I’m going to tell you why your iPhone, iPad, or iPod suddenly turns off when you still have 30%, 50%, or any other percentage of battery remaining and exactly what to do to fix the problem, if it can be fixed. I’ll use an iPhone in this article, but if you have an iPad or iPod with this problem, follow along — the solution is exactly the same.
I’ll be honest right off the bat: I can’t guarantee we’re going to be able to fix your iPhone. Sometimes, issues related to iPhones randomly shutting off are caused by water damage or other unfortunate accidents. But don’t lose hope! A lot of the time, you can fix this problem at home.
I’ve Got A Faulty Battery, Right?
Not necessarily. More often than not, what’s actually going on is that your iPhone isn’t talking to the battery correctly. Your iPhone’s software is in charge of monitoring the amount of battery life remaining on your iPhone. If the software or firmware isn’t communicating properly with the battery, it’s not going to display the right percentage.
Just like apps on your iPhone, your iPhone’s firmware can have glitches, too.
Wait. Isn’t This Deeper Than A Simple Software Problem?
Yes. This isn’t your simple run-of-the-mill software problem where your battery is draining too fast because your apps are crashing. But it’s not necessarily a hardware problem either — so we need to address your iPhone’s firmware. So what is it? If it’s not “soft”-ware, and it’s not “hard”-ware, then its “Firm”-ware.
The Fix For iPhones That Turn Off With Battery Life Remaining
To fix the issue with your iPhone shutting off even though it says there is still battery life remaining, we’re going to do a “DFU Restore”. DFU stands for Device Firmware Update.
A DFU restore reloads your iPhone’s software and firmware, so it’s an even deeper type of restore than putting your iPhone into recovery mode. Check out my article to learn how to DFU restore your iPhone! Afterwards, come back here to finish up.
Your iPhone Needs Time To Recalibrate
Now that your iPhone is good as new and all your apps are downloading, give your phone a few days to recalibrate and get to know the battery again. I recommend fully charging your iPhone and letting it fully discharge a couple times before declaring the problem officially fixed or not.
When You’ve Tried Everything Else
If the issue comes back after you’ve done a DFU restore, you’ve eliminated the possibility that a software or firmware problem is causing your iPhone to turn off with battery life remaining or, in some cases, to randomly jump from one percentage to another. If that’s the case, you may need to repair your iPhone.
Repair Options
If you go through Apple, you can visit a local Apple Store (make an appointment first), or begin the repair process online. Some people try to use an external battery pack like the ones you’ll find on Amazon as a temporary stopgap, but if your iPhone is damaged, it may not help at all.
Wrapping It Up
Thanks again for visiting Payette Forward. I sincerely hope this article helped you stop your iPhone from turning off when it still shows a percentage of battery life remaining. I wish you the absolute best of luck and hope to hear from you! If you have any other questions, the Payette Forward Facebook Group is a great place to get answers.
All the best,
David P.
Hi therey iphone 5s was turning on until one day I took it to the shop they replaced the battery and the they said that if the phone dies it may or it may not turn back on. So the battery went flat and now it don’t turn back on. Anyone help???
Thank you so soo sooo much!!!
I’ve done all the setps. but my phone still shutting down, even it has big battery life. HELP HELP
my I phone 4s automatically turn off after a few minutes. then I cant turn on it, but when I restart this my iphone 4s starts properly and after a few minutes again turns off. tell me please what can I do? plz plz plz……..
My iphone 4 i full 100% charged after 60% used battery my mobile turn off
thank you bro. but really I did it all the way to fix my iPhone . nothing help me just one thing “I changed the battery” ?
note : don’t lose your money to buy a fake battery same problem with it and it’s dead fast.
just get a original battery used one or new because it’s stronger.
Hey, iPhone 4s. I recently changed my battery for one that was sold by seller named ‘apple’ on Amazon. I assume that this is a legitimate battery, but after installing it seems as if my phone does not ‘recognize’ the battery. When I hold power button (unplugged), it gives me the typical battery with a charger underneath. When I plug it in, it has the typical screen with the battery filled with red. I kept it in for 1 hour, but it still does not turn on. The screen with the battery is still present. Any help? Running the latest… Read more »
My parents recently bought me iPhone 5S (64 GB) from a person on Craigslist and it seemed to work fine in the beginning, but once I started using it more at home, it started randomly turning off on it’s own even though the battery percentage was okay. I didn’t think it was a big deal at first because it would always turn back on and be normal once I connected it to a charger. I’ve had the same issue for the past few days, but two nights ago, while my phone was charging and playing music, I accidentally knocked my… Read more »
Hi, thanks for the info. My iPhone 6 which is about a little less than a year old has never had water damage. The battery worked fine, perfectly, until recently. It might be a coincidence but the problems started right after updating the iOS, currently 9.1. The first problem i noticed was that i was having symptoms of the phone being on Low Power Mode. This was a couple of months ago. At that time, i did not know there was such a thing as low power mode, i was just having some odd behaviors. Some things i noticed were… Read more »
tried, but it was a waste of time !! the battery problem still persist.
my iphone 5 has a history of water damage but already fix.. can i do the DFU?
Hi there.
so after i follow all the steps above i just plug my phone into my computer and restore the back up? or should i re download everything that was on my phone before, like new?
what if after doing the DFU restore my iphone get stacked on apple logo?
I tried it out the other night and it has seeming gotten worse and is shutting down as soon as it turns on. I’m not sure what to do, any advice.
Thanks,
Alex
David: The problem I’m having is the restore after the DFU is failing with an (error 3014). Everything that I have found suggests to be a networking problem getting to the update servers. My host file is virgin/clean. I’ve tried direct network wired connection to the modem. No matter what I do it won’t restore. This is a ‘new battery’ already and it holds charge at 95% after 8 hours…so I know its not the battery. I’ve also disabled the firewall and virus software before the update, but same problem.
it helped alot David….thanks to your post 🙂
Thank you for this thorough and easy to follow advice! Do I have to do an iCloud backup, or can I back up my device onto my computer? I don’t have a lot of storage in iCloud available to me. Also, will a DFU help with other issues? Both my iPad and iPhone seem to freeze and reset regularly during app updates.
I did this with my iphone 5 a week or two ago. It quit shutting down for a couple days, but is back to every day. The phone is warm when I notice it is off, and I have PLENTY of battery left (sometimes 80% or so, and sometimes it is even charging!). Any other suggestions?
David you’re a godsent!!!! I have had this problem for about 4 months!!!! I finally tried what you suggested and voila!!! My phone is working!!! You saved me $80-$95!!! Phew thanks so much! Thanks for pay-ing it forward!!
does this method work for jailbroken device ? i mean the DFU restore part ?
my iphone was at 1% i plugged it in to the wall charger for a while and got nothing! after unplugging my phone it still says thats its charging but wont turn on! stays on black screen with battery charging, also cannot access dfu mode or any recovery mode i have tried new cords and nothing will work!
This worked easier for my new iPod Touch: To enter DFU Mode: – First plug your device into your computer – Simply turn off your device by holding sleep/wake button or Power button basically swiping it off will be enough. – Hold the power button for 3 seconds at this stage. – Do not release the sleep/wake button and hold the home button simultaneously for 10 seconds. – As the last step release the power button and keep holding the home button until a message from iTunes appears as your device is recognized as in recovery mode. Now we are… Read more »
Thank you so much, It actually worked on my iPhone 4s.
What a relief.
I just want to ask you, if an iPhone is jailbroken would it work?
Cheers!
Joseph, Morocco
Worked for me. Thanks!
I was having the same battery-shuts-down-at-40/50%-problem as many others. I have tried your DFU reset. It took a while to complete (installing iOS 8.1.2 on an iPhone 4S) but everything has worked according to plan (back-up and restore). Whether the battery behave now, I will have to wait and see, but I appreciate your taking the time to write this helpful post.
Cheers!
John Zimmer
http://mannerofspeaking.org
Everytime i tried these steps about dfu I have an issue about restoring my iphone 5 because after downloading the update to my itunes it says The software for iphone has error.
Hey there, i tried this DFU, but in the middle of it. It says that error found and the only choice is to restart the restoring. What should i do? Please help thanks
Hi guy,
Is there a way to do the restoring without the use of computer? I mean doing it directly with the phone.
What can I do if my ipod won’t turn on even if I tried to… It is full of charge but all of a sudden it turned off! I don’t know what to do
Please Help!
Thanks for this. My iPhone 5s started shutting down at 20% after 13 months, of course 1 month out of warranty, and I didn’t purchase AppleCare. I did manage to go to my local Apple Store, demonstrated the problem to them, and they kindly replaced the battery for free (normally a $79 charge) and it looked like the issue was solved, my phone then would shut off at 1% as it should. But then about a month later it exhibited the same shutdown at 20% symptom. I then came across this article, and performed a DFU Restore. I thought it… Read more »
I got my iPhone 4S in recovery mode, but I cannot get it to restore. Three times I have gotten an error message and now it just gets stuck at contacting the software server. Any suggestions? I have tried it with my firewall, antivirus and sandbox software enabled and disabled.
Hi, Thank you so much for the effort by posting this article which is helping many people to solve there battery problem. I am currently runing ios 7.1.2 on my iphone 5. So by going to DFU restore progress will it update my software as well. If so is there a solution to by pass the update as i dont want to update to ios 8 due to its bug problems
Thank you in advance
Hi David,
I did try the whole process that you talk about above, however I am still having the same problems. It seems to be when I run Strava (running and cycling tracker) my phone seems to die about 3 mile into my run, could it be something to do with Location Services?
Regards,
Georgia
Hi I bought new I phone 6 but it’s now showing 30% or 27 % its jump to from 31 to 29 or 28 to 26% y is like this
David, The Apple Genius recommended DFU restore and then syncing content rather than a restore from iTunes or icloud. He says the restore might restore the problem. I’ve heard this before but have ignored that suggestion. Do you agree with that suggestion? Loathe to just sync content since that will lose stuff (Notes and Text Messages) without more work. Hope you’re still monitoring this discussion. Thanks!
Hi,
I have similar problem with iPhone 5, it keeps on shutting down even though I see battery life is still there. iPhone also becomes little warm when it turns off automatically. I use power home button to shut off it permanently.When I try to start it again after 30 mins or so it works fine however shutdown again and again.
How do I fix this issue?
Hey there
So what if my home button doesnt work and need to do a to reset my iphone 4 because of the battery shutting down at 90%
Thabks Joel
Hi there. First of all, thank you very much for your precious tips.
I have a quick question though, after following these steps my iPhone is now asking me for random peoples apple-id’s passwords.
Why is that and what can I do against it?
thanks you so much it worked 🙂
Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, my power button is stuck down also LOL. So I’m kinda screwed. Ready for a new phone anyway.
Thank you. This has just worked for my iPhone 4 (2010). It had been shutting down at 50% or 60% – once even at 90%. Now it has run down to zero% three or four times so I think the problem is cured. Incidentally the DFU took less than 60 minutes in total (I wasn’t hurrying) and Apple’s restore mode took several hours and had not cured this particular problem. (Clearly the Apple restore must have done other things.) Also for whatever reason the phone now “feels better”. I can’t put my finger on any particular improvement (other than the… Read more »
Thanks, David! Was having to reset (power home button) on my iPhone 4 about once a day. Tried cycling the battery, and restoring via iTunes. The DFU restore seems to have done the trick.
Dear Scott, I’m so happy that you were able to solve the problem with your iPhone 4 with a DFU restore! Thanks for taking the time to let us know it worked for you. All the best, David P.
Hi All,
I have restored a lot of phones this way and often get errors when attempting to do this when iTunes is not fully updated.
if you get an error DURING the restore process please update and try again.
Windows: From the menu bar in iTunes, choose Help > Check for Updates.
Mac: Choose iTunes > Check for Updates.
Hi! I just try that, and I can’t restore my iPhone 5. In the process, iTunes say that an error is happening. So basically, my iPhone is in recovery mode, but I can’t restore it even if I try (my iPhone is plugged all process long). What can I do? I know is not the battery and either of the humidity.
Please, I need help.
(Sorry, english is not my native language)
Hi
I also tried the procedure many a time but always when almost 59 minutes remaining, there is a msg that network timed out. My phone is IPhone4. What to do? Please help…
Hi, I am trying this out right now. I had already done resets using backups, and the problem still occurred. So, if the phone continues to shut off randomly, when it ‘appears’ to have sufficient battery charge, what else can be the problem? If the battery charge indicator shows a charge, is it still possible its a battery problem, or is something else causing a failure (not errors in programming)? It is a 2009 3GS that up until Jan 2014, was actually working great all this time! Loved using it as ipod/itouch device to use on wi-fi and wish I… Read more »
Hi so it wont work when an iphone is damage by water,,,
Would it work f I factory reset it?
Thank you so much for this! My iPhone had got to the stage where it would switch off as soon as I turned it on
I tried this numerous times. Every time after two hours, it said network timed out. What do I do? My phone is a iphone 4s and not jailbroken or anything. The screen is black, what can I do? TIA.