Nexus 7 Black Screen Fix

Written By: Alan Nishioka
  • Comments: 56
Nexus 7 Black Screen Fix

Difficulty

Very easy

Steps

1

Time Required

2 minutes

Introduction

If you don't charge Nexus 7 for too long, it can self-discharge to a point where it won't power up.

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    • Symptoms:

    • 1. Nexus 7 won't power on.

    • 2. Battery icon doesn't show when charger plugged in.

    • 3. In a dark room, you can see backlight is turned on. If you hold down power button for 30 seconds, you can see the backlight power cycle.

    • Solution:

    • 1. Hold down both volume buttons (Press the center) and plug in charger (while holding the buttons). Hold down for 40 seconds.

    • 2. Hold down power button 40 seconds to boot Nexus.

    • In the future, don't let battery discharge too much.

    Hello....

    I have heavy problem:(

    When I was doing root my Asus N7 (2012) it restart and stuck... I power off an after that it is not ON... (Battery is full charger)

    I Hold down both volume buttons (Press the center) and plug in charger (while holding the buttons). Hold down for 40 seconds.

    I also press and hold Volume Down and Power buttons together and didn't turned on .

    When I connect PC it's not connect...

    What can I do...

    Help me!!!!

    Giorgi Tabatadze -

    Wow!!! Thanks

    Alejandro Ayala -

Conclusion

This procedure has been used to fix 25 Nexus 7 tablets which were unopened for months and allowed to discharge too far.

Author

Alan Nishioka

Member since: 18/07/11

3339 Reputation

54 comments

perfect! works like charm.

fireflysean -

AH! I thought my Nexus was a goner and it's only about a month old! This worked immediately. Thanks for this fix.

thedomesticgeekblog -

Great! Worked for me first time!

Ron Lopez -

Complete failure. Nothing happened after performing those steps. Help me!!!!

Craig Walkup -

Is the backlight cycling as described?

This worked for over 20 devices for me and recently I bought another one and it worked for this one too.

Alan Nishioka -

I've tried this many times and it still doesn't work. Someone please help.

Justin Akey -

Is the backlight cycling as described?

Alan Nishioka -

Thank you! I thought I'd gone mad and my tablet broke! Works great!

Aurora -

Just had what appeared to be this issue with our tablet but the above guide did not fix it. As i wont be beaten by something like this. I popped the tablet open and actually found the battery connector to the PCB had partially come loose. After reseating the plug the tabet booted right up as soon as a charger was put in

louiserknight -

Backlight not on. Does not come on or cycle after 30 or 60 seconds holding down the power button. The unit had a cracked screen but would power up and charge. Replaced the screen and now it wont charge or power on. I have tried all the combinations of button booting online, this being the last one I found (so far). I have reopened and rechecked all the connections that are part of the screen replacement process. All are tight. I even tried a battery "jump start" I found online wire stripping the end of a charging cord and then putting the red and black cables directly into the two sets of red/black wires in the battery cable clip, charging each for at least 30 minutes. Nothing has worked. Bad replacement screen? Bad battery? How can I check? Other ideas?

Marc Riddick -

Mine is exactly like urs but have also put in a new battery without success :(

Did u get any luck?

Nia -

Mine is the same this. No backlight at all. I hold it for 60sec and nothing. I checked the charge and she's all good. I even jump started her and nothing. My screen isn't even broken. I was using it and it died. So I plugged it in and walked away. Several hours later I tried to start her and nothing. I even d/c and the power on button and reconnected it. I don't know what else to do now. I had a lot of important stuff on there that wasn't backed up. Any thoughts folks?

Yuppers -

did you ever fix your nexus? I'm having the same problems as you did. Bought a new screen that was already on the frame so I didn't have to do the extra work. Nothing but black screen but I can hear sounds coming from it and when I touch the screen but no picture.

kevin -

I would try Unplugging power cord and plugging in a bunch of times, as mine did same thing with noise but black screen and after a while it booted up. Then again my n7 2012 has seen better days

Auston hetzer -

I had the exact same problem and tried all steps mentioned above with no success, I then decided to remove the rear cover to check if the battery had continuity from the charging port which it did, I then disconnected the battery ribbon cable and let it sit for a couple of minutes and then reconnected it and made sure it was nice and snug, I then connected the charger cable and it sprung back to life!!

The Big Cheese -

Thank you so much, I thought it was a gone, and just googled this as a shot in the dark, thank you , thank you, thank you again!!!!!!!!

heather -

THANKS YOU!!! I thought I was gonna have to buy a new phone. thank you so much

Robel Mutumbo -

THANK YOU!! OMG this worked and I am so happy. I thought it was done for

Marcy Banks -

Thanks! I was sure I had finally broken my tablet when it would not power up after I dropped it. I was thrilled when the lights came back on after following your instructions. Just finished doing my Happy dance!

Hosea Bostic -

You're an absolute genius, I can't thank you enough for posting this and saving me buying a new Nexus......it worked first time after hours of me trying. Thank you, thank you, thank you.....you're a legend ;o)

Natasha Soliar -

it worked but it reset all my backgrounds

anankae -

It did not work .It flickeres then nothing.

Nancy -

My tablet is powered up but the screen is black...when I did the steps above the back light came on but nothing else...help!

Rachel Evans -

it is important to plug in the adapter WHILE holding down the keys

Alan Nishioka -

My tablet (Nexus 7 2nd Generation),

When I start watching YouTube, and it paused then it turn all blacklight.

I was so mad. So then, I keep power off then turn back on, it kept doing that many times.

So I was looking at this site how to fix it.

I was wondering if it reset or not. I just don't want lose my whole stuff in my tablet.

Please reply me as soon as you can.

Thank you,

Perry Ping

Perry Ping -

I tried to hold down the power button for 40 seconds or more. It do turned on but, few minutes later, its froze, and the touch screen is not working.

(Frozen while on, and touch screen is not working)

Can anyone got ideas? Please reply me.

Perry Ping -

This helped for me!

Henk van Kampen -

Thanks! Worked Perfectly while everything else Fails!

Sally Burke -

This is amazing! I hadn't touched my Nexus for over a year and thought it was for sure a failure. Works perfectly now!

*Note: This did not work until I plugged in the usb power port at the EXACT moment I pushed the volume buttons.

Mary Ellen Carmody -

As Mary said above, hold volume buttons down before plugging in. When it works it looks like a very dark static TV screen. Left my battery plugged in for at least 30 mins, didn't work until I tried above. Took an additional 30 minutes after solution before it would turn on to load screen. Been charging now for 4 hours, still at only 50%. Don't get discouraged if the battery doesn't immediately charge.

Joshua Parker -

Make sure you hold the middle of volume for 40 seconds

Then hold power another 40 seconds the guide worked on mine

Naomi Venable -

After not using my nexus7 since 2013 this did the trick ! Thank you !

The key everyone is to be patient. if it doesn't work immediately just let the tablet stay plugged into an electrical outlet to recharge for a whiles, and then re-attempt the button mashing trick.

jrmayfield2003 -

it just killed my tablet

KillerKing 1231 -

I was having same problem...my Nexus 7 was off for months and dead...got it to turn on, takes forever to charge, but the issue is, now it won't hold a charge...any ideas... thanks

Kim Smith -

Perfect....15 mins into a 7hr drive through France and my daughter says her tablets dead NIGHTMARE. Thanks to this guide, sanity ensues!

Mark Heptonstall -

%#*@ Dude! I owe you a huge beer!

Public Upload -

If it won’t turn on after a deep discharge, let it charge for at least 3 hours, then try again.

Stephen Hart -

I recently returned from a 10-day trip, and found my 2012 Nexus 7 in this state. The procedure worked, but denied me the satisfaction of smashing the thing to bits with a 4-pound hammer. My experience with the Nexus 7 has been wretched since the initial unboxing. God, I hate this device!

Selden Deemer -

Is there any other clear picture for the backlight faint?

Shafterz -

though for its cheap price even FIFA Mobile 18 works smoothly, that is why i don’t want to buy a new android

Shafterz -

Brilliant! After my LGV10 was stolen I dug out my old Nexus 4. Charged it for abt 4 hours. Wouldn’t turn on except about every 20 attempts I’d get the battery charging screen showing a full battery. Otherwise, just black screen. Tried this fix several times. Nothing. UNTIL…you must hold down middle of volume button and THEN plug in charger. Continue to hold for 40 seconds. During this time it displays a screen that said “Downloading. Do not unplug”. Then hold down “On” button for 40 seconds. Finally, “Google” start-up screen comes on…..wait.. .screen goes black…. then the dancing colored dots forever, and finally “Android is starting” screen for several minutes while it is “optimizing apps”. Shaaazaaammm!!! Working perfectly now!! Thank You!!

Vicki Garfield -

Thanks so much! I’ve really enjoyed using this tablet and hated to see it go dark. Clear, easy to follow directions got it back up and running!

Mike Schwartz -

It worked!!! Thank you! Mine was sitting unplugged for months. I tried it three times—third time, yippeeeeee!

Karen Burlingame -

i have a 2013 nexus 7 ad it does not work im depessed does it work on newer generations too?

ZionX50 -

I tried it. But it didn't work.

My Nexus 7 was on charging. And when I checked, it was dead. It's been two days and there is nothing showing on screen. No light, no blink. I have tried every possible solution. What should I do now?

Rabia Javed -

Nothing happen to mine. It has been off for a long while but I still see the black screen turn on.

Samantha Flores -

Merci beaucoup, le tuto est simple est a fonctionner pour moi!… Tablette Nexus sauver de la poubelle! Bravo!….

laurentb2008 -

Thanks, worked a treat :-) x

Simon Martin Reynolds -

Thanks it worked :-) x

Simon Martin Reynolds -

I didn't realize i had my tablet packed away for a couple years. I thought i left it with my ex. I plug in the tablet, i see the black light dim screen. There is also a bunch of different colored lines that are super small and go across the screen but its only lasts for a second. Ive tried what the instructions said but nothing is working. Is there something else I can do?! Thanks for your time!

Rachael Love -

Let it charge overnight and then do the three button thing. I had the same issue. The three button thing takes it to the boot loader, which means at least the screen works. Choose the options from the boot loader screen by using the volume keys and then press the power key to enter. That's where I've reached :-D

dopplerduck -

It worked. Thank you.

dopplerduck -

I have tried the solution. I have watched videos on how to fix this and i plugged the battery in properly and it still won't turn on. Please help

Max Playz -

Help me!! I dropped this tablet since 2015 and kept it unused. Now it doesn't turn on and doesn't show the battery icon

Shri Mohan YV -