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An iPhone is an indispensable tool in today’s digital world. But what happens when your iPhone screen is broken or unresponsive? It becomes a locked treasure box with your essential data, contacts, and photos inaccessible. This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to work around this conundrum. Whether you need to turn off your iPhone, unlock it, or back up your data, we have you covered. Let’s dive in.
A New Approach to Turning Off iPhone Without Home Button
Turning off an iPhone without a home button, like the iPhone X, involves a different set of steps than older versions. The lock/unlock button on such versions typically triggers Siri instead of the power-off slider seen in previous models. To circumvent this, you need to use a two-button combination.
When you simultaneously press and hold the lock/unlock button along with the volume up or down button, your iPhone will prompt the power-off slider. If your screen is unresponsive, follow these steps: press and release the volume up button, press and release the volume down button, then press and hold the lock/unlock button until your phone’s screen shuts down. If you want your phone to restart, continue holding the lock/unlock button.
Unlocking Your iPhone When the Screen is Broken
Unlocking an iPhone usually requires a passcode, pattern, Touch ID, or Face ID, all of which need a functioning screen. However, several alternative solutions can help you access your iPhone even when the screen is unresponsive.
Unlocking iPhone with iTunes: iTunes is a multi-purpose tool that can also help restore your phone, allowing you to unlock it without using the screen. This method only works if you had previously enabled the “Trust this computer” option while syncing data with iTunes. Connect your iPhone to the trusted computer, launch iTunes, and select “Restore iPhone” from the “Summary” section. Follow the prompts to restore your phone and regain access.
Unlocking iPhone with iCloud: iCloud’s “Find My iPhone” feature allows you to erase your locked phone remotely when the broken screen prevents access. Open iCloud Web on another device, sign in to your iCloud account, select your iPhone from the list of your devices, and confirm the “Erase iPhone” option. After the process, your iPhone will restart without the passcode for the locked screen.
Unlocking iPhone Using Siri: For iPhones running iOS 9 or earlier, Siri can be a useful tool to unlock your phone when the screen is unresponsive. Activate Siri, ask it to “Turn on Voiceover”, and navigate to the unlock screen. Then, use the Voiceover feature to enter your passcode.
Unlocking iPhone Using Third-Party Tools: Several third-party iPhone unlock tools in the market offer a high success rate without erasing your data. These tools are user-friendly and typically do not require a password to unlock your iPhone.
Backing Up an iPhone with a Broken Screen
Most methods to unlock an iPhone involve erasing all data, restoring your phone to its factory settings. This means losing all your photos, contacts, apps, and other important data unless you have a backup. There are different ways to back up your iPhone depending on whether you had trusted a computer before your iPhone screen was broken.
If You Had Trusted a Computer Before: Connect your iPhone to your trusted computer and launch iTunes. Select the “Automatically Back Up” option from the “Summary” section, choose “This computer”, and click on the ‘Back up now’ button to store all the backups on the computer.
If You Have Never Trusted a Computer Before: If you had paired a Bluetooth keyboard with your iPhone, you could use it to access your iPhone and create a backup. Press the power button to check if the display is visible. If so, use the Bluetooth keyboard to type the password, tap the ‘Trust’ button when prompted, and select the ‘Backup’ option to retrieve all the important data.
Trusting a Computer on an iPhone with a Broken Screen: Trusting a computer on an iPhone with a broken screen is almost impossible. The only way is by using Siri if part of your screen is functional. Activate Siri, use the functional part of the broken screen to swipe left and right to move the VoiceOver cursor to different password numbers. Once the iPhone is unlocked, you can use VoiceOver to click “Trust” in the “Trust This Computer” dialogue, and now you can backup your broken iPhone Using iTunes.
Conclusion
While dealing with a broken iPhone screen can be stressful, the above solutions can help you navigate through the hurdles. Repairing an iPhone screen might be costly, but the right iPhone parts, skills, and tutorials can make it cost-effective for many users. However, these solutions will only help you access your phone; the broken screen issue still remains. Therefore, always remember to back up your data to avoid data loss in the future.
How can I turn off my iPhone with a broken screen?
Simultaneously press and hold the lock/unlock button along with the volume up or down button. If your screen is unresponsive, press and release the volume up button, press and release the volume down button, then press and hold the lock/unlock button until your phone’s screen shuts down.
How can I unlock my iPhone with a broken screen?
You can unlock your iPhone using iTunes, iCloud, Siri, or third-party iPhone unlock tools. The method you use depends on whether you had previously enabled the “Trust this computer” option while syncing data with iTunes, remember your Apple ID credentials, or if your iPhone is running iOS 9 or earlier.
How can I back up my iPhone with a broken screen?
If you had trusted a computer before your iPhone screen was broken, connect your iPhone to your trusted computer and launch iTunes to back up. If you had never trusted a computer before but had paired a Bluetooth keyboard with your iPhone, you could use it to access your iPhone and create a backup.