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My iPhone shut off at 35%

dannyyankou

dannyyankou

macrumors G5
Original poster
Mar 2, 2012
14,643
32,205
Westchester, NY
I was using my iPhone 5s for about 10 minutes in 30°F weather, and it suddenly shut off at 35% it had the low battery screen when I tried to turn it on, and when I plugged it in it was back at 35%.

And just know when I was typing this, it went from 30% to 13%. Is this weather related or should I be worried?
 
dannyyankou said:
I was using my iPhone 5s for about 10 minutes in 30°F weather, and it suddenly shut off at 35% it had the low battery screen when I tried to turn it on, and when I plugged it in it was back at 35%.

And just know when I was typing this, it went from 30% to 13%. Is this weather related or should I be worried?
Click to expand...

Total guess but this probably isnt weather related. Could be a battery weakening issue. I had similar issues but on my Android and the battery was losing charge. Maybe someone else on here who has experienced this on an iphone can help better.
 
And I just restarted my phone and it just went back up to 34%. Maybe it just had to warm up a bit. I'll check the battery health later.
 
I have a hunch that extreme swings in temperature cause the phone to act funny. I'm in Chicago, and it's been about 10 degrees yesterday morning and this morning. I could have sworn that I saw some odd battery fluctuation as well what seemed like 'frame dropping' which was probably the LCD being too cold to keep doing its thing. I have a 5S too.
 
It could certainly be the weather, so I would keep an eye on your battery for the next couple days. If it continues to act up, you may want to schedule a genius appointment at your nearest Apple Store.

I will note that when I had my 5, I would be outside at night in the dead of winter taking pictures of the stars. While my camera was doing it's thing, I would take my phone out and check Twitter, texts, email, etc. There were numerous occassions where my phone would die around 30%. However, as soon as I plugged it in my car charger, the phone would turn right back on. The point to get out of this is that it could certainly be related to the cold weather.
 
Batteries 101: colder batteries have lower charge capacity before the voltage drops off.

(battery meters are typically just reflective of the battery voltage which declines as the battery discharges, especially in cold weather. Most rechargeable batteries have a sharp drop-off of voltage as they exhaust the stored charge. When cold that drop off can occur at a higher voltage than normal, thus causing the item to "die" suddenly with a higher than expected capacity displayed.
 
Now that I think about it, I had a similar experience with my 4s last year.
I guess it's the price I pay for living in a cold climate.
 
Last edited:
NO DOUBT IT COULD BE THE WEATHER.

If outside in very cold weather you phone needs to be inside you coat to keep it warm. IF left out in the cold, like left in your car overnight in subfreezing, it may not even turn on no matter how much battery is left.

Also be very careful about bringing a cold soaked phone into a warm moist enviroment as water can and will condense, even on the inside of the phone, and set off the moisture inicators, voiding your warranty!
 
My 5 did the same thing last year...turned out to be a defective battery. Luckily my 5 was still under warranty and the battery was replaced for free by Apple.
 
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