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How to fix black screen on the HTC One

htc one speaker
© nextpit

The black screen problem has been an issue on the HTC One for a while, not only on last year's flagship but especially on the HTC One X as well. There has been a number of DIY solutions to fix the problem, most with very little degree of technical credibility. Here's how to fix the problem.

htc one speaker
If the black screen of death is causing you grief, we've got you covered. / © NextPit

Some of the methods floating around the internet for this black screen issue include smacking the phone against a hard surface (not recommended), pressing hard around the camera lens or giving the entire device a gentle twist. In previous One devices, the issue seems to have been that the internal cable connector was folded and the compression of the fold would cause the device's screen to go black. Some of these fixes worked, some didn't, and most were temporary at best.

The long story short is that this is not a simple issue to fix, but the following steps should help you have the best chance of sorting it out. First thing's first, try a Factory Reset. If your screen never comes on, just watch a YouTube video of the procedure and follow the number of button presses. To do this, go to the Hboot menu by turning your device off and pressing Volume Down and Power until the Hboot menu appears. From here you can access Fastboot/Recovery and clear caches etc, but the option most likely to make a difference is a Factory Reset. Before doing this though, make sure you have done a full backup of everything you want to keep on your device.

HTC One M8 Screen
Hboot on the HTC One allows you to reset your device and more. / © NextPit

If this doesn't solve your problem (it sometimes takes a while to resurface), the next step is to reinstall the latest firmware. Sometimes bugs creep in with firmware updates and cause all kinds of havoc. Doing a factory reset and clearing caches after an update usually fixes any software issues, but you can always do it again just to rule out any problem that may have occurred during the last update process. Again, back up your data before reinstalling the most current firmware for your device.

If you want to do a full reset and restore of your firmware you'll need to run RUU (ROM Update Utility). If you want to downgrade to a previous firmware build though, you'll need to have S-Off (Security-Off) first. That's a whole different bag of bolts though, so I'll have to write a separate tutorial for that. But if you already have S-Off or want to update your existing firmware then all you need to do is head to a reliable repository of RUU downloads like HTC1Guru and flash the RUU exe you want.

htc brand
HTC make some great phones, but the black screen problem is a big issue. / © NextPit

If even a firmware replacement doesn't work the next step is to you might want to ensure it isn't a hardware problem, which in many cases, especially with the HTC One X, it is. If your device is still under warranty you should take it to your retail store or service center and let them deal with it. Be advised though, that they will most likely simply do the steps outlined above.

Have you suffered the black screen of death? How did you manage to fix it?

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Kris Carlon

Kris Carlon
Senior Editor

Kris is a former AndroidPIT Editor who came to the team via a lengthy period spent traveling and relying on technology to keep him in touch with the outside world. He can usually be found juggling three phones at once and poring over G+ posts, Reddit and RSS feeds.

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  • 1
    Ryder89 Jan 27, 2019 Link to comment

    Just wanted to say thanks. Now posting this comment with my M9 previously frozen for 2 hours.


  • Ketan Goel 1
    Ketan Goel Mar 17, 2018 Link to comment

    It really worked!
    I am using HTC One M7 and from the past 3 days, neither it was showing charging icon on plugging in nor i was able to factory data reset. It was just a black screen. Today i was searching for the solution, and i tried this pressing hard the camera lens and it turned on!
    THANKS A LOT!


  • 1
    Deactivated Account Jan 31, 2018 Link to comment

    Thank you, holding down on the computer lens worked ! My tablet is only a few months old so the black screen was weird. I believe it occurred when I was wiping down my computer with the cloth for my glasses, then I proceeded to turn on my tablet but the screen was blue, then black. After multiple attempts to restart I started to freak out that I lost all my uni notes, but luckily I found this article so thank you :)
    I hope my this will help someone in a similar situation !


  • 1
    Jeoffrey Antipolo Dec 4, 2017 Link to comment

    I have HTC One M9 Plus phone..the phone was great, but recently the phone was shutdown black screen,i thought it was totally dead but when i switch the power on, ican hear the sounds loading the OS but i cant see any display on the screen clearly, i mean it was open but it seems no light,i can just see the display when i flip the phone towards the lights on or sun... what should be the possible trouble of the phone..please help me


  • BabaTunde Shajobi 1
    BabaTunde Shajobi May 11, 2017 Link to comment

    I hold all the botton still not working. what do i do


  • Somebodyinspired. In naija 1
    Somebodyinspired. In naija Jan 21, 2017 Link to comment

    Pls for how long did you twist the phone


  • Janis Zumbergs 1
    Janis Zumbergs Nov 14, 2016 Link to comment

    My alarm clock was stuck aswell, later screen went black, and stayed that way, messages coming, sounds are on, so I hear everuthing is working, but cant get my screen back on with holding the buttions. HTC one m7. I see that this is really a big issue, Thought my next phone will be HTC again, but now I dont think so, great phone till one day starts lagging. What else can I try?


    • 1
      lelasarac May 23, 2018 Link to comment

      I have the same issue at the moment. Did you fix it & how??


  • Bilal Dear 1
    Bilal Dear Aug 28, 2016 Link to comment

    the screen is totally blank and in the boot menu it is also blank so how can i do factory reset


    • Randy Craig Jr. 1
      Randy Craig Jr. Sep 11, 2016 Link to comment

      I gently beat the back of m one 8 on a hard surface and the screen comes back on.


      • Aldin Bekto 1
        Aldin Bekto Jan 13, 2017 Link to comment

        hello there, i have the same issue. Did you ever get it fixed or know how to fix it?


  • 1
    Kehinde May 15, 2016 Link to comment

    HTC one m8 screen still remains blank won't after several attempts at hard reset. Hboot won't come up after holding the volume down and pwer buttons. Still receiving notifications though.


  • Robert Moore 2
    Robert Moore May 7, 2016 Link to comment

    I didn't know this was a thing until today. Freaked me out. I eventually held power volume up and down and it rebooted and working for now.

    venu gopal


    • 1
      venu gopal Mar 20, 2017 Link to comment

      Thank you, it worked for me also


  • Ribhu Rathore 2
    Ribhu Rathore Mar 25, 2016 Link to comment

    My Phone had the black screen too , the phone itself was working (M8) .. even the reboot would not work , however sometimes the screen would light up randomly on restarting but last only a few sec or so , i had given up hope of reviving it but i read this weird advice on one of the sites for One X actually which suggested twisting the phone by holding the top in left hand and bottom in right ( while the phone is on ) , it apparently helped with some cable which tends to get loose & since i had nothing to lose i tried ti and Voila ! it worked , my phone has been working for 24 hrs now i even went running with it in my pocket and it still works ...so who knows ! maybe it will work for some !

    Bharat Ratan Sharma


    • 1
      Daniel Metcalfe Jan 16, 2017 Link to comment

      Thank you so much my screen kept flicking from bright to dark and I just twisted it exactly as you said and now my screen is fixed ! I was just about to order a new screen ! Thanks for great advice ! And anyone reading this please try before any drastic measures !


    • Somebodyinspired. In naija 1
      Somebodyinspired. In naija Jan 21, 2017 Link to comment

      For how long did you twist the phone?


  • 1
    steven bell Sep 6, 2015 Link to comment

    I disconnected the power cable inside the phone and put back on and the screen came back on ,hope this helps


    • 1
      Noh hani Sep 16, 2016 Link to comment

      How did u do it ? I opened my mobile and it looks bad now 😐 but don't know where is the power cable so where is it can you send pic ? By the way my mobile is desire 820


      • Guillermo Velasco Navarro 1
        Guillermo Velasco Navarro Aug 1, 2017 Link to comment

        Hello. For sure you don't have this phone now, but the battery connector to the mainboard is between the mainboard and the screen, you will disassemble it then you can access the plug.


  • 1
    devendra bohra Aug 2, 2015 Link to comment

    if u facing the problum and want backup from mobile then you go in direct sun light and you will find that option is showing lightly but readable then u use your mobile in this condition and you do backup process and reset


  • 1
    Pamela Bourque Jun 25, 2015 Link to comment

    i got the black screen after factory reset through settings, have nothing to save, (if you do just use your pc to copy files) ATT told me it was trashed, i won't accept that, all they want me to do is buy a new phone. not happening anytime soon

    power button and volume up or down not working


  • 1
    Chukwuemeka Edwin-Nweze Aug 9, 2014 Link to comment

    Hi so i have being able to get to the HBoot menu, it seems to be the only thing i can get access to at this stage, i would be happy to try the Factory reset option but am afraid i need to back up all my pictures first, but because my screen is black when i power the device even i connect it to the Laptop its not reading it starts reading it but then disconnects straight away, So anyone have any idea on how i can pretty please get my stuff off before i factory reset anyone??


  • 2
    Peter Burnett Jul 17, 2014 Link to comment

    hi, my htc one has the black screen but i can still receive calls, i have read your solution re factory reset but screen always stays black so i cannot access the Hboot menu. do you have any ideas what i could do please

    Pamela Bourque


    • 2
      Darren Herd Aug 8, 2014 Link to comment

      Hold power button down and volume button UP will restart your HTC which worked for me.

      asso helaly


      • 1
        Loretta Young Dec 30, 2015 Link to comment

        Thanks your advice works


      • 3
        India Hamilton Jan 9, 2016 Link to comment

        Thank you. I had to hold all the buttons down on my phone


      • Donna Lawes 1
        Donna Lawes Mar 9, 2016 Link to comment

        THANKYOU SOOO MUCH!


      • Adam Delipper 1
        Adam Delipper Mar 23, 2016 Link to comment

        omg thank you so much, my phone was stuck playing my alarm full blast for hours


      • asso helaly 1
        asso helaly Oct 27, 2016 Link to comment

        OMG thank you so much worked for me too

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