing to an iTunes logo.
4. Open iTunes if it doesn’t start automatically. A message should appear on the PC that says “There is a problem with the iPhone that requires it to be updated or restored“.
5. Select “Restore” button on the “Summary” screen.
6. When prompted, select “Restore and Update“. This will restore the device to factory default settings.
7. Follow the menus to complete the restore. It usually takes about 10 minutes for the process to complete. Be sure to leave the device connected to the computer with iTunes open. Do not interrupt the recovery process or your device may end up ‘bricked’.

Once the restore process is complete, see if your device works now. If not, you may want to try to manually flash the device with a firmware file.

Restore Via IPSW Firmware File

This option is rather advanced. Be careful!

1. Download the proper ispw firmware file for your device. Make sure you grab the right one!
2. Connect the device to your computer and open iTunes.
3. Select the icon for your device in iTunes, then select”Summary” in the left pane.
4. Windows users should hold down the “Shift” key and select the “Update” button. MacOS users can hold down the “Option” key and select “Update“.
5. You will be prompted to select the file you downloaded in step one. Browse to it and select “Open“.
6. A dialog box will appear. Select “Restore“.
7. iTunes will complete the restore process, and hopefully boot your iPod Touch, iPad, or iPhone past the white ‘Apple logo screen of death’. If successful, you will be prompted to set the device up as a new or restore from a backup.