If your iPhone 14 won’t turn on, the most likely cause is one of three things: the battery is completely drained, the device is frozen on a black screen due to a software glitch, or a charger or charging port issue is preventing it from powering up at all. As long as there is no physical drop damage or liquid exposure involved, you can almost certainly fix this yourself — no tools required.

These steps apply to iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The hardware buttons and fix sequence are identical across all four models.

Quick Take: Start by charging for at least 30 minutes with a known-good cable before assuming something is wrong. If it still won’t respond, do a force restart — this fixes the majority of black screen and software freeze cases with no data loss. If neither works, move to Recovery Mode via a computer. Physical or liquid damage is the only scenario that requires a technician.

Before You Begin

Two things to check before touching any buttons. First, make sure you are not looking at a failed screen on a phone that is actually powered on — some iPhone 14 units show a completely black screen due to display failure while the phone itself is running normally. If you can hear a ring tone or vibration when someone calls, the phone is on and the screen is the issue, not the power. Second, if your iPhone was recently dropped in water or exposed to liquid, Apple’s official handling guidance is clear: do not attempt to charge or connect any accessory until the device is completely dry — wait at least 5 hours. Plugging in a wet iPhone can cause additional internal damage.

Step 1: Charge It for at Least 30 Minutes

Use the cable that came with your iPhone, or an Apple-certified (MFi) cable and wall adapter — not a computer USB port, which often delivers inconsistent power. Plug it in and wait.

If the battery is deeply drained, the screen may stay completely black for the first 5–15 minutes. That is normal. After a few minutes, you should see either a red battery icon (very low charge) or the charging icon (battery outline with a lightning bolt). If you see the red icon, leave it charging for a full 30 minutes before attempting anything else. Do not interrupt the charge cycle by pressing buttons during this window.

If the screen shows nothing at all after 30 minutes — no charging icon, no response — move to Step 2.

Step 2: Force Restart Your iPhone 14

A force restart clears a software freeze or a stuck boot process without deleting any of your data. This is the most effective single fix for an iPhone 14 that shows a black screen or won’t respond. Apple’s official force restart instructions for all current iPhones are as follows:

• Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
• Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
• Press and hold the Side button (the button on the right edge of the phone) until the Apple logo appears — then release.

The most common mistake here is releasing the Side button too early. When you press and hold it, you will first see a “slide to power off” prompt on screen. Do not release the button. Keep holding through the prompt. The screen will go black, and then the Apple logo will appear. This can take up to 20 seconds. Once the Apple logo shows, release the Side button and wait for the phone to finish booting.

If the first attempt does not work, try the sequence again two or three times before concluding it won’t work. The timing needs to be precise — the Volume Up and Volume Down presses need to be quick, not held.

Step 3: Inspect the Charger and Charging Port

If the phone responded to neither charging nor the force restart, the charger or port may be the problem. Check the cable for visible fraying or damage, and try a different wall adapter if you have one available.

For the charging port itself, shine a flashlight into it and look for compacted lint or debris — this is a surprisingly common cause of charging failure, especially in phones carried in pockets or bags. To clean it safely: use a dry soft-bristled toothbrush or a can of compressed air. iFixit’s port cleaning guide and Apple’s own guidance both specify the same caution: do not use metal tools, toothpicks, or pins inside the port. The pins inside the Lightning connector are fragile, and bending them means a port replacement. A few careful passes with a dry brush is all that is needed in most cases.

After cleaning, plug in again and wait 5 minutes before moving on.

Step 4: Use Recovery Mode to Fix a Software Problem

If the phone still won’t respond after charging and multiple force restart attempts, the next step is Recovery Mode — a built-in iOS diagnostic state that lets you reinstall iOS software from a computer without losing your data (if you choose “Update” rather than “Restore”). This is the correct escalation path for a device stuck in a boot loop, frozen on the Apple logo, or completely unresponsive after a software update.

You will need a Mac running macOS Catalina or later (uses Finder) or a Windows PC with the latest version of iTunes installed, plus a Lightning cable.

1. Connect your iPhone to the computer with the Lightning cable and open Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows).
2. Quickly press and release Volume Up.
3. Quickly press and release Volume Down.
4. Press and hold the Side button — but this time, keep holding past the Apple logo until you see the recovery mode screen (a cable icon pointing to a laptop). Then release.
5. In Finder or iTunes, select your iPhone when it appears.
6. Choose Update first. This reinstalls iOS without erasing your data. If Update fails or is not offered, you can then choose Restore — but be aware that Restore erases everything on the device. If you have a recent iCloud or iTunes backup, your data can be recovered afterward.

If your iPhone gets stuck in recovery mode during this process, perform another force restart (Step 2) with the cable still connected to exit it.

Step 5: Check for Physical or Liquid Damage

If none of the above steps produce any response, the problem is most likely hardware rather than software. Think back: has the phone been dropped from a significant height, submerged in water, exposed to rain, or left in a hot car? Even a short drop on a hard surface can dislodge internal components without leaving visible exterior damage.

Liquid damage is a particularly difficult scenario. The iPhone 14 has an IP68 water resistance rating, which means it can handle accidental splashes and brief submersion — but it is not waterproof, and even rated devices can suffer internal damage depending on the liquid, depth, and duration of exposure. If liquid damage is suspected, book a service appointment through Apple rather than attempting to charge, power, or dry the device with external heat. Unauthorized drying methods (rice bags, blow dryers, direct sunlight) can cause additional damage and may complicate a repair assessment.

Overheating is a separate issue: if the iPhone was left in direct sunlight or a hot vehicle, move it to a cool, shaded location and wait 30 minutes before attempting to power it on. Do not put it in a freezer — rapid temperature change creates condensation inside the device.

When These Steps Won’t Help

Software fixes — force restart, recovery mode — will not resolve hardware failures. If your phone has visible screen cracks, a damaged charging port that cannot be cleaned, swollen battery symptoms (a slightly bowed back panel), or confirmed water ingress, these require physical repair. Understanding your Apple warranty and repair options before you walk into an Apple Store or authorized service center will save time and set realistic expectations on cost.

If you are outside your Apple warranty period, an independent repair shop is a legitimate alternative for issues like port replacement or screen repair, though it will void any remaining warranty coverage.

Key Takeaways

• A deeply drained battery may show no response for up to 15 minutes after plugging in — always charge for a full 30 minutes before assuming a bigger problem.
• The force restart is the most effective single fix for iPhone 14 black screen and software freeze issues. The most common reason it fails is releasing the Side button when the “slide to power off” prompt appears — keep holding past it.
• Recovery Mode (via Finder or iTunes) is the correct next step when force restart alone doesn’t work — try “Update” before “Restore” to avoid unnecessary data loss.
• Liquid-exposed iPhones must not be charged for at least 5 hours — attempting to charge a wet device can cause permanent damage.
• If none of the software steps produce any response, the issue is hardware, and a professional assessment from Apple or an authorized repair provider is the right call.

Frequently Asked Questions

Rocket Lab’s revenue grew 64 per cent, its stock hit a record high, and its backlog reached 2.2 billion dollars. The company sold more launches in the first quarter of 2026 than in the entire previous year. The only thing that has not launched yet is the rocket the market is pricing in.

First-quarter revenue was 200.3 million dollars, up from 122.6 million a year earlier, beating analyst estimates that had already been raised twice in the past three months. Space systems, the division that builds satellites and spacecraft components, generated 136.7 million dollars. The launch business contributed 63.7 million. Both exceeded expectations. The stock rose 30 per cent in after-hours trading to a record high, valuing the company at approximately 45 billion dollars.

The quarter

The financial results showed a company accelerating across every segment. Gross margin reached 38.2 per cent, up from the low thirties a year ago. The net loss narrowed to 45 million dollars from 60.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA loss was 11.8 million, a figure that suggests profitability is within reach if the revenue trajectory holds.

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Rocket Lab signed 31 new Electron and HASTE launch contracts in the quarter, plus five contracts for Neutron, its medium-lift rocket that has not yet flown. The company announced its largest launch deal in history, a bulk purchase of Neutron and Electron flights from an undisclosed customer whose identity and order size the company declined to reveal.

The same day, Rocket Lab disclosed a 30 million dollar contract from Anduril Industries for three HASTE hypersonic test flights from its Virginia launch complex. The HASTE vehicle, a suborbital variant of Electron, serves as a testbed for hypersonic technologies at speeds exceeding Mach 5. Anduril is funding the flights with its own capital, not government money, a distinction that signals private-sector demand for hypersonic testing infrastructure that previously existed only within government programmes.

The backlog

The 2.2 billion dollar backlog is the number that explains why investors added 10 billion dollars to the company’s market capitalisation in a single evening. A year ago, Rocket Lab’s backlog was approximately 1.1 billion. It has doubled in twelve months. The largest component is an 816 million dollar prime contract to build a missile defence constellation for the Space Development Agency, the satellite procurement arm of the Space Force.

Second-quarter guidance of 225 to 240 million dollars in revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimate of 205 million by a margin wide enough to suggest that analysts had not fully accounted for the acceleration. CEO Peter Beck said the pipeline supports continued growth into the second half and beyond.

The company’s customer base spans government and commercial clients. It launches satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office, NASA, the Space Force, and allied militaries. It builds spacecraft components for constellations operated by companies including GlobalStar. It is developing the SDA’s Tranche 2 Transport Layer satellites. The breadth of the business is the argument for the valuation: Rocket Lab is not just a launch company, it is a vertically integrated space infrastructure provider.

The rocket

Neutron is the medium-lift launch vehicle on which Rocket Lab’s ambitions depend. It is designed to carry 13,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit in a reusable configuration and 15,000 kilograms expendable. It is intended to compete for the constellation deployment, national security, and deep space missions that are currently served almost exclusively by SpaceX’s Falcon 9.

The rocket has not flown. Beck said first-flight hardware integration is underway, Archimedes engine qualification is progressing, and the second stage and reusable fairing systems are advancing. The debut launch is targeted for later this year. Rocket Lab has said “later this year” about Neutron before. The original target was late 2024. It slipped to mid-2025, then to 2026. Each delay has been accompanied by plausible technical explanations and continued investor patience.

The patience is partly justified by Electron’s track record. Dawn Aerospace, the New Zealand spaceplane company, has demonstrated that small nations can produce credible launch vehicles, but Rocket Lab has gone further than any non-American, non-SpaceX company in building a commercially successful orbital launch business. Electron has completed more than 60 missions with a success rate exceeding 95 per cent. It is the most frequently launched orbital small rocket in the world. The question is whether the engineering discipline that made Electron reliable can scale to a vehicle ten times larger.

The market

SpaceX, which disclosed in its IPO filing that orbital data centres may not be viable, dominates the launch market with a cadence and cost structure that no competitor has matched. Falcon 9 launched more than 100 times in 2025. Rocket Lab launched 21 times. The gap is enormous. But the gap in market positioning is narrower than the gap in launch frequency suggests.

SpaceX’s backlog is dominated by its own Starlink constellation. Rocket Lab’s 2.2 billion dollar backlog is almost entirely third-party customers. The distinction matters because it means Rocket Lab’s revenue is diversified across dozens of government and commercial clients, while SpaceX’s launch revenue is heavily self-referential. For customers who want an alternative to SpaceX, or who need a launch provider that is not controlled by Elon Musk, Rocket Lab is increasingly the answer.

The race to put data centres, communications networks, and surveillance constellations in orbit is driving demand for launch capacity that exceeds what any single provider can supply. NATO is backing space and AI startups, the Space Development Agency is building a proliferated constellation architecture that requires hundreds of satellites, and commercial operators are scaling their own networks. The launch market is not zero-sum. There is more demand than there are rockets to serve it.

The bet

Peter Beck drew Rocket Lab’s logo on a napkin on a flight back to New Zealand in 2006. He had skipped university, taken an apprenticeship at a tools manufacturer, built a steam-powered rocket bicycle, and decided he was going to start a launch company. Twenty years later, the company he founded has a 45 billion dollar market capitalisation, a 2.2 billion dollar backlog, and contracts with the most sensitive national security programmes in the United States.

European defence technology alliances are forming between AI companies and military contractors, but Rocket Lab has built something rarer: a non-American company that the American defence establishment trusts with its most classified satellite programmes. The SDA constellation contract, the NRO missions, and the Anduril hypersonic flights all require security clearances and operational trust that take years to establish.

The stock’s 30 per cent surge reflects a market that believes the backlog will convert to revenue, the Neutron delays will end, and the defence and commercial pipelines will sustain growth rates above 50 per cent. Beck has delivered on every commitment except the one that matters most. Neutron’s first flight will determine whether Rocket Lab is a successful small-launch company with a large valuation or a full-spectrum space company that justifies one. The backlog says the customers are ready. The question is whether the rocket is.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a big one, and a fun, interactive one — finish it, and a little red car races around the grid. See the letters it’s driving on? They spell out CIRCLING, which is exactly what the car is doing. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: The “S” of H.S.: Abbr.
Answer: SCH

4A clue: King with a golden touch
Answer: MIDAS

6A clue: New Delhi or New York
Answer: BIGCITY

8A clue: Raggedy ___ doll
Answer: ANN

9A clue: Landmark Supreme Court case overturned by Dobbs
Answer: ROE

10A clue: Segment of a train
Answer: RAILCAR

12A clue: Pig’s nose
Answer: SNOUT

13A clue: Place for an intuitive feeling
Answer: GUT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Author’s event
Answer: SIGNING

2D clue: Public health agcy.
Answer: CDC

3D clue: Barbershop offering
Answer: HAIRCUT

4D clue: ___ Tirith, capital of Gondor in the “Lord of the Rings” books
Answer: MINAS

5D clue: Short-tailed weasel
Answer: STOAT

6D clue: Place to order drinks
Answer: BAR

7D clue: “___ out!” (umpire’s shout)
Answer: YER

11D clue: Guitarist Reed
Answer: LOU

Well, it depends when you’re going to be househunting– if it’s anytime soon, Betteridge’s law applies, but if your time horizon is a ways further out, [Miana Smith] at MIT wants to make it happen. She’s got a paper out with an open-source inchworm robot designed to assemble structures from voxels– and what is a voxel but a giant, LEGO-esque brick?

There’s a demo video below, and it’s easier to understand the motion of this thing when you see it in action. The 5 degree-of-freedom MILAbot has actuators on both ends, and no traditional base– that’s the inchworm part. It grabs a brick while anchored to one part of the structure, then stays anchored to the new brick to keep building from that locale, so on and so on.

Note that we’re not talking about concrete bricks here, though conceivably you could use an inchworm-style actuator to assemble those. The ‘voxels’ in the study are engineered space-frame blocks which come together very easily, though admittedly would make for a very drafty home– you’d want to fill them with spray foam as a finishing step. So it’s more of a framing technique than a one-and-done thing. Still it is a technique that has something to recommend it compared to the 3D-printed concrete houses that get so much hype— and are already being torn down. 

For instance, the researchers find that weather the voxels are plywood, PLA, or metal, the resulting structure has less embodied energy than any concrete structure, with 3D printed concrete being worst option by that metric– though the balloon-frame stick-build we in North America consider “conventional” is still the lowest of all. On the other hand, that balloon-frame building takes a crew to put together, and labour is expensive compared to robots. At the moment, however, the study admits balloon-framing wins on price, but that doesn’t mean it always will, and it’s a fun hack regardless.

So while your next house might not be made of LEGO by a robot inchworm, we’re still grateful to [Miana] for the tip.

Most building hacks we see here are of the 3D printed variety, but don’t count out plain old dirt. For that matter, as long as someone is willing to live in it, anything can be a house– even an airliner.

Apple has seeded a second round of release candidate builds of iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, bringing the updates a step closer to public release with a smaller round of fixes and feature additions.

The RC builds arrived one week after the fourth betas. Release candidates are typically the final versions Apple ships publicly unless major bugs force additional revisions during last-minute testing.

Build number 23F77 appears on Apple’s developer portal for both iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, replacing the earlier 23F75 RC build released on May 4.

iOS 26.5 focuses on smaller platform updates

iOS 26.5 focuses on bug fixes, interoperability updates, and smaller feature additions instead of major interface changes or new Apple Intelligence features. The lighter update fits Apple’s usual pattern ahead of WWDC, where the company typically introduces its next generation of operating systems.

Support for encrypted RCS is one of the more notable additions discovered during the beta cycle. The feature depends on carriers adopting the latest GSMA Universal Profile specifications and expands encrypted messaging support beyond Apple’s existing iMessage ecosystem.

New Pride-themed wallpapers are also included in the update alongside additional changes tied to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. Expanded support for Live Activities and notification forwarding on some third-party accessories and connected devices appeared during testing as part of those compliance efforts.

Apple is continuing work on Apple Maps ads in iOS 26.5, but the sponsored search and recommendation features don’t appear publicly active in the current builds. The company hasn’t announced a release date for iOS 26.5 or iPadOS 26.5, and RC builds usually arrive shortly before public rollout.

Most of the visible changes in iOS 26.5 focus on stability improvements and incremental feature updates rather than major platform shifts. Apple will preview iOS 27, macOS 27, and its next round of platform updates at WWDC 2026 in June.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,400 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc’s Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

Apple retailers are competing for your business with a $200 discount this weekend on the 1TB M5 14-inch laptop with an upgrade to 24GB of memory.

Both Amazon and B&H Photo are offering a $200 discount on Apple’s M5 MacBook Pro with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, bringing the Space Black model down to $1,699.

Buy M5/24GB/1TB MacBook Pro for $1,699

In 2026, Apple made an update to the MacBook Pro range, eliminating the 512GB SSD option and making 1TB of storage standard. This configuration has a bump up to 24GB of memory, which is 8GB more than the standard 16GB found in the entry model.

According to our M5 MacBook Pro Price Guide, Amazon and B&H’s $200 discount delivers the lowest price for model number MDE34LL/A. B&H states the deal ends on Mother’s Day, but the store’s online checkout closes for 24 hours on Friday evening, before reopening Saturday night.

You can also save on the 2026 MacBook Pro with your choice of an M5 Pro or M5 Max chip, which was released in March. A highlight of the best MacBook Pro deals across both 14- and 16-inch models can be found below, with a full rundown of offers in our MacBook Pro Price Guide.

14-inch MacBook Pro M5 sale

14-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max deals

• M5 Pro, 15C CPU, 16C GPU, 24GB, 1TB, Standard Display: $1,949 ($250 off) with in-cart coupon
• M5 Pro, 15C CPU, 16C GPU, 24GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $2,341.27 ($258 off)
• M5 Pro, 18C CPU, 20C GPU, 24GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $2,627.49 ($172 off)
• M5 Max, 18C CPU, 32C GPU, 36GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $3,346.50 ($253 off)

16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max savings

• M5 Pro, 18C CPU, 20C GPU, 24GB, 1TB, Standard Display: $2,532.50 ($167 off)
• M5 Pro, 18C CPU, 20C GPU, 48GB, 1TB, Standard Display: $2,899 ($200 off)
• M5 Max, 18C CPU, 32C GPU, 36GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $3,699 ($200 off)
• M5 Max, 18C CPU, 40C GPU, 48GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $4,199 ($200 off)