Apple Says Some iPhone 6s Shut Down Prematurely Due to Air in Batteries

Cupertino provides more information on its faulty batteries

Apple has recently started a recall of iPhone 6s units manufactured between September and October 2015, as it publicly acknowledged that these models come with a faulty battery causing devices to shut down unexpectedly even with 50 percent battery left.

In an advisory posted online today, Apple explains what exactly is happening with these phones, pointing out that this is not a safety issue that could lead to more serious incidents, such as fire.

“It's important to note, this is not a safety issue,” Apple explains in its statement, clearly trying to make sure that this recall doesn’t lead to a new global craze over exploding batteries, as it was the case with rival Samsung.

“Too much air”

Specifically, Apple says that batteries cause an unexpected shutdown because of what it describes as too much air in batteries, pointing out that this leads to premature degradation that eventually causes the iPhones to turn off despite the indicator that shows there’s still nearly half of battery left.

“We found that a small number of iPhone 6s devices made in September and October 2015 contained a battery component that was exposed to controlled ambient air longer than it should have been before being assembled into battery packs. As a result, these batteries degrade faster than a normal battery and cause unexpected shutdowns to occur,” Apple says in its statement, which you can read in full at the end of the article.

Apple goes on to explain that the iPhone is anyway configured to shut down automatically at very low temperatures because this prevents damage caused by low voltage that could impact other parts as well.

The firm emphasizes that it already looked into other factors that could cause such an unexpected shutdown and points out that beside the faulty batteries and the low-temperature protection, no new factors have been identified.

If you’re not sure if your iPhone is eligible for a battery replacement or not, head over to this Apple Support page and input your iPhone serial number, which you can find in Settings > General > About.

Show Official Apple Statement

"We care deeply about our customers and take seriously concerns they have about their Apple products. After hearing reports from iPhone customers whose devices unexpectedly shut down, we thoroughly looked into these reports, and collected and analyzed devices.

We found that a small number of iPhone 6s devices made in September and October 2015 contained a battery component that was exposed to controlled ambient air longer than it should have been before being assembled into battery packs. As a result, these batteries degrade faster than a normal battery and cause unexpected shutdowns to occur. It's important to note, this is not a safety issue.

To help our customers who are experiencing this issue, we are replacing batteries in affected devices, free of charge. iPhone 6s owners can easily find out if their device is eligible by typing in their device’s serial number on the iPhone 6s Program for Unexpected Shutdown Issues web page. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused customers.

We also want our customers to know that an iPhone is actually designed to shut down automatically under certain conditions, such as extremely cold temperature. To an iPhone user, some of those shutdowns might seem unexpected, but they are designed to protect the device’s electronics from low voltage.

We looked for any other factors that could cause an iPhone to shut down unexpectedly. After intensive investigations, no new factors have been identified. We will continue to monitor and analyze customer reports.

We encourage any customer who experiences an issue with an Apple product to visit an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or to contact Apple Support."