iFixit - Answers With Device "iPhone 4S"

iPhone 4S: How to fix iPhone 4s No Service / Searching Problem?

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 17:30:41 -0700

How do you fix the iPhone 4s No Service/Searching problem? What causes the problem? Please help. Thanks.

⟐ Answered August 26, 2020 at 17:30 MST

iPhone 4S: trying to restore but itunes says enter passcode

Sun, 09 Jul 2023 07:05:44 -0700

Hi, my iPhone was disabled from too many password attempts, now as I try to restore it, iTunes says I need to enter a passcode, but on my phone, it will only go to the emergency call screen and won't allow me to enter my passcode. I'm not sure how to get this to work.

⟐ Answered July 09, 2023 at 7:05 MST

iPhone 4S: itunes error 48 , stuck in recovery mode

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:27:57 -0700

i would like to know how to fix the itunes error 48 because i am stuck in recovery mode until restore

⟐ Commented March 05, 2026 at 10:27 MST

iPhone 4S: Black Screen and lock button not working... What should I do?

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 09:38:14 -0700

Hello!

Today my iPhone's screen just turned off and doesn't seem to work. I believe it's a software problem, so I thought the best idea would be to force a reboot (you know, holding the lock and home buttons at the same time). However, I don't have a lock button, since it has been broken for some months now.

What can I do? Any tips on how to drain the battery of the iPhone as quickly as possible? I have started to send Messages from my Mac because that way it will be forced to emit the notification, but this could take hours.

Thanks for your help!

Xabi

⟐ Answer deleted April 05, 2021 at 9:38 MST

iPhone 4S: How to remove photos marked "from My Computer"

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 03:53:09 -0700

I have photos on my iPhone 4S that are labeled "from My Computer" and I would like to delete them. I have checked my computer and found they are not on my computer. When I click on them, I don't get an option to delete them. Any thoughts on how to remove them? The phone is going to be traded in and I would like to remove them first.

⟐ Answered April 28, 2022 at 3:53 MST

iPhone 4S: How to fix apple error code 29

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 05:29:09 -0700

how to fix apple error code 29

⟐ Answered September 01, 2023 at 5:29 MST

iPhone 4S: Will not restore, error code 4013.

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 06:15:45 -0700

Tried to restore iphone 4s but keeps showing error 4013, any ideas? :)

Best regards Tom.

⟐ Commented April 04, 2023 at 6:15 MST

iPhone 4S: Why does my iPhone 4s screen show black and blue lines?

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 03:01:32 -0700

My iPhone screen shows only black and blue vertical lines. The screen is not cracked, and still responds to my touch. I've already tried restoring it on iTunes, and I did a hard reset (holding the home and lock button until it turns off and back on).

What parts of the phone do I need to replace to get the display working again?

⟐ Commented April 26, 2022 at 3:01 MST

iPhone 4S: Why won't my iPhone 5S flashlight turn off?

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 15:37:03 -0700

Has anyone ever had a problem with an iPhone 4S where the flash will not turn off??

I'm told the phone has never been water damaged, and this happened shortly after a screen change.

Has anyone ever solved this problem? I have never come across this before.

⟐ Answered April 07, 2021 at 15:37 MST

iPhone 4S: Dropped phone and now screen is blank.

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 05:49:48 -0700

I just dropped my AT&T iPhone 4S and the screen went blank. I am still receiving texts and calls and the phone vibrates when it is plugged in to charge. I restored it and synced it, but the screen is still blank. After reading other questions here, I hope (crossing fingers) that just one of the connections came loose in the fall. Is it possible to access these by taking the rear cover off? Or do I have to remove the entire front assembly?

⟐ Commented June 12, 2018 at 5:49 MST

iPhone 4S: Unlock disabled iPhone 4s

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 23:59:43 -0700

I have used all the steps required to unlock and restore my iphone4s and during the process a message comes up on my laptop stating there's not enough space for it to carry on ?? Please help how or what do I do next

⟐ Answered December 16, 2024 at 23:59 MST

iPhone 4S: My phone is stuck on a flashing apple logo after battery replacement.

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 09:46:57 -0700

I recently got a new battery for my 2 year old iPhone 4S. I followed all the steps and everything seemed pretty fine except a little trouble with removing the original battery but I eventually got it out.

I replaced the old battery with the brand new battery, attached the little black connector back and screwed in everything.

When I went to turn it on it wasn't working. So I plugged it in to the wall and the apple logo came up. Then it went away. Then it came back, and so on.

I waited a little and it never booted up so I plugged it into my computer. It came up as an unknown iPhone and said I had to restore it. So, I tried to restore it and I got an error saying it was unable to restore it. (error #2001)

I tried a few other things by playing with the power and home buttons but it never came on. I decided to '''put the old battery back in after and aside from the restore I had to do which I lost a few things by doing since I hadn't backed up my iPhone in a while, the iPhone booted back up.

Now, I want to know what the problem is, I believe the battery may be faulty but I don't know for sure. My original battery is really bad and I can barely get a day's use out of it if I barely use it.

So please if anybody can help with getting the new battery to work it would be really appreciated.

Thanks.

⟐ Commented March 05, 2026 at 9:46 MST

iPhone 4S: Replaced battery but won't charge

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 22:36:26 -0700

Recently I replaced my iPhone 4s battery using the steps provided in this site. After I was finished reassembling the phone I plugged it in to charge. The Apple logo will appear as if it is restarting normally. But it will only appear for 4-5 seconds before it disappears. It repeats coming and going about every 4-5 seconds. Any suggestions.

⟐ Answer edited February 09, 2021 at 22:36 MST

iPhone 4S: My iPhone 4s doesn't detect any wifi

Wed, 13 May 2020 00:12:10 -0700

Hello,

First please forget my English, I'm French. My problem is that my iPhone 4s doesn't find any wifi. I've tried to reset the network and wifi. I opened it and saw if the antenna was connected (it was). I bought a new wifi and Bluetooth antenna and changed the old one, but it still doesn't work. I've no more idea. Please, it would be kind if someone could tell me what can I do to fix my problem. I've never taken my iPhone in for repairs nor have I opened it before my actual wifi failure. Thanks

⟐ Answer deleted May 13, 2020 at 0:12 MST

iPhone 4S: iPhone 4S Doesn't Recognise any SIM card

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 21:16:35 -0700

I have a 4S and its a strange issue, it doesn't recognise any SIM card 99% of the time. By this i mean tonight i have removed the board and using compressed air and pure alcohol cleaning solution to try and clean the SIM area and it worked!, right up until i removed the SIM card to try another. Before i did this i had nothing recognised.

I don't know if i should try a different SIM reader, my abilities don't stretch that far so will have to pay. I'm more concerned it could be an issue on the board as the SIM reader looks perfectly fine.

⟐ Answered September 12, 2023 at 21:16 MST

iPhone 4S: No signal after screen repair, Searching... NEW

Mon, 03 Jul 2017 14:40:26 -0700

Hi All, I am a phone repairer who has fixed over 3000 iphone 4/4s phones.

In the last 2 weeks, almost every single 4S I have repaired (using the same aftermarket parts I have always sourced) the phone is now showing Searching... when the phone is turned back on.

I have had some that show the following:

Searching.... 3G

And they actually have signal, but no showing of bars or signal strength.

Others show the following

Searching....

And do not have reception at all. Removing the sim card and tray does not even generate the 'No sim card' message. So it is almost like the phone does not even recognise the sim card is installed.

I have come across a couple of work around solutions to get the signal back.

1. Start phone with no sim tray. Once phone is booted insert sim tray. This has only worked maybe once or twice.

2. Start the phone with an invalid sim (from another carrier). The phone then recognizes this invalid sim and asks the phone to be activated. I can then remove the invalid sim, put in the correct sim, it prompts for the sim lock. Once sim lock is cleared phone is back to normal.

3. Boot phone with sim in, get Searching... message. Turn on and connect to a Wifi signal, then remove the sim. No sim message appears. Re-insert sim, it prompts for sim lock. Once sim lock code entered phone is fine.

It almost seems as though if the sim has a lock, the phone is not bringing up the 'Sim Locked, Unlock' message. Most of the workarounds I have found produce the "Sim Locked" message after the procedure that then allows reception again.

From what I can tell, all of these phones have IOS 6.0 or later and Modem 3.0.04

I would like to know what is causing this and how to more quickly resolve this issue.

Have any other repairers been having these issues?

Thanks in advance.

As the original poster of this thread I have to say that after seeing this issue over and over again (easily more than 100 iphones) I can say that whenever there is a service issue, simply setting the correct date and time will restore service. Sometimes the phone needs to be rebooted twice, but most of the time one reboot is fine. If there is a sim pin, that will complicate the process. Usually when there is a sim pin it takes longer for the phone to recognise the sim and give you the sim pin prompt. But again, it always comes good.

Now if the phone had signal issues before the phone was repaired, then you will continue to have issues after a screen replacement. They are not directly linked at all. Also, there are lots of issues with carrier locked phones and stolen phones. I have people all the time come in to have a phone repaired that they 'just bought cheap of ebay' or 'just bought cheap of a friend of a friend'. We repair, and then they go and chuck any old sim at it and expect it to work. When it doesn't they assume it is our fault the phone is 'broken' and not working. So be careful with signal issues, the problem can be for many varying reasons.

⟐ Commented July 03, 2017 at 14:40 MST

iPhone 4S: Keyboard does not show when trying to add a new contact.

Sun, 20 Feb 2022 16:42:11 -0700

When using + to add a new contact, cannot get the keyboard to show so I can't type in the name. Is there

some setting I need to change?

⟐ Commented February 20, 2022 at 16:42 MST

iPhone 4S: Why isn't the right side of my iPhone 4S touchscreen working?

Fri, 12 Apr 2019 23:46:27 -0700

I first noticed that the right side of my touch screen wasn't working while writing an SMS when I couldn't type the letter "P". It works in landscape mode but not portrait (because it is a different location on the phone.) It works to launch apps but if I need the very right side of the screen it doesn't work. (For example, jumping to a certain letter in contacts or moving an app from the 1st page to the 2nd.) There is no damage to the screen or water damage to the phone. Is there a part that needs to be replaced or a connection that needs to be checked? Thank you in advance for any help or advice you can give.

Keith

⟐ Commented April 12, 2019 at 23:46 MST

iPhone 4S: What should I do if my iPhone 4S has water damage?

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 14:59:47 -0700

I just bought my iPhone 4S a few weeks ago, and I accidentally soaked it with my jeans in the water for 3 to 4 hours. Now, it's not working at all. It's there any way to repair it?

⟐ Commented April 05, 2018 at 14:59 MST

iPhone 4S: Is the display the same for the 4 and 4s?

Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:57:11 -0700

I'm just wondering if I will be able to replace a broken iPhone 4S screen with an iPhone 4 screen.

⟐ Commented August 23, 2019 at 16:57 MST