Apple admits what caused your iPhone battery issue

Apple made a statement about the iPhone 6s this morning in China, adding details to a battery issue reported by users in China and the USA. This battery issue has affected a "small number of iPhone 6S devices," said Apple. In addition to what was reported by Apple earlier, they've revealed details on the exact cause of the device switching off as it reaches 40% battery. It would seem that this is not a bug, but a sort of feature – as Apple says: "an iPhone is actually designed to shut down automatically under certain conditions."

The statement from Apple says that one of the conditions under which an iPhone might shut off completely is "extremely cold temperatures." That's not what's been happening with the iPhone 6s, but it is a reason why an iPhone might shut off. Apple goes on to note that "to an iPhone user, some of those shutdowns might seem unexpected, but they are designed to protect the device's electronics from low voltage."

Apple's newest statement on the 30% battery shutdown issue showed that devices manufactured between September and October of 2015 were not made correctly. This run of iPhone 6s units "contained a battery component that was exposed to controlled ambient air longer than it should have been before being assembled into battery packs." Apple said that because of this error, batteries in these iPhones "degrade faster than a normal battery and cause unexpected shutdowns to occur."

Apple has not found any other factors that might cause unexpected shutdowns in the iPhone 6s. Apple's statement covers the iPhone 6s only, and only those models manufactured between September and October of 2015. Apple has provided a Serial Number Entry point for users around the world to identify the devices affected by this replacement.

The newest statement comes from the China-based face of the Apple Store. There the message can be read in Chinese as well as English. This message was first published on the 2nd of December, 2016.

SOURCE: Apple Support