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July 13, 2007 9:35 AM PDT

iPhone's black screen of death

Posted by Kevin Ho
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Being a PC person, I've encountered the dreaded "blue screen of death."

I've never seen a comparable thing on Apple products. (I have heard of the sad Mac face, or the sick iPod face.) So, much to my surprise, starting a couple days ago I noticed what appeared to be a "black screen of death." Everything stops working. The time bar at top is there, but the rest of the screen is black. No touching. No prodding of the home key. No pressing of the upper right key will get the thing working again.

Maybe it was the jinx of the upcoming Friday the 13th, I thought. But then after a Google search I see that others have noted the same thing happening to them. Various attempts to reset the iPhone work, but I've had to "hard" reset it a couple of times in the past few days and that doesn't necessarily "reset" the iPhone as much as unlock it.

Weird. Anyone else see this?

This leads me to ask: Apple, where art thou version 1.1?

Kevin Ho is a San Francisco attorney and the owner of a brand new iPhone. He'll be writing about the experience for the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 13 comments
gradually emerging iPhone issues
by lloyddoppler July 13, 2007 10:46 AM PDT
I don't think I've experienced the BSOD but this morning on the way in to work,
the iPod suddenly stopped and I had to reboot to get the phone to respond.
Wait, maybe that is the BSOD. Anyway, my big issue arose yesterday when the
wall charger that came with the iPhone died. I successfully exchanged it this
morning at the Stockton Street Apple Store. But this has turned out to be a
common issue. In fact, the guy at the genius bar who helped me had the same
problem yesterday!
Reply to this comment
Haven't had the BSOD yet.
by flyingnerd July 13, 2007 3:30 PM PDT
I had the same problem with the wall charger.. I've also had the issues with
iTunes dumping my newest playlists and defaulting back to an older set of
playlists... Not a perfect product, but way better than any phone I've ever used...
Reply to this comment
iPhone charger issues...
by kkho28 July 13, 2007 8:42 PM PDT
Hi Flying Nerd (do you fly first class I wonder, as a CNET reader I would hope
so!):

Anyway remember my tech-savvy lawyer friend Chad? He to wrote me this
today:

FYI, my iPhone charger died yesterday so I had to charge it using my
computer/USB cable. Just got back from the Apple store where they replaced
it no questions asked. Apparently this is a very common problem. So if
yours dies, don't be surprised. :(

At least it's not a hassle to bring it back.
Reply to this comment
iPhone Needs IonHub Charger
by ramiam July 26, 2007 10:06 PM PDT
I would not worry aobut my iPhone charger because I use IonHub travel charger instead. Designed to be most reliable, the charger has protection built in all over in the IonHub. It also charges many other gadgets: up to 6 at the same time...

YOu can find out more at www.ionhub.net
iPhone needs IonHub Charger
by ramiam July 26, 2007 10:07 PM PDT
I would not worry aobut my iPhone charger because I use IonHub travel charger instead. Designed to be most reliable, the charger has protection built in all over in the IonHub. It also charges many other gadgets: up to 6 at the same time...

You can find out more at www.ionhub.net
Reset just fine
by powerlloyd July 14, 2007 6:18 AM PDT
As I said yesterday, (& now has been wiped), The Top & Front button reset
worked fine. Version 1.0 seems to be quite stable on the whole. We are all early
adopters here, if you want perfect, get a Zune...
Reply to this comment
So why not get Windows Mobile instead?
by jabberwolf July 14, 2007 10:19 AM PDT
The WHOLE argument for the iphone
was that people were tired of WM and smartphones freezing up every once in a great while.

That was their main excuse for having an iphone LACKING less functionality then that WM.

So now that iphones seem to have the same rebooting every once in awhile, WHY BY A LESS FUNCTIONAL PHONE?
Reply to this comment
The WHOLE Problem ?
by powerlloyd July 14, 2007 5:12 PM PDT
The WHOLE problem was not freezing up. It was the WHOLE OS & Physical
Design sucking. The WHOLE cell phone industry did not even try. Hate the
iPhone (and Apple, as well) if you like, it will; however, get even better. They are,
unlike the WHOLE rest of the cell industry, trying.
Reply to this comment
by zwinitzer December 13, 2007 2:55 PM PST
YES, Just 30 min ago my iphone began having the black screen of death!!!! I'm not happy. What do I do? Exchange it?
Reply to this comment
by dominica1 June 7, 2008 5:57 AM PDT
half of the screen on my iphone went dealth.
I sent it to apple for repair and they refuse the repair and they claim
i intalled a second party software.
but I did not. I just think there's a lot of problems with the iphone
which apple do not tell custumers.

jdr
Reply to this comment
by martinogg July 12, 2008 3:58 PM PDT
Hey Kevin,

I've seen the iPhone 2.0 Black Screen of Death several times. It occurs when accessing some iPhone Applications. When it occurs I have tried:

1. Turn iPhone off and on -- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the red slider appears and then slide the slider. Then press and hold the Sleep/Wake button unti the Apple logo appears. (This never worked for me, the Black Screen of Death Apple logo always reappears on the screen similar t the M$ Blue Screen.)

2. Press and hold the [Home] button for at least six seconds, until the application you are using quits. (This worked several times for me.)

3. Reset the Phone - Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button until the Apple log appears. (This worked for me serveral times).

4. Reattach the phone to iTunes. (This always worked but my laptop was always with me.)

Martin
www.martinogawa.com
Reply to this comment
by sprinkle27 October 31, 2008 1:25 PM PDT
My iphone screen went blank completely after a long call. I charged for a bit then pressed the top button on the right and also the lower central button. Nothing much happened. I charged for a bit longer (10 mins) via USB and then it came on - ultimately showing a fairly healthy 75% charge.

Hmmm. Hope this does not happen too often.

http:://www.topclock.co.uk
Reply to this comment
by china-lawyer November 27, 2008 5:15 PM PST
Hi, I have the same problem of black screen after using it for about 1 and 1/2 months. Very big surprise from Apple product! Microsoft might be a copycat of the first invention. The first DOS Bill Gates bought it and improved it. Blue scree for Early days Windows. IE earmarked for attacking Netscape.


Our Apple is always the great inventor. But this time I was caught by surprise when I slightly complained to my seller,she instantly said: You may return to us and get a new one! Then I know there would be a big problem to iphone. I am a lawyer too. Also a microsoft certified professional. Nice to see your blog here. For information my email address is info@china-lawyer.hk
Reply to this comment
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About Living with the iPhone

Kevin Ho is a San Francisco attorney and the owner of a brand new iPhone. He'll be writing about the experience for the CNET Blog Network.

He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.

Disclosure.

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