If your Samsung Galaxy S21 will not turn on and has a black screen, there are several things that can cause the issue.
Often the phone can be heard working but the display does not work, there are lines, or the phone can be completely blacked out.
There are several fixes talked about in forums, Reddit, and YouTube for some quick fixes that may help.
I recently became aware of this issue when a friend’s Galaxy S21 wouldn’t turn back on.
For him, it was the freezer method that worked and it is still working.
Keep in mind, that you do these fixes at your own risk as we cannot be responsible for your phone.
If the below fixes do not work on your S21 and you need to read text, voice mail, or similar it may work when connected to a TV with an HDMI cable.
It is quick and easy to connect the Galaxy S21 to a TV with a USB-C to HDMI cable.
Read Here for more information on connecting to a TV with an HDMI cable to display the screen.
Reasons Why a Galaxy S21 Won’t Turn On with Blank Black Screen Display
- Bad Data (Force Restart the Phone)
- Power Button or Volume Button Stuck
- Loose Connection (Tap Around Edge Of Screen Front and Back)
- Display Connection (Use a Cloth and Press Down on the Screen)
- Bad Soldering Connection (Freezer Method)
The first thing to try is a force restart that even though you can’t see the screen, the phone may be working in the background.
To do a force restart hold the Volume Down and Power Button at the same time and keep holding until you see the Samsung Logo.
Once you see the Samsung Logo you can let go.
The buttons will need to be held for 30-60 seconds before the phone restarts, so don’t let up too early.
Sometimes the power button or volume button can get stuck.
Put the phone on its side and push in tapping on the power and volume button multiple times.
After multiple taps, force a restart of the phone.
Some of the electronics may have a bad connection which sometimes can be fixed by tapping around the edges of the screen
Tap around the edges of both the front and back and restart the phone when done.
Often called the massage method it has the same fix as tapping but with a more smooth action.
Use a cloth and press in around the screen and force restart when done.
This can help reconnect a display that has a bad connection.
When I first heard this method, I didn’t see how it could fix a blacked out screen but this method actually worked on a friends Galaxy S21.
Stick the phone in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, take it out and do a force restart.
I am unsure why this method would work but has given some good results.
Why Does My Samsung S21 Screen Keep Going Black?
There are several reasons the screen can go black on a Galaxy S21.
Possible causes include a dead battery, bad data, rouge app, and more.
Often called the black screen of death, the phone will need to be troubleshot to find the root cause of the problem.
If the fixes above do not work for you, it is likely best to return the phone or take it to a professional repair shop.
Summary
If your Galaxy S21 has a blacked-out screen and won’t turn on hopefully, one of the methods above will help fix it.
Many Galaxy S21 users call the problem the black screen of death, with several forums and Reddit posts about the problem.
The phone could have a display hardware defect or a bad display module.
You will also want to check your phone for any visible damage from being dropped. Excessive temperature changes can also affect your phone over long periods.
If the hardware is bad it will need to be taken to a professional to get it fixed.
Do you have a Galaxy S21 that won’t turn on and has a blacked-out screen? Let us know your thoughts below and any fix that worked for you.
My S21+ has a screen that blacks out at least 10x a day. It started after an update. I can get it to turn back on by hilding the side button and the volume down button. I think its a connection issue. Sometimes tapping it will make the screen light up again. I am going to try the freezer next. I’m glad, but disappointed that this problem is not just mine. Its a shame that this happens with a flagship phone.
I was at step 5 and just starting to think, “what like I’m gonna Freeze this thing??” and then it started working, lol. Incredible, thank you
just bought my s21 Plus for 3 weeks and the screen turned black while phone is still on (I can receive calls), I tried the first method failed, then the 2nd worked, thanks a lot for the tips
I was watching youtube with over 80% charged yesterday. Suddenly the screen went blank/dark. Have tried all methods above but none worked so far. However, DeX with external display is OK (with the phone screen blank!!). Bought the phone about 13months ago.
Same problem to me also suddenly the display got blank
My S21 has got the black screen of death and nothing has worked for me so far 🙁 this is the second time it’s happened as well. The last time this happened, i had to wait for the phone battery to completely die, before it would turn back on.
Holy sh*t. This webpage saved me. I used a system ui tuner to change some settings on my phone. For some reason, I tried the setting to force night mode. My screen turned off and would not turn on. It still vibrated when I plugged it in so the phone was on. I knew that pressing the power and volume button could possibly factory reset it. Followed the directions on this page and it was fixed. Sorry for the long rant but thanks so much!
With 65% battery life I was watching a video on YOUTUBE and the phone went black (blank) screen. Tried charging it no response not even a vibration, tried the method mentioned here felt the vibration but the screen remained black. I recall this happening to my S10 years ago and it was the LCD lights burning out. I’m getting a replacement phone under insurance
Samsung Galaxy S21 ultra.
Using DeX, USB cable connected to PC, to send texts etc and phone screen went black. (software update the day before)
Tried draining the battery which took 2.5 days, so kudos to Samsung for battery life, for the phone to become completely flat and then back again trying all 6 options and still nothing.
Each time I did a soft reset (pwr + vol dwn buttons), I could feel the phone vibrate and the pings of received alerts etc but still black screen, not even a green light or anything to indicate there was power to the device. Even tried a factory reset with vol up + pwr buttons but of course couldn’t see the phone screen to be able to select the options required to perform the factroy reset.
Working on it for 5 days and then tried the freezer thing once again for 10 – 15 min, then tried reset straight after whilst still cold and nothing. About 10 min later whilst I was on the phone to Samsung service they asked me to redo the soft reset and what do you know, it booted up ! Not sure if it was the freezer thing (the last thing I tried), or if it was the threat of it being pulled apart in a service centre that did it, but it’s now working.
I’ll go with the freezer solution in my case but all in all it took me 5 days with attempting these fixes but only twice did I do the freezer … 1st time I’d forgotten it was in the freezer (yikes !) 2nd time only for the 10 – 15 min and that’s when I had the success ….. who knows ! Hope I don’t have to go through this again …. the software upgrade was showing as not having installed so maybe it was something to do with the installation/download of the upgrade not being completed properly ?
Screen went black forced restart logo came up but nothing else, took it to a phone repair shop they don’t know either it wrong with it either might give the freezer thing a go to see if it works then
bought my S21 5 g at the end of November. It was at 45% last night and I set it to charge – when I woke up – it didn’t. Nothing I have tried has worked. I can’t believe the help suggestions that tell you to go on the screen and do x or y. There is nothing but blackness!! I’ve tried various chargers, hard reset, everything. Nothing but cold hard black phone! This is the same phone that a screen protector keeps you from using the fingerprint reader!
Same happened to me after 3 months. Spontaneously after 3 months the screen went black and nothing worked. Overall it’s been really a garbage phone considering the price. Absolute junk
My screen went black after my battery went dead from watching YouTube while falling sleep. When I woke up the next morning I realized it was dead and plugged in the charger…..nothing! This has happened twice in the last year to my S21+, the first time I had the screen replaced and that fixed it but all these little fixes I’ve seen and tried over the entire internet has not worked for me at all. Thanks anyhow, I had T-Mobile order me a new S21 (refurbished I’m sure)…Samsung really needs to get on the ball about this problem…..Please !! Recall !!
this is the second time happen to me for the last 6 months – the first time it happened i tried all the same methods above and nothing, brought to samsung and said to replace the screen (wtf?!) but then it turned on by itself at night.
now, just got the same problem as before – and still trying these same methods.
i’m hopeless with this S21+ model, as soon as it turned on – probably better replace with the new phone.
Christelle I feel you ! Like I said Samsung should have addressed this by now, it has been a huge problem !!