New iPhone 4S unresponsive, requiring a hard reset on several occasions

Thanks brumeye. I filled in the online form for a callback then realised my iPhone had died again so rushed to redo form to landline, d'oh !!

Spoke to the lady who said the store were completely wrong not to help me so she's written to them and booked me another appointment after work tomorrow to get a new phone.

Betting it won't go that smooth be hey we can hope.

She offered me AppleCare too but I told her they keep bringing out new and better ones so I change em every year anyway, had a laugh.

Really pleased that yours is still going well fella, have you got everything back on ie mail, apps, etc ?

Adam.

Adam - yeah, everything sorted now. I set it up as a new phone to avoid any problems with the backup; contacts etc synced from icloud, apps and Music copied from itunes, mail setup manually. Having switched off the location services I don't use, and icloud 3G app data sync, the battery life seems fine whch is a relief (>40% left after a day of normal use with a fair amount of wifi web browsing and a few calls).

Got there, genius downloaded my diagnostics, no stock instore so will have to order and call me when in.

I had the same problem on my 64GB 4S (black). After about 10 crashes since I got mine new on launch day (Oct 14th 2011) I decided to try for a swap at the Genius Bar. I went to the Old Town Pasadena store and explained my problem, referenced this thread, and they were willing to offer me a "reconditioned" (they don't like to use the word "refurbished") unit right off the bat. I'm fine with a re/whatever unit since anything that's been tested is probably better than my verified broken one!

I'm going through a proper restore-from-backup now. I'm intentionally restoring from backup in the spirit of getting as close to The Scientific Method as possible - the one thing I'm trying to change here is the hardware itself.

Very similar experience to many above. Also 64GB model. Happend two days in a row, at roughly 5pm. Following the hard reset, both times I find I have no Wi Fi - it says "No WiFi". Yesterday I did a reset and restore from iTunes to fix this, today I've found a soft re-boot (after the hard reset) fixes the WiFi.

All this follows grief with appauling standby battery drain, well documented on other threads. By applying all the proposed fixes I thought I had it sorted. Now I have the crashing issue. Wasting my time. Lost confidence in the iPhone.

Eventually got the phone swapped at the genius bar Wednesday night, was fine overnight, died Thursday morning and twice this evening. Here we go again :(

D'oh! Was that restored from backup or setup as new? Mine is still fine, no panics in the log.

Died twice more since I typed that. Was a restore from backup, I asked the genius and he said that since I'd already done previous phone as new it shouldn't be that.

Don't know whether to restore it as new or go back yet again. Really can't believe it now.

My phones having the same problem... it shuts off 2+ times a day lol, I just did a restore as new phone... Let's see if it'll work..

The replacement iPhone 4S I received does not exhibit the random unresponsiveness/freezing compared to the iPhone 4S in my original reply to this post after many days of use. For those having this problem, I think it has to be attributed to some hardware defect. The best advice I can give is to get a replacement. It definitely solved my problem. It has not been unresponsive on me once since I got it.

Restored the new one as a new phone and it has died 7 times since again. I can't be THAT unlucky can I ?

Same here - I haven't had a problem since my "reconditioned" replacement. On a related note I filled out the automatic survey Apple sends you after any Genius Bar appointment and specifically commented that early hardware swaps should give truely new hardware, not reconditioned. If enough people comment about that maybe Apple will actually do it (ha?).

After over the phone troubleshooting, they set me up with an appt in local apple store. I went in and got it replaced very quickly no hassle. The device was brand new just in a smaller box w/o all the accessories. The wrap was still on it.

Anyway, after getting it swapped and reimaging and restoring it from backup when I got home, my phone has not froze at all. Its been 2 days since I did that and no freeze or lockup. The battery seems a little better, but I'm sure the next update will improve that.

I recommend anyone with freeze or lock, call apple care immediately and if nothing else works, get it swapped out. You only have 30 days Apple Care by phone for free (if you dont have apple care +) so take advantage now.

Good luck!

i wanted to give my replacement a week of use before posting back here; but i'm glad to report that the random shutdowns and reboots are no longer an issue with the replacement hardware.

if you're having this problem and you could wait for apple to ship you a replacement, i think your best bet is to just call it in. the in-store remedies appear to be hit and miss as reported in this thread, and from my own experience, they're going to push back and ask you to do a restore then set up as a new phone, even though odds are, that won't solve the problem.

good luck everyone.

I had the same problem, though this is my 2nd night of having this phone, it's not making a good first impression! I did the restore as a new phone just now, as I was freaked out when it wouldn't start, so I started reading around here. I had only ONE panic in the settings thing, and it did have something to do with kernal. Again, did the restore as new phone, will bring back an update. It's a White 32GB 4S iPhone, if that helps. 😝

*fingers crossed*

One small question, should I go to BestBuy, the retailer I bought & set up my conract with (I have insurance on the phone there) or the "Genius" bar? I was thinking to go to BestBuy first, and the "Genius" as a plan B, since people seem to be having problems with the "Genius" bar. My phone is brand new, and it should mean I get AppleCare for 30 days regardless if I have AppleCare + or not, right? So either way I should be getting a new phone if the problem persists, from somewhere...