How To Fix LG V20 Won’t Turn On

We’ve already published an article on how to fix your #LG V20 (#V20) that won’t charge. Now, we’ll address a much more serious problem that may leave the phone useless if left alone–won’t turn on.

There are several factors that we need to consider when it comes to troubleshooting a problem like this but to make it a bit simpler, everything boils down to a hardware issue if the problem remains unsolved after ruling out other possibilities.
That being said, among the possibilities we need to rule out are app crashes and firmware issues. It is easier to troubleshoot your apps first and then go after the firmware if the problem remains after following a few steps. Continue reading this post to know what you must do when your new LG V20 refuses to turn back on after shutting down on its own.

How To Fix LG V20 Won’t Turn On

The very purpose of this troubleshooting guide is to determine what the problem with your device is and to find a solution that will fix it but if that’s not possible, then finding a workaround or a temporary fix will do. With all that being said, here’s what you need to do to troubleshoot your LG V20 that’s not turning on…

Step 1: Inspect the phone for possible physical or liquid damage

It may seem a bit complicated but it’s not. We technicians often do a quick physical inspection of the device for possible damages caused by accidental drops. It’s actually easy to determine if the cause of the problem is physical damage because a force that could affect the internal components should leave some kind of dents or scratches on the outside.
As to the possible liquid damage, it’s even easier to determine if it’s the cause of the problem. You just have to take the back cover off, pull the battery out and find the small sticker on the back of the phone. If it’s white, then there’s no water damage. However, if the sticker turned red, pink or purple, then the reason why your phone doesn’t turn on is due to liquid damage.
At this point, if you’re positive that the cause of the problem is either liquid or physical damage, then have the phone checked by a technician immediately. There’s no point in continuing your troubleshooting.

Step 2: Do the battery pull procedure to refresh your phone’s memory

Your LG V20 has a removable battery so it’s easier to refresh its memory. Remove the back cover and pull the battery out. While the battery isn’t connected to your phone, press and hold the Power key for a minute. This will discharge the components inside your phone of stored electricity. In other words, the memory will be cleared off.
Now, place the battery back in and secure it with the back cover and then attempt to turn the device on. If it still won’t power on, then do the next step.

Step 3: Try to charge your LG V20 as the battery may have been drained

This is a very important step as it will rule out the possibility that the cause of the problem is a simple drained battery but at the same time, it will give us an idea as to whether the problem is caused by a firmware or hardware issue.
If the phone charges once plugged in, the hardware is safe. Just leave the phone plugged in for 10 minutes before trying to turn it back on. In this case, it’s most likely that the phone will boot up successfully.
However, if the phone won’t charge or won’t display the usual charging signs, then there’s a possibility that the phone has a problem with the hardware. I suggest you read our post on how to fix a not charging issue with the LG V20.
It is important you know if the phone charges or not because you cannot continue troubleshooting without ruling out the possibility of a drained battery. After following our not charging guide and the phone still won’t charge, then you must send the phone for repair as it’s more likely a hardware issue.

Step 4: Attempt to boot the phone in recovery mode and proceed with master reset if successful

This is another step you have to take just to cross out another possibility that maybe one or some of your downloaded apps have crashed and affected your phone’s firmware. What you will do in this step is to boot your phone into the Recovery Mode and if successful, do the master reset.
If the problem is caused by apps or the firmware and if the problem is not that serious, the reset will certainly fix it. However, the downside is that your files and data will all be deleted as you cannot do the backup. If this is what it takes to make the phone to run again, then it’s worth it.

1. Press and hold the Power and Volume down buttons.
2. When the LG logo appears, quickly release and then re-hold the Power button while continuing to hold the Volume down button.
3. When “Factory data reset” appears, use the Volume down button to highlight Yes.
4. Press the Power button to confirm.
5. When prompted to “Erase all user data and restore default settings,” use the Volume down button to highlight Yes.
6. Press the Power button to reset the device.

Step 5: Send the phone in for checkup or repair

If all else fails, you need an expert to take care of the problem for you. Thus, send the phone in to have it checked, tested and fixed. For average users, this is as far as your troubleshooting goes so if the problem remains, then have the tech take care of the problem for you.

Other Power Related Issues with the LG V20

Now that we’ve provided you with a step-by-step guide on how to fix your LG V20 that won’t power on, it’s time to address some of the problems we already received…

LG V20 sometimes freezes then shuts down and won’t turn on

Problem: Hi. I bought the LG V20 a few weeks ago. I’m still trying to learn how to go about it as I was an Apple user for years. The problem is that my phone one day just froze and then its screen went black. I was able to turn it back on but then the freezes happen randomly accompanied with random black screens. Can you guys help? Thanks.
Troubleshooting: There is a chance that the problem is caused by a third-party app. Apps crash all the time and sometimes they can affect the general performance of the phone. Therefore, at this point, we need to isolate the problem by booting the device in safe mode to find out if it still happens.

1. With the screen on, press and hold the Power key.
2. In the options menu that displays, press and hold Power off.
3. When prompted to restart in Safe Mode, tap OK.
4. After your device restarts, it displays Safe mode at the bottom of the screen.
5. Uninstall apps that are causing a problem.

If the issue still occurs in safe mode, then you have no other choice but to backup your data and do the master reset.

1. Backup all data on the internal memory.
2. Turn off the device.
3. Press and hold the Power and Volume down buttons.
4. When the LG logo appears, quickly release and then re-hold the Power button while continuing to hold the Volume down button.
5. When “Factory data reset” appears, use the Volume down button to highlight Yes.
6. Press the Power button to confirm.
7. When prompted to “Erase all user data and restore default settings,” use the Volume down button to highlight Yes.
8. Press the Power button to reset the device.

LG V20 keeps lagging and shutting down on its own after an update

Problem: There was an update recently that I really am not sure about but after that my LG V20 started to lag really really bad and then it shuts down on its own without apparent reason or cause. What I want is for my phone to function as it should–no lags, no random shutdowns. I hope there’s something you can do about it. Thank you!
Troubleshooting: Corrupt system cache. That is usually the reason why a phone lags or have other performance-related problems especially that you said the problem started after an update. So, wiping the cache partition may fix the problem:

1. From the home screen, tap Settings.
2. On the General tab, tap Storage & USB > Internal storage.
3. Wait for menu options to finish calculating.
4. Tap Cached data and then tap OK.
5. Wait for the cached data to clear; depending on size it will take several seconds to complete.
6. When the wipe is complete, the storage screen refreshes and cached data will not be listed. This means your our cached data has been successfully cleared.
7. When you enter the Storage menu again, Cached data appears and will show as “Calculating.”