How to fix an Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) smartphone that won’t turn on? [Troubleshooting Guide]

Asus is finally giving into trends as it unveiled its first premium handset dubbed as the Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1). Aside from having an all-metal chassis premium design, the new Asus handset also packs a substantial 4130 mAh battery, thus making it deemed as the new battery king. All these and more are impressive features fused in an affordable smartphone. While many people are impressed with this new Asus phone since it was first rolled out in some European countries in late December of last year, others were disappointed as they’re already facing troubles at an early stage. One of the problems encountered is on power, particularly about the Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) that won’t turn on. And this is the main issue that I am going to tackle in this post. Read on to find out what prevents the device from turning on and what options you have to bring it back to life.

For smartphone owners who found our site while trying to find a solution, try to see if your phone is one of the devices we support. If it is, then visit the troubleshooting page for that device, browse through it to find issues that are similar with yours and feel free to use our solutions and workarounds. However, if you still need our help after that, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Possible reasons why your Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) is not turning on

Considering that this is a new device, it is but very odd to put the blame on a bad battery. Nonetheless, it’s possible. Aside from a faulty battery or other damaged physical components, software problems may likewise be considered among the possible culprits. In fact, you can find a lot of reported cases online regarding a smartphone that’s first believed to be not turning on but actually does only that it’s stuck on a black screen. In other words, the device has power but just couldn’t get to render the correct display output because of software errors.

There are also other cases in which the problem is associated with charging errors. What usually happens is that the phone’s battery is totally drained but it’s not turning on or showing any display even when it’s plugged in to the charger simply because the charger is not working or the device itself isn’t charging. In this case, you’ll need to deal with charging issues first to get your phone back up and running again. Otherwise, rule hardware damage out from the possible causes and troubleshoot software problems that may have prevented your device from powering up.

What to do when your Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) doesn’t turn on or stuck on black screen?

You actually have limited options here given that your phone is showing nothing or if not, totally dead. To give you some inputs, I have listed some applicable workarounds and possible solutions you can try on should you wish to troubleshoot the problem and fix your phone on your end. That said, start whenever you’re all set to do so.

Plug your phone into a wall outlet then let it charge for about 1 hour.

In a hope that your device had just totally ran out of power, give it more time to charge. You can try to switch between power outlets or charging ports to see if any of the power sources works. Also ensure that every charging component in use is working. As recommended, use only the original charger (OEM) supplied with your device. Using third-party charging equipment may result to charging issues due to system or power output incompatibility. Aside from the charger, also care to check your power sources. Make sure you plugged in the charger to a working power socket or wall outlet. You can try to connect or charge your phone through power banks, computer USB ports, or compatible car chargers to determine if the problem is isolated to a non-working charging port or power source.

Force your phone to restart while plugged into a charger.

Some people have found remedy from doing this trick. So it won’t hurt if you give it a try on your end as well. Here’s what you should do then:

  1. Plug your phone into a power source.
  2. When it’s plugged in, press and hold the Volume Up key and the Power key for about 30 seconds or so.
  3. If you’re lucky and this works, you will hear your phone vibrates. You can release the Power key and Volume Up key at this point and then allow your device to charge up.

If you still don’t see a charging indicator on your phone display even when it’s connected to the charger for a long time, then you’ll need to consider using any available compatible chargers. It is possible that your phone is not charging so it cannot and will not turn on.

Remove external storage media like SD card from your device.

Sometimes, files or data segments in external storage media like a microSD card inserted in your device can crash or get corrupted. When this happens, it is possible that your device functions will likewise be affected. To make sure that a faulty SD card is preventing your Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) from turning on, try to remove it then re-attempt restart on your device without an SD card inserted.

If that works and your phone is able to power up after removing the SD card, then obviously you’ll need to stop using the card. You may opt to buy a new card or reformat the old card to wipe all its contents and fix broken data segments.

Connect your phone to a computer then attempt to update software using Asus PC Link.

Another option you may consider resorting to if none of the aforementioned workarounds is able to fix the problem by far is the Asus PC Link software. This software is designed to let your Asus smartphone be recognized by and communicate with a computer. Should you wish to give it a shot, download and install the compatible version of Asus PC Link software on your computer and then follow these procedures:

  1. Connect your phone and your computer using the original USB cable.
  2. Launch the Asus PC Link software on your computer.
  3. Click the Connect button to establish connection. If your devices couldn’t establish a connection, check and ensure that you are using the latest version of Asus PC Link app on your computer. If not, uninstall the old version from your computer and then go to Asus website and navigate to the PC Link Download section and then download the latest version of the software for your device. Also make sure that you have the correct Asus drivers installed on your computer.
  4. Click the OK button when the input method dialog appears. At this point, you can already control your Asus phone through the Asus PC Link application on your computer.
  5. Try to suspend and resume your smartphone by clicking on the DropDown icon then click the Power icon on the upper right side of the screen. Doing so will suspend or resume your Asus phone.

You can also check for available updates using the Asus PC Link software.

To do so, click the DropDown arrow on the upper-right corner of the screen. Then click the Settings icon beneath the X button. Doing so opens the Settings screen. From the Settings screen, click on the Check for update button.

Is Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) still not turning on?

If none of these works, then you will need to contact your carrier to escalate the problem and request other recommendations. Verify if you still can avail for warranties, particularly new unit replacement. It may take time to receive your replacement device but it could be the only option for you. Otherwise, you can just head straight to an Asus service center nearby and then your phone checked by a technician.

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