If you still experience random iPhone 6 or 6s shutdowns, Apple's recently released iOS 10.2.1 may fix the problem or at least limit its impact.
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While Cupertino’s unusually prompt reaction to relatively widespread iPhone 6 and 6s “bricking” issues in China was certainly praiseworthy, Samsung’s recent Galaxy Note 7 explosion fiasco and especially the confusion still surrounding the phablet’s discontinuation taught Apple quick answers were also imperative.
Hopefully, the “information about the iPhone accidental shutdown” just shared on the tech giant’s regional support webpages has been a little more thoroughly researched, checked and double-checked than the competition’s first Note 7 quality inspection findings.
Apparently, it’s not a “security issue” that caused a “small number” of iPhone 6s units produced between September and October 2015 to randomly freeze, halt all operations, and refuse to charge or boot back up.
Instead, believe it or not, air was the culprit here. Specifically, a central battery component’s exposure to “controlled ambient air for too long” before said component was “loaded into the battery pack.” That sure sounds… unusual, so much so in fact that we believe it may well check out. It’s simply too weird to be fabricated.
It also means that, for the “affected” iPhone 6s range, everything should be a-okay after Apple’s voluntary free battery replacement program. But another “small number of customers” outside this “area” have been reporting unexpected shutdowns as well, and “more information” is needed ahead of a verdict, battery swap or recall, with an “additional diagnostic feature” coming as part of an iOS software update next week.
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No electronic device is altogether immune to manufacturing defects and hardware flaws of all sorts. Some phones will spontaneously combust, others may bend under minimal pressure, refuse to properly recognize touch actions or unexpectedly shut down.
What’s vital for an OEM confronted with such issues is to identify the exact root cause of the “disease”, show transparency about measures taken to keep things in check, and most importantly, try its best not to alienate customers.
On that note, both Samsung and Apple have made mistakes of late handling bigger and smaller quality control scandals, with the former still unable (or unwilling) to share a determination of Note 7 investigations, and the latter turning a deaf ear to “Touch Disease” complaints for a long time, then finally acknowledging a problem, but forcing affected iPhone 6 Plus owners to pay up.
Thankfully, a new program aimed at fixing “unexpected shutdown issues” exhibited by the iPhone 6s will cover battery replacements free of charge around the world. While Apple doesn’t consider this a “safety issue”, claiming it affects “devices within a limited serial number range that were manufactured between September and October 2015”, the “very small number of iPhone 6s devices” randomly shutting down will be taken in and repaired.
Not just in China, mind you, where the plague recently came to light, and if you happened to already replace your battery on your own for a similar problem, you may qualify for a refund. Now that’s more like it, Apple!
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