IPhone 4S won't turn on

Question

Hi everyone,
A few weeks ago my iPhone 4S fell and the screen cracked on it, although it still worked, this is the only time that's ever happened after having the phone for 2 years or more. After about 2 weeks, I checked my phone and it was as if the touch-screen was unresponsive and when I tried to "slide to unlock", the screen just started jumping and was completely unusable. I got the damaged screen replaced a few days ago, however, now my phone won't turn on without being plugged into a power source. After having the screen replaced, when turned on, it would only turn on (when plugged in) to the Apple logo, vibrate, then the loading circle would appear, then the phone would turn off again. Eventually, when plugged into the charger I got the phone to turn on and start up, however it will only turn on and load up for a few minutes then shut down again and restart, this is a continuous cycle. I've tried to connect it to iTunes but this doesn't work. I've read a lot online and have only really seen people saying to plug it into iTunes and restore it, or to press the home button and the power button etc, but neither of these work. My phone, when connected to iTunes to restore, will say that an iPhone in recovery mode has been detected and to restore it, when I click to restore it, iTunes will have a bar with "Extracting Software" over it. This bar will then load fully, and move on to the "Preparing iPhone for Restore" stage but at this point my phone turns off, turns back on and will show the connect to iTunes image on the screen again. I've also read online to try replacing the battery, which I have no problem doing if it will resolve the issue but I don't want to go buy a new battery if this isn't the problem. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

Hello glenp96,
It sound like your phone is behaving unexpectedly and will not A) stay powered on unless plugged in, and B) restore successfully. I would use these troubleshooting steps from the following article, named:
iPhone: Hardware troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2802
Will not turn on, will not turn on unless connected to power, or unexpected power off
Verify that the Sleep/Wake button functions. If it does not function, inspect it for signs of damage. If the button is damaged or is not functioning when pressed, seek service.
Check if a Liquid Contact Indicator (LCI) is activated or there are signs of corrosion. Learn about LCIsand corrosion.
Connect the iPhone to the iPhone's USB power adapter and let it charge for at least ten minutes.
After at least 30 minutes, if:
The home screen appears: The iPhone should be working. Update to the latest version of iOS if necessary. Continue charging it until it is completely charged and you see this battery icon in the upper-right corner of the screen . Then unplug the phone from power. If it immediately turns off, seek service.
The low-battery image appears, even after the phone has charged for at least 20 minutes: See "iPhone displays the low-battery image and is unresponsive" symptom in this article.
Something other than the Home screen or Low Battery image appears, continue with this article for further troubleshooting steps.
If the iPhone did not turn on, reset it while connected to the iPhone USB power adapter.
If the display turns on, go to step 4.
If the display remains black, go to next step.
Connect the iPhone to a computer and open iTunes. If iTunes recognizes the iPhone and indicates that it is in recovery mode, attempt to restore the iPhone. If the iPhone doesn't appear in iTunes or if you have difficulties in restoring the iPhone, see this article for further assistance.
If restoring the iPhone resolved the issue, go to step 4. If restoring the iPhone did not solve the issue, seek service.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Sterling