Iphone 4s will not switch off

Andy C · Nov 18, 2016

Hi

I have recently bought an Iphone 4s which seems to work perfectly other than turning it off.
When I use the on/off switch at the top, the slider appears, which I do, and the screen goes blank. After about 10 seconds the apple logo appears and the phone switches back on.
I can turn it off if I hold the on/off and home buttons together, wait for the apple logo to disappear then release them.

So far I have tried doing the following:

Powered down with the charging lead plugged in
A hard reset
A factory reset
Fitted a new charging port

None of the above have resolved the problem. The software is 9.3.5

Any further suggestions would be really appreciated, thanks.

scifan57 · Nov 18, 2016

Did it make any difference if you set it up as a new phone rather than from a backup?

carolineM · Nov 18, 2016

Are you sure you are not confusing turning completely off with putting to sleep. To simply put to sleep all you need is a gentle press on the on/off button.

Andy C · Nov 18, 2016

scifan57 said:
Did it make any difference if you set it up as a new phone rather than from a backup?

Hi scifan, thanks for your reply, I'm restoring it and setting it up through iTunes as a new phone which I assume is the correct way, (apologies but I'm new to iphones). Andy

Andy C · Nov 18, 2016

carolineM said:
Are you sure you are not confusing turning completely off with putting to sleep. To simply put to sleep all you need is a gentle press on the on/off button.

Hi Caroline, thanks for your reply, I'm holding the on/off button down until the slider appears, then sliding, after which the screen goes blank for about 20 seconds when it will turns on again. Andy

carolineM · Nov 18, 2016

Hi Andy, Normally all you need do is a short press to put the phone to sleep, which is essentially off, but using a small amount of power. The long press and slide is for powering off the device, which only needs to be done once in a while. That said, it should not turn back on again unless you are holding the home button at the same time.

scifan57 · Nov 18, 2016

Andy C said:
Hi scifan, thanks for your reply, I'm restoring it and setting it up through iTunes as a new phone which I assume is the correct way, (apologies but I'm new to iphones). Andy

That's the correct way to set it up as a new iPhone.
If this doesn't resolve the problem, there's the possibility of a hardware issue that's causing your problem as the restore you did earlier did not resolve the problem either.
The Genius Bar at an Apple Store can run a full diagnostic on your iPhone to resolve the issue. Genius Bar appointments are free and if the problem is software related the fix is normally free as well. If the problem is hardware related though, the cost of repair would likely be more than the iPhone is currently worth.

Andy C · Nov 18, 2016

carolineM said:
Hi Andy, Normally all you need do is a short press to put the phone to sleep, which is essentially off, but using a small amount of power. The long press and slide is for powering off the device, which only needs to be done once in a while. That said, it should not turn back on again unless you are holding the home button at the same time.

Thanks for the info' Caroline, yes I'd like to get it working properly but if I can't I'll have no issues living with it as it is. Andy

Andy C · Nov 18, 2016

scifan57 said:
That's the correct way to set it up as a new iPhone.
If this doesn't resolve the problem, there's the possibility of a hardware issue that's causing your problem as the restore you did earlier did not resolve the problem either.
The Genius Bar at an Apple Store can run a full diagnostic on your iPhone to resolve the issue. Genius Bar appointments are free and if the problem is software related the fix is normally free as well. If the problem is hardware related though, the cost of repair would likely be more than the iPhone is currently worth.

Thanks for that Scifan, I'll check out the location of the UK Apple stores tomorrow and see if I can get along to one. Andy

bear7962 · Nov 18, 2016

Caroline is correct, a quick press of the off button is what is needed to put it to sleep. That is good enough on the 4S for your regular use. powering off either thru hard or soft reset is for when the phone is having issues and needs rebooting.
A restart (soft reset) can resolve issues like continuous resetting/rebooting, device crashing, freezing, won't ring or vibrate, can't make or receive calls, device locks up, and keypad doesn't respond.

A soft reset (turning the device off then back on) is similar to restarting a desktop computer and is one of the first steps in troubleshooting a device. A soft reset won't affect data on the device.

Press and hold the Power button (located on the top edge) until "slide to power off" appears then release.

If the phone is off or not responding, press and hold the Power and Home buttons until the Apple logo appears (approximately 10 seconds) then release.
Slide the Power switch right.

Allow several seconds for the device to power off.
With the device powered off, press and hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears then release.

If you can't get the iPhone to behave properly, it may need a new dock/charging connector. I know it's an older iPhone but if you are close to an Apple Store, they will do a diagnostic for free and you are not obligated to have it serviced. Good luck.

zstairlessone · Nov 19, 2016

I still use my 4s as an iPod (with GPS) and it is great for that. If your issue is hardware there is no reason to throw it out, just modify how you carry/use it. It is still very nice and useful as a phone.

Andy C · Nov 20, 2016

bear7962 said:
Caroline is correct, a quick press of the off button is what is needed to put it to sleep. That is good enough on the 4S for your regular use. powering off either thru hard or soft reset is for when the phone is having issues and needs rebooting.
A restart (soft reset) can resolve issues like continuous resetting/rebooting, device crashing, freezing, won't ring or vibrate, can't make or receive calls, device locks up, and keypad doesn't respond.

A soft reset (turning the device off then back on) is similar to restarting a desktop computer and is one of the first steps in troubleshooting a device. A soft reset won't affect data on the device.

Press and hold the Power button (located on the top edge) until "slide to power off" appears then release.

If the phone is off or not responding, press and hold the Power and Home buttons until the Apple logo appears (approximately 10 seconds) then release.

Slide the Power switch right.

Allow several seconds for the device to power off.

With the device powered off, press and hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears then release.

If you can't get the iPhone to behave properly, it may need a new dock/charging connector. I know it's an older iPhone but if you are close to an Apple Store, they will do a diagnostic for free and you are not obligated to have it serviced. Good luck.

Hi Bear,

Thanks for your reply, I'm learning a lot here. Yes it seems by switching the phone off I'm using it differently to everyone else, I think I'll just put it to sleep like everyone else does and get it into an Apple store when I'm next near one.

Regards,
Andy

Andy C · Nov 20, 2016

zstairlessone said:
I still use my 4s as an iPod (with GPS) and it is great for that. If your issue is hardware there is no reason to throw it out, just modify how you carry/use it. It is still very nice and useful as a phone.

Thanks zstairlessone,

Yes I intend to keep using it, I've decided it's a pretty minor problem that I can very happily live with.

Regards,
Andy

bear7962 · Nov 20, 2016

Yw, it's a learning curve and btw, they hold free classes at the Apple Store to familiarize yourself with the iPhone, the only problem being they mostly talk about the newer ones but there is common ground.