iOS 17.1 probably won't stop your iPhone randomly turning off overnight and that's a problem

iPhone 15 Pro with a titanium finish running iOS 17
(Image credit: Gerald Lynch / Future / Apple)

If you regularly come to your iPhone and find that it turned itself off overnight, usually before turning itself back on, you aren't alone. But if you'd been hoping that iOS 17.1 would fix things you're unfortunately going to be left disappointed.

Reports of iPhones randomly turning themselves off have been circulating for a week or two and there doesn't appear to be any real pattern to it. They are all running iOS 17 or later, but it doesn't seem to be an issue limited to just the latest iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models.

However, Apple is yet to confirm that the issue exists and it seems that the latest iOS 17.1 Release Candidate update hasn't fixed things for those that are affected. That unfortunately means it might be some time before there is any respite for those whose iPhones just won't stay powered on.

Powered up, but powered off

The problem seems to affect iPhones that are placed on charge overnight with people who come to use them the next day finding that they have to enter their passcode to gain access. Normally, the requirement to enter a passcode on iPhones with Face ID enabled only crops up after a restart or a number of failed sign-in attempts.

Those afflicted with this issue will also be able to spot a gap in their iPhone's battery stats which shows that the iPhone was charging but powered off — with no data collected on the battery's charge status at that time.

It was hoped that iOS 17.1 would fix things for those whose iPhones misbehave in this way, but MacRumors notes that doesn't seem to have been the case. Multiple people on the outlet's forum report that they are still having issues with their iPhone's inability to stay powered on despite running the latest IOS 17.0.3 and upcoming IOS 17.1 updates.

What's actually happening here?

While it's clear that something is going awry with the charging cycle of some iPhones running iOS 17.1 or later, it isn't clear exactly what that might be. There is no normal reason why an iPhone would turn itself off overnight beyond the possibility that it might be getting so warm it's shutting off as a precaution.

Even more strange is the fact that these iPhones are powering themselves back on, often after a number of hours. Why an iPhone would sit dormant, powered off, for hours before turning itself back on, is anyone's guess at this point.

If these iPhones were restarting more quickly, the automatic software update mechanism could be to blame — but Apple doesn't release updates that regularly. And many of those who report this strange behavior say that they have automatic updates disabled anyway.

With so little information available as to what's causing this issue it's difficult to know what to suggest in terms of a fix. If it's happening regularly you could reach out to Apple, but considering this doesn't appear to be a hardware issue there probably isn't much to be done beyond restoring your iPhone. And that's nobody's idea of a fun time.

I'd be more concerned if the iPhone was shutting down and not powering back on, but that doesn't mean there isn't a potential safety risk here. If your iPhone really is turning itself off overnight, you're uncontactable. And that could have dire consequences depending on your situation. What's more, if you woke up during an emergency and found your phone was off, you could lose vital seconds waiting for it turn back on. 

Here's hoping Apple figures out what's happening so that it can be fixed, and soon.

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Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

  • Just_Me_D
    I’m not experiencing any of these reported issues. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we’re witnessing a smear campaign….. ;)
    Reply
  • FFR
    Wonder who is behind this smear campaign.

    Who has collapsing smartphone sales and knows how well the iPhone is doing
    Too bad it’s not working, since Apple had to order an additional 7 million iPhones 15 pro and pro max for the Christmas period.
    Reply
  • Annie_M
    It does seem rather fishy!!!!
    Reply
  • iebock
    I have had this happen to me randomly for multiple versions of iOS. It's never bothered me. Just put in your passcode.
    Reply
  • naddy69
    Meh. I always turn my phones off at night. Along with lights, TVs and iPads. There is no reason to leave anything on overnight.

    Any 3am phone call is either going to be VERY bad news or a drunken wrong number. I don't need either.
    Reply
  • FFR
    naddy69 said:
    Meh. I always turn my phones off at night. Along with lights, TVs and iPads. There is no reason to leave anything on overnight.

    Any 3am phone call is either going to be VERY bad news or a drunken wrong number. I don't need either.

    Reply
  • flyinion
    Hadn't seen this happen to mine, but just checked my battery stats again today and it looks like the phone turned itself off between about 9:45-11:30am or so. It was just sitting on my desk though. I remember it asking for a passcode and just thought FaceID had failed a few times while the phone was sitting there. Never had a problem overnight though that I remember. It's always on a magsafe dock in nightstand mode since it's my alarm clock.

    Attaching battery stats for reference. That gap started probably 10 minutes or so after I pulled it off the dock. Weird for sure.

    Reply
  • WilliamPhoenixAZ
    naddy69 said:
    Meh. I always turn my phones off at night. Along with lights, TVs and iPads. There is no reason to leave anything on overnight.

    Any 3am phone call is either going to be VERY bad news or a drunken wrong number. I don't need either.
    Would rather leave mine power on overnight with 3am emergency phone calls rather that waking up with regret on not knowing the news urgent lol
    Reply
  • naddy69
    Urgent bad news will keep till the morning. Trust me. Been there done that. Whoever died will be no more/less dead at 8am than at 3am. No regrets here.

    Plus, what's in it for you to call someone at 3am with horrible news? What are you thinking? It would never occur to me to call anyone before 7am. For any reason.

    I would much rather sleep thru the night and face the bad news with a full night's sleep behind me.

    Even when I had land line phones that plugged into the wall, I unplugged them at night or just turned off the ringer.

    To FFR: Is that picture supposed to mean something? A random person blinking? Really?
    Reply
  • FFR
    naddy69 said:
    Urgent bad news will keep till the morning. Trust me. Been there done that. Whoever died will be no more/less dead at 8am than at 3am. No regrets here.

    Plus, what's in it for you to call someone at 3am with horrible news? What are you thinking? It would never occur to me to call anyone before 7am. For any reason.

    I would much rather sleep thru the night and face the bad news with a full night's sleep behind me.

    Even when I had land line phones that plugged into the wall, I unplugged them at night or just turned off the ringer.

    To FFR: Is that picture supposed to mean something? A random person blinking? Really?

    Was shocked with your discipline.

    I just have focus mode scheduled on one of my phones and it carries across every other device.
    Reply