What exactly happens to an electronic device when hit by an EMP? Can it be turned on again?
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Depends. For the device to be impacted at all, it needs to be connected to something that acts like an antenna, this can be an actual antenna, power lines, wires/traces that are part of the device itself, a cord going to a peripheral, etc.
Luckily the design choices needed to prevent a device from radiating unwanted interference work both ways, so a battery powered or unplugged device with no antennas is likely to survive without issue. The rest would depend on what kind of circuit protection is in place. The protection circuitry intended for more common events may also protect against the voltage spikes caused by EMP.
That’s not to say a device can be completely immune, as you can always have a more powerful EMP, or where there’s more energy at the frequency a sensitive part of your device happens to resonate at.
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