Loud crackling noise then iPhone 12 shut off

I was scrolling through tiktok at a low volume when my phone randomly made a loud cracking sound and then shut off. It almost sounded like an electrical short. Phone rebooted on its own and seems fine. Very strange for a brand new Apple iPhone 12....

iPhone 12, iOS 14

Posted on Nov 28, 2020 9:25 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Aug 22, 2021 4:24 PM

So what I've determined is we've all had exactly the same issue, no one knows what it is, and Apple hasn't replied here but I went ahead and did a support chat and here's what I got:


  • Okay, please be assured that your iPhone is secured and the iOS that you have on your iPhone has the best security in the market.
  • Let me explain a device restart can be caused by the App that you are using at that time or any system issue.
  • All the discussion and the feedback are checked by the Apple engineers on a regular basis. Also any issue that is occurring or needs to be checked is also escalated to the team so they are aware of any system issue and work on it to resolve it.


That's as far as I got.

215 replies

Sep 11, 2022 9:41 AM in response to M_Stoff

Just happened to me. Was playing a song on Apple Music for my son. “Frying” sound happen, saw sparkles (now after reading the comments I realized it was on the screen) and immediately threw my phone because I swear I thought it was about to catch on fire. Apple sign came back up and phone turned on without problems. I’m at 98% battery. We pay so much money for Apple devices for this nonsense to be happening.

Dec 29, 2022 9:29 PM in response to M_Stoff

I was just using WhatsApp and my battery level was above 50%. The phone made a crackling sound (like an electrical short) and the the phone went off. Next minute I kept pressing the power button to turn the phone on, and then it turned on and working fine. Is this a software issue or a hardware issue? And what does apple say about this?

Dec 30, 2022 2:46 AM in response to M_Stoff

Was scrolling through TikTok on iPhone 12 Pro and all of a sudden I heard a loud crackling popping noise and the screen went black. I immediately unplugged the charger cause I thought it was going to spark or something and then it rebooted. I’m surprised Apple hasn’t replied or issued recall. I hope it doesn’t ignite.

Jan 7, 2023 10:27 AM in response to M_Stoff

Just happened to me. Battery was over 80% I was scrolling TikTok and it happened. This has happened to many people for over 2 years and most seem to be iPhone 12. Mine is 12 Pro Max. I have had this phone since it came out over 2 years ago. I am gentle with my phone and I take great care of my phone because in my mind, it’s a $1200 computer. So why hasn’t Apple addressed this? Over 2 years of complaints and Apple hasn’t said a word. Very odd. Also find it interesting that a lot of us were on TikTok. 🤔 my phone shut itself down and rebooted. I then did a reboot as well. I’ve been holding off on upgrading because I’ve not had issues with this model and honestly don’t want to fork over another $1200+ for a new one right now. So 🍎 needs to respond something

Jan 9, 2023 10:35 PM in response to M_Stoff

Wow!! Your post was a little over 2 years ago and it’s still happening. I seriously wondered what was going on. About five minutes before I smelled something funny, but my phone is actually cooler than normal and I’ve been in it for at least three hours. I wish I could find an answer to what’s happening and why it’s taking over two years to fix. Any reply would be better than none, although I must say your reply calmed my biggest fear about security. Did anyone else get a message that I’m sure was fake from Bank if America?

Loud crackling noise then iPhone 12 shut off

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