Why is my iPhone 3gs randomly shutting off?

Have no idea what Gamestop does with their "refurbishing.". iOS 4.3.5 is several versions behind (5.1 current) - is the phone jailbroken? If so, suggest taking the phone back to them.

If not jailbroken, restore the phone in iTunes, first using a backup, and if needed as new, without using a backup. This will also update the iOS to 5.1, where it should be.

I have a 3GS and yesterday when I opened the camera app the phone just shut down. The battery was charged. When I tried to restart it all I got was the apple logo and it stayed like that for real long. After I restarted it several times it finally came good and this shutdown hasn't happened again (yet).

Error 3194 occurs if iTunes isn't up to date, the phone was previously hacked to downgrade the iOS or the hosts file on your computer was altered by iPhone hacking software. See this:

"This device is not eligible for the requested build: Also sometimes displayed as an "error 3194." If you receive this alert, update to the latest version of iTunes. Third-party security software or router security settings can also cause this issue. To resolve this, follow Troubleshooting security software issues.

Downgrading to a previous version of iOS is not supported. If you have installed software to performunauthorized modifications to your iOS device, that software may have redirected connections to the update server (gs.apple.com) within the Hosts file. First you must uninstall the unauthorized modification software from the computer, then edit out the "gs.apple.com" redirect from the hosts file, and then restart the computer for the host file changes to take affect. For steps to edit the Hosts file and allow iTunes to communicate with the update server, see iTunes: Troubleshooting iTunes Store on your computer, iPhone, iPad, or iPod—follow steps under the heading Blocked by configuration (Mac OS X / Windows) > Rebuild network information > The hosts file may also be blocking the iTunes Store. If you do not uninstall the unauthorized modification software prior to editing the hosts file, that software may automatically modify the hosts file again on restart. Also, using an older or modified .ipsw file can cause this issue. Try moving the current .ipsw file, or try restoring in a new user to ensure that iTunes downloads a new .ipsw."

I got the same problem! My Iphone 3gs is randomly shutting down. I dont know why this is happening. I just noticed it happened after updating iOS 5.1.1 This is terrible. I cannot use my phone now. It is continously shutting down by itself every after booting. 😟

I am on my third iPhone it will work fine for about 2 weeks then at around 28 to 38 percent battery life it will just shut off I plug it into a battery carter and it comes up that I still have battery life take it off charger it dies getting very frustrated myself .

I am on my third iPhone....

There are only 3 possibilities:

1. You are one of the unluckiest people on the planet.

2. There's something you're doing with or to the phone that you're not telling us.

3. What you are telling us isn't entirely accurate...

(Suggestion: periods and sentences have a real value in communication in English)

I have taken my iPhone back and let them watch all 3 times while it just shut off and as soon as they plug into battery charger it comes on saying there is 38 percent battery left they unplug it and it dies on them they can't figure out what is causing it cause I don't have hardly any apps on my phone I don't play games cause I have vision problems that r completely baffled I just wish we could figure it out I had my daughter even tak every app off my phone and it still doing it.

There are a couple resons why this could happen:

1. Your phones is really old and after a couple of years it's gone through some tough situations

2. You've filled up your phone (used all the GB available) and your phone gets slower the more stuff yoou add until it is so slow it ends up crashing (turning off in our case) due to to much energy used to process commands. Try deleting un-needed stuff.

3. You should always keep your phone updated to the latest software. Apple releases a new software update annualy there for dropping supoort for a software version each year.

4. If your phone was jailbroken, your phone will get slower and crash. This is a reason Apple doesn't recommended jailbreaking.

Apple4Apple, I seriously DOUBT that anything is wrong with the battery. There is an interesting FACT I've noticed here. I was on ios 4.1 and the phone functioned beautifully until three weeks ago, it shut down out of the blue, without warning. I knew there was much juice left.. At first, I thought perhaps it was the battery or something else. But when I updated it to 5.1.1, the battery was JUST FINE. It ran until 5% and gave warnings. It was only when I started installing my old tweaks and apps, it shut down again. I restored my iphone SIX TIMES, and observed the battery long enough before proceeding to reinstall my tweaks and apps. The system has put a daemon somewhere and shuts the entire phone down at 50% or up. I was able to install a fix that kills daemons, and the phone survived until 30%, which was a big difference right from this install. I was lucky to find a way to restore the phone back to the ios 4.1 firmware, and the phone battery ran down until the same old 5%, which indicated that there is NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BATTERY.

Now I can't put back my tweaks and apps without watching the iphone shut down at 50% or up. WHAT IS GOING ON!? This is MY iphone, and you have NO RIGHT to do this. I PAID FOR IT, so STAY OUT OF MY IPHONE.

Please pardon my venting... it affects my work and daily life because everything was fine for about a year or so, but I was forced to upgrade to 5.1.1 and then encountered listless problems... which is why the sixth time I restored, I went back to 4.1... I found a post elsewhere tonight, and it seemed to help a *LITTLE* bit:

1. Hard Reset your iPhone: see the Apple Logo disappear twice.

2. Turn on your iPhone.

3. After it boots up, go into Settings and reset everything. You won't lose your contacts, media or anything, but only the settings in each app you have. Yes, it can be a tiny thorn but it helped my battery last to 39% tonight.. which was the first time it shut down below 50% on ios 4.1.