iPhone 5 with iOS 7 randomly shuts off

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GB

Dave_K. wrote:

Well, I was having this exact problem too, and like many here, spent a long time reading these messages. As I posted early in this thread, the problem is NOT unique to iOS 7- I was having it with iOS 6. It's not unique to the iPhone 5- I was having it with my iPhone 4S. Anytime battery charge was around 50% or less, any use of a high-draw item like the camera would cause an immediate phone shutdown, and then indicating it needed a charge.

1. You claim with big letters that the problem NOT is unique to iOS 7. Still my problems started after some of the 7.x.x updates. No problems before that. So I guess that it's words against words. And it seems to be a lot more words that says it started after 7.x.x.

2. You are right that it is not unique to iPhone 5 though. The problem seems to be with the first version of iPhone 5 and back.

vonadel wrote:

1. You claim with big letters that the problem NOT is unique to iOS 7. Still my problems started after some of the 7.x.x updates. No problems before that. So I guess that it's words against words. And it seems to be a lot more words that says it started after 7.x.x.

Not surprising at all. The iPhone 5 was released in September 2012, and iOS 7 was released in Sep 2013. Just about the time one would expect to see some Li-ion batteries showing the first signs of wear. The problem may have gone unnoticed until then as the batteries were only beginning to show signs of wear. Others of us were having the exact same problem, but with iOS 6 and on earlier devices- i.e. the iPhone 4S. But many of those devices are now retired. So naturally we see the greatest concentration of reports from iPhone 5 and iOS 7 users.

But all this is neither here nor there...as I said...my post was to try to help users who want to get this fixed, as opposed to just talking here. Or in extreme cases, lashing out at other posters who volunteer their time here trying to help.

Dave

Dave:

Blaming this on aging batteries is non sense .... My phone is 6 months old and this started occuring when I downloaded iOS 7. Same issue is happening with my step son's brand new iPhone and it was purchased one month ago. Also, it's pretty suspicious that you are investing so much time defending your "plausible theory" .... Hate to say it but you sound less like a user trying to help people and more like an Apple employee trying to create excuses on why this should be happening. APPL needs to step up and acknowledge the problem and address it. I also own a Samsung device that it now 3 years old and this isn't happening. It has a Litium ION battery so your theory on again batteries is blown to bits.

Dave_K. wrote:

vonadel wrote:

1. You claim with big letters that the problem NOT is unique to iOS 7. Still my problems started after some of the 7.x.x updates. No problems before that. So I guess that it's words against words. And it seems to be a lot more words that says it started after 7.x.x.

Not surprising at all. The iPhone 5 was released in September 2012, and iOS 7 was released in Sep 2013. Just about the time one would expect to see some Li-ion batteries showing the first signs of wear. The problem may have gone unnoticed until then as the batteries were only beginning to show signs of wear. Others of us were having the exact same problem, but with iOS 6 and on earlier devices- i.e. the iPhone 4S. But many of those devices are now retired. So naturally we see the greatest concentration of reports from iPhone 5 and iOS 7 users.

Well, I think it's quite a coincidence that the problems started so sudden. There should be some signs of a fading battery before that, don't you think?

I appreciate all help, but I think the only thing that can help is an update from Apple fixing the problem. Unfortunately I'm afraid that will not happen, because then they already would have done that.

But I'm not giving up hope just yet, because this aside I really like my iPhone.

In my case, my launch day iPhone 5 was perfectly fine until the 7.0.4 update... destroyed battery calibration. ONly real fix was a new battery. Perfect since... I made them give me a discount, should've been free. Certain they know about it internally also...

vonadel wrote:

Well, I think it's quite a coincidence that the problems started so sudden. There should be some signs of a fading battery before that, don't you think?

I appreciate all help, but I think the only thing that can help is an update from Apple fixing the problem. Unfortunately I'm afraid that will not happen, because then they already would have done that.

But I'm not giving up hope just yet, because this aside I really like my iPhone.

I think it's a combination of both software (iOS) and hardware (battery). I bought my iP5 in December 2012. When I first updated to 7.0.4 about a year later, the early shut-down issues started. But then 7.1 did not fix it.

I will say this: just a couple of weeks after purchasing my iP5 in December 2012, I went on a cold night-time bike ride, with my phone in a rear bike jersey pocket (under other layers) with Strava (cycling tracking app) running. Temp was around 34°F. When I got to our halfway stopping point, I tried doing something with my phone like take a picture or something, and the phone shut down, saying I needed to plug it in. A friend happened to have one of those emergency phone battery chargers handy, so I plugged it in, phone came back on, and the battery level reported in the 60% range.

That was when the phone was brand new, on iOS 6. Now granted it never did that again until 7.0.4, but I'm saying it's not limited to just iOS 7.

PatrickGSR94 wrote:

I think it's a combination of both software (iOS) and hardware (battery). I bought my iP5 in December 2012. When I first updated to 7.0.4 about a year later, the early shut-down issues started. But then 7.1 did not fix it.

I will say this: just a couple of weeks after purchasing my iP5 in December 2012, I went on a cold night-time bike ride, with my phone in a rear bike jersey pocket (under other layers) with Strava (cycling tracking app) running. Temp was around 34°F. When I got to our halfway stopping point, I tried doing something with my phone like take a picture or something, and the phone shut down, saying I needed to plug it in. A friend happened to have one of those emergency phone battery chargers handy, so I plugged it in, phone came back on, and the battery level reported in the 60% range.

That was when the phone was brand new, on iOS 6. Now granted it never did that again until 7.0.4, but I'm saying it's not limited to just iOS 7.

Ok, that never happened to me before iOS7, but if this is the case that doesn't shine a brighter light on Apple, to say the least...

A lot of iPhone users I know are aware that iPhones will shutdown in cold weather and display that the phone needs recharging when there is still plenty of charge left. Mine did that all the time during the cold Canadian winter. But now I'm getting similar random shut downs not related to the ambient temperature. I think it's highly plausible the Li-ION battery is starting to fail. Pretty lame if it is. I'd prefer it was a software fix because that would be cheaper for me :)

Ok, time to go through some tips about this issue.

I tried a different battery in my 4S and it completely got worse, so I switched back to my old battery. If Apple replaces your battery, torture your phone as much as you can before the waranty ends and get a replacement.

So for now, I'm somewhat "satisfied" again because I did this:

1. I j....roke my phone and have a killswitch for all running apps now. This makes quitting apps a quick swipe. Or do this manually by doubletapping the homebutton and swipe the app-image upwards out of the screen. Repeat this step as long as there are apps open. Might take some time, depending on how many apps you are using.

If anyone from Apple reads this: I'm still waiting - the length of this discussion is clearly showing that you have homework.

2. Go to your "privacy" settings and disable all location services you don't need. Does FB really need to know where you are? Please note: that there are some "hidden" Services on the bottom called Systemservices. I disabled them ALL Please be advised: There might be some features, that are not working like you are used to. I didn't notice any difference.

3. I reduced my screen brightness a bit.

This way I got back to seeing the 10% warning again.

It really looks like the sensor for emergency shutdown in iOS 7 is quite sensitive and can't cope with larger energy demands of flawed batteries. So replacing the thing MIGHT also help you out, but as I said in the beginning: TEST this thourougly. In my opinion iOS 7 ist still beta...

I’m agreed with MRicci123, it happen the same to me, my iphone5 was working perfectly until I did the7.0.4 update, then, I started to having problems with the WI FI ,it was unable to scan the wifi signal and shutting down randomly, I called apple an made an appointment, I spend time and gas driving all the way to apple store, just to see one guy touching my phone and not even performance a test on it , he just told me, “ the phone has a hardware problem and it is was out of warranty”, so, if I want a new phone will cost me $300..really!!!.. My phone is unlocked ,I already spend almost $650 on it and it last less than two years... I think apple knows what is causing the problem but they just do not want to make it public so people keep buying their crappy iphone.. I’m done with apple.. I am buying either nexus 5 or galaxy 5.. But I’m not paying $300 for a phone that is already two years on the market and it start to relatively new and already failing . .. It is insane..

I had the same problem with my iphone 5 after updating to 7.0.4. For one month the phone was doing well than the symptoms started. First the phone had 60% off battery i plug it in the wall charger and after 5 minutes it turns off. I did a hard reset and the phone boot properly. Than i plug it another time and after 10 minutes i went to check and it was down again. My wall charger and usb cable are genuine. I tried with different charger and usb cable but with no results.

That i tried to charge via PC and i had sucsses. Than another day the phone had 93% of battery and using 3G on youtube the phone crashed (turn off). Then again and againg using the 3G. I kept charging the phone via PC those days because with the wall charger it shuts off, in the same time i didn't use 3G and cellular data, only wireless. The phone went fine for 2 days than it started crashing again and i had to do a hard reset every time to get it back on because the screen went black. Also on the diagnosis section it started creating panic.plist and reset counter. I searched on web for fixes and did a restore to 7.1.1 puting the phone on DFU mode. The phone got worse after the update, it started crashing every 5 minutes, with 3G, celluar data, wireless ON or OFF it didn't matter anymore. It started a new symptom with the battery full or half or any time i pushed the sleep/wake button after 1 minute the phone turned off, every single time and i had to do hard reset. Than for one day what i did was letting the iphone with the screen always on and with no nano sim in. I let it drain than i recharged full via PC and put another nano sim card. Since than the phone was fully functional, never crashes or turn off, i started charging it again with my old wall charger and usb cable. I think the problem was with the sim socket, plus old sim was macro and before puting it to the iphone when i first get it, i cutted the macro sim with scissors to make it nano to fit in the phone, and i pushed it hard the slot to feet perfectly.

Although many problems and glitches like these you are shared had resolving throughout the iOS 7 updates but there are till some problems

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Folks, I just replace my iP5 battery over the weekend with a new battery from iFixit.com. It may not be genuine Apple but all the markings on the battery are pretty much the same as the original, except for the Jan 2014 manufacture date. I'm betting the battery came out of the same factory as the original Apple phone batteries.

I also replaced my wife's and a co-worker's iP5 batteries. All of us have HUGELY improved battery life and no premature shutdowns so far.

While iOS 7.x may have contributed to the problem, the main problem IMHO is the battery itself. The kit with tools is only $30, and it took me about 10 minutes total per phone, after I figured out the best way to get the screen to release its clips. It's a great deal. In the replacement guides, though, don't remove the screen and cable connectors completely. Just hold the screen vertical with one hand while removing the battery connector screws and pulling the battery adhesive release tab with your other hand. Simple.

I agree about the battery being the main culprit. After enduring early shut downs for months, mine had gotten to the point where it would go from 45% down to 1% instantly. I took it to the Apple Store Monday (I have AppleCare), and they found it was bad when they tested it. The battery was replaced, and my iPhone 4S works perfectly after that.