How to stop your iPhone from randomly showing the power off screen

The power-off screen displays sliders that allow you to turn off your iPhone, see Medical ID, and trigger Emergency SOS. This screen should come up when you’re trying to shut down your device. In case you randomly see this “slide to power off” screen too frequently for whatever reason, here are a few potential solutions to fix this issue.

Power off screen iPhone

1. Restart your iPhone

If the sudden appearance of the power off slider is happening due to software glitches, restarting your iPhone or force restarting it will help. To perform a simple restart, you can use the buttons you normally use to turn off and on your iPhone, or:

  1. Go to Settings > General and tap Shut Down.
  2. Drag the power off slider to the right to switch off your iPhone.
  3. After waiting for a minute, switch on your iPhone using the side button or plug it into charging.

2. Update your iPhone to the latest iOS version

Go to iPhone Settings > General and tap Software Update. If there is a pending iOS update, tap Download and Install. If the update is already downloaded, tap Install Now.

3. Clean the physical buttons

iPhone with a Home button can be turned off just by pressing and holding the power button on the right edge of the device. For newer models with Face ID, simultaneously press and hold the right side button and volume up or volume down button.

When the buttons have dirt or debris stuck around them, there can be unintentional presses that lead to showing the power off screen or decreasing the iPhone volume. To fix this, carefully clean the buttons using a soft, dry cloth.

4. Remove your iPhone case

Not all iPhone cases are made to perfection. Cheap iPhone cases (combined with dirt around the buttons) are the most common reason for randomly seeing the power off screen.

When you press the physical iPhone buttons over the case, does it feel it’s pressed very easily with little pressure? If so, this might be due to poor case design, and as a result, the physical buttons are pressed with very little pressure while holding your iPhone, putting it in your pockets, etc.

To solve this, remove your current case and use a different one.

Check out: The best cases for iPhone 12

iPhone in green case

5. Check if physical buttons are working

After removing the case, use the side and volume buttons to lock your iPhone or change the sound. Do they work? If yes, that’s a good sign. In case they don’t work and restarting or updating the software doesn’t help, there is most likely a hardware problem. You’ll have to contact Apple Store or an authorized repair shop to fix this.

6. Did you drop your iPhone in the water?

All models of iPhone, starting from iPhone 7, are waterproof to a limit. But if your device was repaired, is a few years old, had manufacturing defects, or was submerged in water beyond its limit, water may have seeped in. Because of this, the iPhone motherboard/internals may have corroded. You’ll have to contact Apple Support and set up a repair to address this.

Wet iPhone with water droplets

7. Did your iPhone suffer a hard fall?

In case you recently dropped your iPhone on a hard surface, it may have damaged some internal components. Once again, to solve this, you’ll have to get your device inspected at an Apple Store or authorized technician.

By now, you should have a better understanding of why the power off screen pops up randomly on your iPhone. Before taking your iPhone to an Apple Store, one last thing you may try is to reset all settings. If the problem was due to a serious software issue, resetting the device should help.

Finally, before you take your iPhone to an Apple Store, make sure you back it up to a computer or iCloud. This will ensure your valuable data is safe.

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