How To Fix an iPhone 16 That Randomly Restarts

How To Fix an iPhone 16 That Randomly Restarts
Device	IPhone 16, IPhone 16 Plus
Affects part(s)	Flex cable
Needs equipment
Difficulty	◉◌◌◌ Easy
Type	Teardown

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Problem description

There are many reasons that could cause an iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus to randomly restart every few minutes.

For the iPhone 16 Base Model series, there are some sensors within the parts of the phone that are required to be plugged in & detected. Otherwise, the phone restarts on its own.

The most common for iPhone 16 Base series are:

• Charging Port Flex - This is the flex towards the bottom of the phone. It is easily damaged with a drop & the back glass is breaks. Or when someone has repaired the back glass.
• Bad Battery - If the battery is defective or goes bad, it can cause restarting problems.

Symptoms

• After a back glass repair, the iPhone will restart on its own every few minutes
• After a hard drop, the iPhone will restart every 3 minutes.
• After a screen repair, the iPhone will bootloop every 3 minutes
• After replacing the charging port flex, the device will auto restart on its own randomly.
• The iPhone will reboot randomly when using it.
• The iPhone will seem to freeze and restart every 2-5 minutes.

Solution

Diagnostic Steps

Before you start blindly replacing parts, it's important to try to confirm what is causing the restarting issue by reviewing the Panic Log file. This is a file that is generated by the Operating System, to document the fault causing the restart.

To find the panic log on the device, go to Settings-> Privacy-> Analytics & Improvements-> Analytics Data-> Scroll down to the files starting with "panic-full..." & click on the most recent dated file.

Then you'll want to scan through the text for keywords that may point you to the cause.

For this model, look for where it says "SMC PANIC - ASSERTION FAILED" ... "Sensor Array" ..

If you see:

• 3145728 and 2097152 - It's related to the Charging Port Flex
  • Make sure this flex is plugged in

  • 

    iPhone 16 Pro Max Air Pressure Sensor. If not connected or damaged, it will cause panic log 3145728

    Check the bottom mic/air pressure sensor module is connected
  • Check that no flex is torn, liquid damaged, defective
  • Test with OEM or Premium parts.
    • Aftermarket Flexes have a high defect rate
  • If water damaged:
    • 1. Check the taptic engine. You can test with it unplugged.
    • 2. Check the air pressure sensor module is not corroded or damaged
    • 3. Check the FPC for corrosion or loose pins
  • Diode mode the FPC connectors for any fault

  • 

    iPhone 16 Pro Max - Charging Port Flex is Bad. Sensor Array 3145728

Alternatively, you can use a tool like the iDevice Panic Log Analyzer, which will download the panic logs from the device & display them on the PC & give you suggestions to possible solutions. It makes it easier to browse the panic log file.

Also check out www.PanicFull.com which allows you to upload the panic log file & have it analyzed for free.

Both of these tools just give suggestions, which aren't always correct, as there is no official solution list from Apple. So many solutions are just suggestions based on hearsay, rumors or just guesses.

For situations where you don't see the above examples, you'll have to read through the top portion of the panic log & try to decipher what could be the root cause. Look for keywords you may recognize.

Repair Steps

When trying to solve for these issues, make sure to replace the appropriate flex with an OEM or Premium flex.

It is also a good idea to keep a known good charging port flex in your bench, for testing only. There are reports of even NEW flexes being bad. So you have to keep known good flexes on hand at all times, so you don't waste your time troubleshooting with possibly bad flexes.

In scenarios where you have the appropriate flexes plugged in, but it still restarts, then you either have:

• Bad or damaged flex
• Low quality aftermarket flex
• Other flex cables that are Liquid Damaged

Please note: You MUST have the required flex cables, (Charging port flex, etc) plugged in. Otherwise, it WILL restart. You cannot troubleshoot this step by unplugging the bad flex.