Why Did My Phone Restart By Itself? Hardware & Software Issues
If you own an iPhone or an Andriod device and it starts to reset on it is own, you may find yourself asking why did my phone restart by itself? There can be many different reasons that a phone begins to reset on its own and when it is not prompted to do. When it starts happening to your device, it can be worrisome. Is your phone going to die soon? Should you back up all of your photos, messages, files, and any other important bits of data just in case the phone turns off and never turns on again? Well to answer that question, yes, you should back up your phone right away before trying to troubleshoot the issue. So, when it’s time to start troubleshooting your phone, where do you even begin?
Table of Contents
- Why Did My Phone Restart By Itself?
- Common problems that cause phones to reset on their own
- Other potential problems
Why Did My Phone Restart By Itself?
The most common causes of a phone restarting on its own include problems with the hardware like a defective battery, a software problem like a bad app or an un-updated operating system, limited device storage, and complications for overheating.
When your phone resets on its own, it can be alarming. And, if it continuously occurs, like once every 15 minutes, then you know that something is wrong for sure.
But how do you know what is wrong? Should you bring your phone to a repair shop or to the Apple store? Before you go to the store, there may be a few things that you will want to try to see if you can fix the issue at home. If it ends up being an issue like a defective battery, then you may not have any choice but to go to a store and buy a replacement battery. But before doing that, let’s try a few other things.
Let us take a look at a few of the common problems that your phone may be experiencing when it resets on its own as well as a few different ways you can try to troubleshoot your phone before needing to take it to a repair shop.
Common problems that cause phones to reset on their own
As mentioned before, there are many potential causes of a phone resetting on its own. A phone resetting on its own is different than a phone that is glitching. It could be a hardware problem, an issue with software, not enough storage on your phone, or your phone could be overheating.
If your phone is overheating, then you may want to shut down your phone and place it in a cool dark area to cool down a bit before starting up the phone again. If it is continuously overheating even in the shade, then you will need to take the phone to a repair shop or to the Apple store right away so they can identify the cause of the overheating and offer solutions. If it’s a hardware or software problem, then it could be any of the issues listed below.
Hardware problems
Hardware problems are a common cause of a phone continuously resetting itself. Phone hardware includes all the physical components of the device including the battery. A defective battery could potentially cause your phone to reset every few minutes as the battery is incapable of supplying enough power to have your phone function properly.
If you have recently dropped your phone on the ground or it has been submerged in water, then you could have damaged some of the physical components of the phone and now it is resetting because the defective hardware is unable to operate normally. If this is the case, then you may need to take your phone to a repair shop right away,
Last, this may sound stupid, but you may want to double-check that your protective case or any other phone accessories are not holding down your power button.
Software problems
When it comes to software problems, there can be a number of issues that can lead to a phone continuously resetting itself. These kinds of problems can be more difficult to diagnose, however, there are a few things that you can do to troubleshoot potential software issues.
- Make sure you update the operating system of the phone with the latest version. Sometimes a phone resetting itself could be a simple glitch caused by an old operating system conflicting with newer apps.
- Conflicting or malicious apps can work against each other or against your phone and cause issues that would make your phone reset itself. Make sure you update all of the apps you use and delete any questionable or unused apps. Also, if you want to check to see if there is one specific app that is causing the problems that lead to your phone restarting, then you can check the error log on an iPhone by going to Settings. Once you are in Settings, click Privacy then Analytics and Improvements. There you should see an analytics Data option. Click on it and you will then see a list of reports. Scan the names of the reports and if you see a single app being mentioned several times, try uninstalling the app to see if that helps fix the problem.
- A lack of storage space could cause your phone to reset itself. If your internal memory is over 90% used up, then you may need to delete any unnecessary files, photos, and cached data from your phone to get below that 90% threshold. You may even want to consider downloading a special app that can help remove unnecessary data from your phone or only use the “Lite” version of popular apps like Facebook. If you are looking to increase internal storage on an Andriod or iPhone, there are many ways you can do that.
- If you try all of these techniques and you are still having problems, then you may want to do a factory reset of your phone and simply start fresh. Before doing a factory reset, you will want to make sure you backup all of the data that you would like to save.
Other potential problems
Aside from hardware problems, software issues, or complications from overheating, there are still a few other potential problems that some phone owners have reported.
Loose battery
A loose battery is another common occurrence that some phone owners have said led to their phone resetting continuously. If your phone has a removable battery, you should inspect it to make sure it is maintaining contact with all the necessary parts of the phone at all times. It only takes a slight bump of the phone to cause a loose battery to become unseated and seated again. The result would be a quick reset of the phone.
Additionally, inspect the rear cover of your phone to make sure it has not become bent or dented in a way that prevents the cover from properly holding the battery in the correct position. Also, inspect the gold battery connectors to make sure they are not damaged in any way.
If you believe your battery is loose, you may need to purchase some mounting tape to apply to the area of the rear cover that holds the battery in place.
Stuck power button
Sometimes the power button on your phone can get stuck if it got wet or if there is lint, dirt, and other forms of grime stuck in it. Inspect the power button to make sure there is nothing jamming the power button. Again, double-check that your protective case is not pushing on the power button.