Is your Google Pixel showing an unresponsive black screen? This will go over several common occurrences when it comes to your Google Phone not responding and showing a blank screen. The problem can be caused by either software or hardware causes, so read on to determine the right solution for you!
The Basics
Before undertaking any of the more time-consuming solutions below, here are a few fundamentals to get you started.
- Force Restart your Pixel
- Press and hold power for 30 seconds to force restart for Pixel 5a and earlier.
- Press and hold the power button and volume up button for Pixel 6 and newer.
Low Battery
Even if you’ve already tried charging your phone, your problem could still be a dead battery. Sometimes when a battery is really drained, it needs to charge for 30 minutes or more before the phone has enough charge to boot.
If your phone doesn't seem to be charging, check that your charging setup is functional.
- Ensure that your phone is plugged into a working outlet and that the brick/cable setup are outputting power.
- You can check by charging another device with the setup. If it doesn't work, try replacing the charging block, cable, and/or using a different outlet until you find a setup that works.
Dirty or Obstructed Sensors
Along the top edge of the display, several sensors are positioned to report on light levels and distance to a surface (your face, the inside of a pocket, or other).
- Give your screen a good cleaning, especially along the top, where these sensors live. If the sensors are smudged, the phone might think it’s dark out and lower the brightness. To fix this, clean the entire phone screen with a damp microfiber cloth.
- Use screen cleaner for more stubborn grime.
Sensors in the Google Pixel 6 and sensor cutouts in the display
Faulty Third-Party App
Recently installed third-party apps may be the cause of the unresponsive black screen. Boot into Safe Mode to check if your phone is responsive and uninstall the app at fault while you’re there.
- Boot to Safe Mode. Use this Guide if you're not sure how.
- If the screen functions in Safe Mode, uninstall apps one by one starting with the most recent apps you installed before noticing the issue. After uninstalling each app, restart the phone back into normal mode to see if issue returns.
- If Safe Mode doesn't fix the problem, move on to the next possible cause—you've ruled out third party software as the issue.
- To uninstall an app, navigate to the Google Play Store app. Select your profile icon in the top right. Then select Manage apps & devices > Manage. Once there, find and tap on the app you think is causing the issue. Tap Uninstall to remove it.
- Once you’re done, exit Safe Mode by holding down the power button for 30 seconds or more. Some Pixel phones require you to tap Restart.
Display Malfunction or Damage
Solution: Replace the display.
If your phone is still not responding and has a black screen, try plugging it into a computer. This will provide more insight to your phone’s condition as it will notify you if it detects the phone—letting you know that the phone may be functioning but the screen may not be.
- USB debugging is an optional setting that will give more feedback when the phone is connected to a computer. Unfortunately this setting can only be enabled when your screen is visible and usable.
- Your unresponsive black screen may be caused by a broken screen from a repair attempt or other accidental damage. Look into a replacement screen and follow the associated [[Topic:Google Phone|iFixit guide].
- Display damage may manifest as a visible crack in the glass, but other signs of display damage on an AMOLED displa include black blotches, lines or general display anomalies.
Firmware Fault
A factory reset is a last resort when it comes to the software bugs as this will completely wipe the phone of all personal data and reinstalls the phone’s operating system. Since factory resets will completely wipe your phone’s data, make sure you have a backup of your phone before attempting this.
- Turn off the phone by holding down the power button.
- Press and hold the power button and the volume down button until the phone screen shows Fastboot Mode.
- Use the volume buttons to navigate the menu to highlight Recovery Mode. Press the power button to select.
- Press the power button and the volume up button together at the same time. Do not hold these buttons down.
- Use the volume down button to navigate to Wipe data/factory reset. Press the power button once to select and then use the volume down button again to select Yes when it asks you to confirm.
- Once the process is complete, restore the backup by logging into your Google account from the Settings app.
If your screen is not functioning, use the Google Update and Software Repair tool. This is available for Google Pixel 3 and newer.
- Plug your phone into the computer using a USB-C cable and visit the Update and Software Repair tool website.
crwdns2944067:027crwdne2944067:0
Awesome that a broken screen means you cant factory reset the phone, because I have tried the steps here a dozen times with no success.
David Budd - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Yes, very smart when you look up how to reset a phone with a broken screen the instructions say to select an option shown on the screen. Very helpful (sarcasm)
Adam -
Hi, please I have Google pixel 5a, the phone just went off by itself and won’t power back. I have charged the battery for more than an hour, press the power button for a minute and even tried hard reset but nothing is showing. It gets warm whilst on charge but nothing happens either.
Abu-Bonsrah Harrison - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
I had the exact same problem. My Pixel 5a simply shut off, and it will not turn back on, even if I charge it. Im not sure what to do.
Daniel Kobrinski -
I have Google pixel 7 Pro. The screen had some flickering green and black stripes for a few days and then turned all blank black. The phone is still on because I can feel the vibration haptics when I touch it. But the screen does not light up. It remains BLANK AND BLACK. The ALWAYS ON feature is not displaying anything on the screen.
I am unable to turn it off because I can't tell what's on the screen when I hold down the power button.
I can't do hard factory reset also because I can't see what on the screen when I hold down together the power button and volume down button.
The phone is still on because I can locate it and ring it with the Find My Device app on my other Android phone. It still charges ( I can see the battery % on the Find My Device site)
How do I reset the phone when I can't see the screen
Umz - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0