Apple has clarified in a new support document that that the random shutdown issues plaguing certain iPhone 6s units is more common than the company had initially anticipated it to be. Apple had first narrowed down the issue of iPhone 6s units randomly shutting down to a battery issue for which it has also started a replacement program.
In the original message, Apple noted that “a small number” of iPhone 6s smartphones made in September and October of 2015 were facing unexpected shutdowns due to their prolonged exposure to controlled ambient air. Now, Apple said that it’s discovered a few customers “outside of the affected range” who have also been facing unexpected shutdowns of their iPhone 6s devices.
A small number of customers outside of the affected range have also reported an unexpected shutdown. Some of these shutdowns can occur under normal conditions in order for the iPhone to protect its electronics. In an effort to gather more information, we are including additional diagnostic capability in an iOS software update which will be available next week. This will allow us to gather information over the coming weeks which may potentially help us improve the algorithms used to manage battery performance and shutdown. If such improvements can be made, they will be delivered in future software updates.
Three weeks ago, the company put forth a worldwide free battery replacement program for iPhone 6s units manufactured between September and October 2015 that exhibit random shutdowns when the battery charge level falls below the thirty percent mark.
It’s not just iPhone 6s owners who have been complaining about their handset randomly shutting down though. Owners of iPhone 6 and older iPhones like the iPhone 5s/5 have also been complaining about their device randomly shutting down. This likely means that we are looking at a hardware issue here, though it will be interesting to see how Apple manages to solve the problem by using the diagnostic data it will be collecting over the coming weeks.
Source: Apple