Some iPhone users have experienced a very annoying issue; their iPhone will randomly turn itself off, despite having battery charge remaining. Sometimes this is just a matter of the iPhone battery indicator not updating properly, sometimes it’s software related, and sometimes it’s actually related to the battery hardware itself.
Note that restoring the iPhone this way will also install the latest version of iOS available for your device – that’s a good thing, if you’re not on the latest version you may be missing out on bug fixes anyway.
If you’re experiencing the random shutting itself down problem on your iPhone, we’ve got a few troubleshooting solutions that may fix the issue.
Step 1: Drain the iPhone to 0%, Charge to 100%
For many users, simply draining the iPhone battery all the way down to 0% (not just to the point of shutting down, but actually letting it completely drain) and then charging it back to 100% is enough to get the random shut-off problem to resolve itself. This usually only works if the issue is related to the iPhone battery indicator not properly showing the charge remaining.
Still randomly shutting off? Try step 2:
Step 2: Back up & Restore as New
The next step is to restore the device as new, then restoring from a backup, but only do this after you’ve made a backup of everything on the iPhone.
- Connect the iPhone to a computer and launch iTunes
- From iTunes, choose to “Back Up Now” – this will make a most recent backup of the iPhone and everything on it (you can also backup to iCloud if you want) – wait for this to finish
- When the backup is complete, choose to “Restore iPhone” from the iTunes options
- Let the restore process complete, when finished the iPhone will start as if it was brand new. In this setup process, choose to restore from your backup that you just made
Note that restoring the iPhone this way will also install the latest version of iOS available for your device – that’s a good thing, if you’re not on the latest version you may be missing out on bug fixes anyway.
This wipes the iPhone, reinstalls iOS, and then puts all your stuff back onto it, helping to rule out software problems as the random shutdown cause. You’ll need to use the iPhone for a while to determine if this has fixed the problem, many times this will resolve it completely and the iPhone will no longer randomly turn itself off.
Restored and STILL having the phone randomly shut itself down? Step 3 is the way to go…
Step 3: Phone Still Shutting Down Randomly? Contact Apple Support
If you still experience the random shutdown problem after doing the full restore, you’ll probably need to visit an Apple Store Genius Bar or contact Apple’s official support channels to resolve the issue. It’s entirely possible that the iPhone battery itself has gone bad or is no longer functioning properly, and if the iPhone is still under warranty Apple will replace the battery for free. In order to find this out for sure, Apple will need to run tests on the device, which is why you’ll either need to go to the Genius Bar or send in the iPhone, thus your next move is to contact Apple Support online, calling 1-800-MY-IPHONE (1-800-694-7466), or visiting an Apple Store.
