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Iphone 5 Shutting down, Cold Weather? or defective battery

Below is a log of when I started to notice this issue and when it happened. today did a restore to new and we will see


Dec 5

Shut off at garage dec 5 round 5? Had like 13-15% and then shut down

like the battery was dead. Tried to turn on but it gave me the charge

it symbols so I left it for a few minutes and then tried to power it

and it came on. Showed 9 or 10% checked the Internet got down to 7

and shut off again same thing. Turned on had 5% texted a few times and

same thing. Left it got home and charged it from the wall.

Dec 6

Phone is doing the same thing around 15% battery a couple of times to

3% I plug into computer and charge while doing a restore. Hope this

works 🙂

Dec 7

Restore seems to have worked. We'll see

Dec 15

Phone shutdown would not turn back on had 6%. Got cable and plugged

into wall and phone powers right up on its own soon as I plugged the

cable in the apple appeared on the screen. And showed 6%. Charging it

now. Plugged into wall fack!!

Dec 16

Phone acted same way as 15 of dec. not happy camper. Lol

Dec 30

Showed 11% started trade nations and after a min phone shutdown.

Plugged in and after restart 5%.

Maybe there's a bug calculating the battery's remaining charge?

Jan 2 2013

Phone shutdown and when I plugged it in it started up and showed 12% 😟

Jan 6 2013

At the park phone had 36% took a few pics of the kids put phone away

for a min took back out and shutoff saying charge. Left in car for 15

min not charging and turned phone on and it has 33% life ***!!!!!

Jan. 15

Shopping at store and phone shuts off at 23%. Tells me to charge. Wait

for a few mins and power back on. 20% send text and phone shuts off

again. Bring home and plug into wall as soon as its in phone starts to

boot up and shows 16% battery life. Call apple and advised to restore

and setup as new phone and see how it is.

Jan 20 phone at 8% plugged in and phone displayed 31%. 5 mins later

the phone says 25%. Unplug and answer a couple of texts 18%. Weird.

Plugged back in.


Jan 25 Actual restore to new and start from scratch. More outa desperation cause I dont have a cc for express repair and the free option taking 2 weeks will be hard as this is my only phone.

iPhone 5, iOS 6.0.2

Posted on Jan 25, 2013 5:28 PM

Reply
68 replies

Jan 16, 2016 3:52 PM in response to sberman

To clarify, it would be a very much appreciated change if the iPhones were improved to work below 32F. There are many times I do activities in weather below 32F and would like to use my smartphone. While this may be listed in the tech specs it is not a limitation that customers like me expect or are completely happy with. As my body temp stays warm I'm going to try a t-shirt with a zippered pocket as a ski solution next...

Jan 23, 2016 6:16 AM in response to deggie

We are having a blizzard here today in New Jersey with a wind chill of 11 degrees. I just finished a run and the battery cut out. I wonder if I put a heavy sock in the dryer and (after I take it out of the dryer) put the iPhone into the sock and put it in my jacket pocket, that would prevent it from shutting off. I will try it tomorrow and let you know.

For others, who are out longer, maybe skiers, walkers, a battery operated heated sock?

Jan 23, 2016 9:35 PM in response to srettie

There has to be a malfunction going on here with iPhones that is not standard for all Lithium Ion batteries. I had an LG phone (regular flaptop non-smartphone from the previous decade) for about 8 yrs (and still have it here to confirm battery type) and not once did it ever shut off or have any major issues in freezing weather. I used this for a few weeks every year in the mountains where it was between -10° to 30° F and there was no major difference in performance that i ever noticed, and i'm one to usually notice every minor detail when it comes to technical glitches. The cold may have drained the battery slightly faster, but it wasn't something i tested b/c it still gave me enough juice to not be a non-issue. Also, for the rest of the winter I was in NY so the LG phone barttery definitely got put to the test with cold weather performance.


My iPhone 5 i had out tonight for only a few minutes to take some photos, the temp was 30°F and it had a 38% charge left, yet it shut off with no warning. This made me recall a situation from a couple months ago where i was trying to take a group photo and it was somewhere between 40-50°F. I used one person's iPhone 6 and just as i was about to hit the button it shut off. I thought the battery had died as i wasn't even aware of the cold weather issue. So another person gave me their iPhone 6 and the exact same thing happened - i was just about to hit the button to snap the photo and it just blacked out with no warning. They said it had to be the cold weather, but 40 something being too cold to use a phone?? I was shocked that the iPhone 6 models would have battery problems this severe, as this hadn't even happened yet with my iPhone 5. Are they only compatible with California weather? 🙂


The problem with relying on a warm pocket is that it only keeps it warm in the pocket where it can't be used. It has to be taken out of the pocket into the cold when you need it and that's when it fails miserably, very quickly. And yes for an emergency situation your lifeline could easily turn a situation into a nightmare. This isn't right.

May 2, 2016 3:06 PM in response to srettie

My iPhone5 will routinely suddenly shut down in 11 degree (Celsius) weather, with a 90+ % charge.

When I plug it into power at home, it comes back to life with the full charge still on it.


So, even within operating specs, it's very fussy about weather, which makes it problematic for emergencies.
And keeping it in a pocket isn't much help if I actually have to use it in cold weather.


I'll be contacting Apple about it, but it's helpful to hear from others about the problem here.


Keep on posting your experiences please.

Oct 22, 2016 6:09 AM in response to David Schwab

My iPhone 5c keeps shutting off. The temperature is above freezing, I keep it in an inside pocket, though it's still cool to the touch when I take it out after I get inside. Today, for example, after an hour's walk, I used it in a store for less than a minute before it shut down with around 65% battery. I was wondering whether to replace it (it's 2.5 years old) with a 6S, but I'm not so sure that will help any after reading (some of) this thread. With another four months here in Finland with cold weather, will I have an inside-only phone?

Iphone 5 Shutting down, Cold Weather? or defective battery

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