iPhone 5 Resets Itself

[JimMc1984]

I purchased this phone in July 2013 and it does not have Applecare. This problem started one week ago. My phone will suddenly freeze and resets, and it tends to happen when the screen is on/being used for 10-15 minutes consistently. For example, it has occurred during FaceTime calls, camera usage, and Internet browsing. It has not happened during audio phone calls or simply listening to streaming audio with the screen off.

The phone will freeze for a moment, then usually the screen will briefly get distorted (black lines/black bars, sometimes part of the screen changes color), and then it will instantly reset to the Apple logo. Sometimes the phone resets several times in a row, not getting past the logo, until it's back to the regular home screen.

I did not make any changes to the hardware just prior to this issue, nor did I install new software. I did upgrade to iOS 8.3 shortly after it came out. I also did a full restore twice: once at home and once at the Apple Store (normal recovery mode, not DFU mode).

I suspect this may be an overheating problem. Could it be a faulty battery? The current battery was replaced under warranty in June 2014. I took the phone to the Genius Bar, and they recommended a phone replacement (at a $269 cost). They said the battery passed the diagnostic test to check its capacity. The only thing the Genius saw in the logs was the app crashes, which happen when the phone resets.

Here's my question: Does anyone think I can do anything to remedy this before I bite the bullet and replace the phone? Is it possible that the battery is causing the phone to overheat? Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

[AronDraws]

Google for the iPhone Battery replacement page and you can enter your serial to see if the battery was due for replacement. A small number were faulty.

My phone was beyond that as the battery was swelling. That was on them.

They gave me a refurb to replace the phone ruined by the bad battery which was fine until the warranty expired and now goes through the restart crap over and over. I took it in. They reset it and said not to restore from backup. It was fine for 4 days but just started the restart crap again. My only offered option is to pay $300 for yet another refurbished phone (which I don't have the money for and I cannot trust their refurbs, so Im stuck with a faulty refurbished iPhone

 

[JimMc1984]

Thanks for the response, but the Apple Store replaced the battery under warranty in June 2014 because it was no longer holding a charge. I suspect that the battery is faulty again, but I will need to replace it on my own to find out. The store only suggested a full phone replacement.

 

[cueru]

I was having similar issues myself just last week with my 5 (which was a replacement phone after my original had battery and screen issues), but after a while it refused even to turn on. In the end, replacing the battery is what fixed it for me (it was apparently at about 60% its original capacity, but even then it clearly wasn't fulfilling that 60%). I'd definitely suggest trying to replace the battery before getting a new phone.

Maybe first try the DFU mode restore, though, just in case that works? Especially if the Genius Bar folks said your battery seemed fine.