reMarkable 2 · Troubleshooting
The reMarkable 2 won't turn on or is frozen
The screen is blank, stuck on the startup logo, or frozen and not responding. Most cases are a flat battery or a software hang that a forced restart clears.
Symptoms
- Pressing the power button does nothing and the screen stays blank.
- The device is stuck on the reMarkable logo or the loading dots.
- The screen is frozen and touch and the Marker do nothing.
- It will not wake from sleep.
Before you start
- Use a charger and cable you know work; the large battery needs a real charger, not a weak port.
- Give any charging attempt at least 30 to 60 minutes before deciding it is not working.
- A forced restart does not erase notebooks; a factory reset or re-provisioning does.
- Many reMarkable 2s in use now are several years old, so a tired battery is a real possibility.
Which fix do you need?
What is the device doing?
- Completely blank, no logo, no light Charge it properly first, then force a restart
- Stuck on the logo or the loading dots Force a restart; if it recurs, let it charge fully and retry
- The screen is on but frozen A long power-button hold clears the hang
- It started after a firmware update or community software Recovery may need reMarkable support or re-provisioning
Most common cause
The most common cause is a fully drained battery — the reMarkable 2 has a large cell, so a device that has sat unused can need a good half hour or more on a proper charger before it responds. The next most common is a software hang, which a long power-button hold clears. On an older unit, a battery that no longer holds charge is also common.
Fixes
Fix 1 Charge it on a real charger, then force a restart
A deeply discharged reMarkable 2 gives no response until it has taken on charge, and its big battery needs more current than a laptop port reliably provides.
- Plug the device into a wall charger of 9 W or more with a known-good USB-C cable. Leave it for at least 30 minutes, longer if you can. No charging indicator may show at first.
- With it still plugged in, press and hold the power button for about 10 to 15 seconds. The screen blanks and then shows the startup logo.
- Release and let it boot. After a full drain this can take a couple of minutes.
- If there is still nothing after an hour on a proper charger and a power-button hold, try another cable and charger.
Fix 2 Force a restart for a hang or a stuck logo
If the screen is lit, the device has power but the software has stopped. A long power-button hold forces a clean restart.
- Press and hold the power button for about 10 to 15 seconds until the screen changes and the logo appears, then release.
- Let it finish. A frozen session is usually back to normal afterwards.
- If it hangs on the logo or the loading dots again, plug it into a wall charger and leave it for an hour, then repeat the hold — a device very low on charge can stall partway through boot.
- If the logo hang repeats after a full charge, go to Fix 3.
Fix 3 Recover a device that will not boot after an update or modification
A firmware update that went wrong, or community software such as Toltec on an unsupported firmware, can leave the device unable to start normally.
- If you have not modified the device, contact reMarkable support with the symptoms and your serial number. The reMarkable 2 still receives support even though it is no longer sold new.
- If you enabled developer mode or installed community software, the supported path back is to re-provision the device — reMarkable's recovery process or turning developer mode off, both of which wipe it. Notebooks that had synced to your account come back afterwards.
- The reMarkable 2 has mature community recovery guides for a bricked device; follow one matched to your exact firmware, and only if you are comfortable with the risk.
Undo / recovery
A forced restart leaves your notebooks in place. Re-provisioning or a factory reset erases the device, but notebooks that had synced to your reMarkable account come back after you sign in again. Before any reset, if the device is reachable at all, get it onto Wi-Fi and let it sync, and export anything critical as a PDF.
Related guides
Charge it properly and hold the power button for 10 to 15 seconds first. A stuck logo that repeats usually just needs a longer charge. On an older reMarkable 2 that will not hold a charge, the battery is replaceable — worth doing before giving up on an otherwise fine device.