Have you ever experienced this frustrating situation where your phone is obviously still working but the screen goes black? It happened to me a while back and I must say it was rather confusing at first. I had just finished receiving a call when I put off the backlight and dropped the phone in my left pocket.
Afterward, I remembered something I needed to do, so I picked my phone, pushed the power button once to prompt the backlight. I was shocked to find my backlight unresponsive even though I could still receive calls by swiping the screen left as always. At this point, I realized that my phone screen went black but still works.
I know from experience how that feels and I want to help everyone out there going through the same issue with their phone screen. Before sharing the fixes that worked for me, it will be a good idea to tell you why this may have just happened to your mobile phone.
My Phone Screen Went Black But Still Works — What Caused It
From personal experience, the following are reasons why my phone screen went black but still works. I will write few comments about each of the reasons so that you understand exactly what I have in mind. Who knows if you’re experiencing the same thing?
System Failure: If a system failure is responsible for your phone screen going blank all of a sudden, it will still function, as usual, the same thing happened to me. You will still receive calls, text messages, and other notifications. The only problem is that you won’t see anything because the screen is black.
Also, if before the screen going OFF, installed apps keep crashing probably due to incompatibility, it is a system failure.
Faulty Display Board: On each phone’s panel, there is always a display unit that makes it possible for you to see what is on your phone’s screen. For the display board to work well, there must be effective communication between the panel and the display unit.
However, if there are some disconnections due to external factors, the display on the screen will be affected. Such external factors may include dust, phone dropping, bad LCD flex, or liquid.
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Bad Screen: Before my phone went off, the screen had at one point showed signs of a fault, but after a while, it returned to normal. Although I wanted to change the screen, I ditched the plans because it wasn’t much of an issue at the time.
If your phone screen went black but still works, you shouldn’t be too surprised especially if the screen had previously shown signs of fault. So, in a nutshell, a faulty screen might be yet another reason why your phone screen goes black while it is still working.
Other reasons: If the brightness of your smartphone is at maximum for a very long time, the phone screen might just go black for a prolonged period.
If you recently changed your screen protector and the guard partially covers some part of the phone’s sensor, eventually the guard could shift position and cover the entire screen. Your phone screen will go black whenever this happens.
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My Phone Screen Went Black But Still Works — The Fixes That Worked for Me
Fix 1: Force Restart your device
A combination of keys on your phone will restart your phone. Forcing a restart can fix lots of system errors that may cause a black screen. To force restart your phone,
- Press and hold the volume-down button and the power button together for at least 20 seconds
- Wait until the phone powers ON
If your phone turns ON and you can see the screen now, it shows the black screen was a result of some system errors.
Fix 2: Take off the Screen protector
If the phone’s sensor was covered and the screen goes black as a result, the only way to fix this problem is to immediately take OFF your screen protector. Once the screen protector is OFF and the sensor is no longer covered, the screen should come alive now.
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Fix 3: Replace the phone’s screen
Just as it happened to me, the only way to fix a black screen sometimes is to replace the screen. My screen had given up and the best thing was to change it. So, if after trying every other fix discussed so far, the screen has not been restored, the screen may need to be replaced.
You need a technician to decide if the screen is bad. You also need him to change the screen. If you attempt to do it yourself, you might end up worsening things.
If after examination the phone technician says the fault lies in the display unit of the panel, it may only suffice at this point to either replace the phone panel or purchase a new mobile device.
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