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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.
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.
Air Pressure Sensor - This part is located at the bottom of the housing & connects to the charging port flex. If it gets physically damaged or water damaged, it can cause 3 min restarts
Wireless Charging Flex - The flex that's attached to the back glass. It must be plugged in & not damaged, otherwise it will restart every 3 minutes
Bad Battery - If the battery is defective or goes bad, it can cause restarting problems.
iPhone 16 1572864 Panic Log Example for Charging Port or Air Pressure Sensor fault
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.
iPhone 16 Panic Log Example for Back Glass fault
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 - ASSERT" ... "Sensor Array" ..
If you see:
1572864 or 524288 - It's related to the Charging Port Flex
Make sure this flex is plugged in
iPhone 16 Air Pressure Sensor. If not connected or damaged, it will cause panic log 1572864Check 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
2097152 - It's related to the Wireless Charging Flex
Make sure this flex is plugged in
Check that no flex is torn, liquid damaged, defective
Test with OEM or Premium. Aftermarket Flexes have a high defect rate
Diode mode the FPC connectors for any fault
iPhone 16 Back Glass - If you don't have this flex plugged in, it will cause 3 min restarts with panic log 2097152. The important part of the flex is the small IC where the red arrow is
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.
