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Apple Continuing to Investigate iOS 5 Battery Issues

Friday November 11, 2011 10:25 am PST by Eric Slivka
Yesterday, Apple released iOS 5.0.1, the first update to the company's latest iOS 5.0 mobile operating system and one designed in large part to address complaints of battery life issues. But even with the update, a number of users are still reporting significant issues with battery life on their iOS devices.


Apple has now provided a statement to AllThingsD indicating that it is continuing to investigate the battery life complaints in an attempt to determine what is causing the problems.
The recent iOS software update addressed many of the battery issues that some customers experienced on their iOS 5 devices,” the company said in a statement. “We continue to investigate a few remaining issues.”
Apple has not committed yet to a near-term iOS update to address any additional issues, but is presumably already working on a follow-up update incorporating fixes for any other problems it discovers.

[ 220 comments ]


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FrizzleFryBen
102 months ago
I like the slightly more disclosive apple.
Rating: 25 Votes
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Jamieserg
102 months ago

I like the slightly more disclosive apple.


I was thinking that myself. It's nice to know even a little information and at least you know they're working on it rather than being silent.
Rating: 11 Votes
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JCCL
102 months ago

That is what it's supposed to lose. At that rate, you'd get at least 10 hours of battery life when it's being used, and even more if it's on standby.


That's not what you're supposed to get at all.
Rating: 6 Votes
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netnothing
102 months ago
Based on the Apple provided numbers, here's what you 4S owners should (roughly) be seeing for battery drain under ideal conditions:

Talk time - 8 hours on 3G
Loss per hour: 12.5%
Loss in 30 minutes: 6%
Loss per minute: 0.2%

Standby time - 200 hours
Loss per hour: 0.5%

Internet use - up to 6 hours on 3G
Loss per hour: 17%
Loss in 30 minutes: 8%
Loss per minute: 0.3%

Internet use - up to 9 hours on WiFi
Loss per hour: 11%
Loss in 30 minutes: 5%
Loss per minute: 0.2%

Video playback - up to 10 hours
Loss per hour: 10%
Loss in 30 minutes: 5%
Loss per minute: 0.2%

Audio playback - up to 40 hours
Loss per hour: 2.5%
Loss in 30 minutes: 1.2%
Loss per minute: 0.04%

(numbers rounded)

Let me followup with the standby time number......I for example on my iPhone 4 on 5.0.1 charged to 100% last night before bed. Woke up this morning still at 100%. So standby should generally be a slow drain, depending of course on what you have running.

-Kevin
Rating: 5 Votes
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Stella
102 months ago
Try recalibrating your battery first and then see if there's any improvement after 5.01.

I'm quite liking the SJ post era - not to say the SJ rein was bad, because it wasn't, it was good, of course. But, SJ would have just said "There's no battery issue".. and Apple would have been digging itself out of a hole by now.

In short: Apple communication has improved.

My 4s is losing about 5 percent an hour on standby. Is this normal?


Depends: What services do you have running? i.e., location service will kill your battery. What is your cell reception like?
Rating: 5 Votes
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Swan83
102 months ago


This morning I upgraded to iOS 5.0.1. I took it off the charger at 8am, and here it is, 2:30pm and my phone JUST NOW dropped to 99% battery. 1% in 6.5 hours, I at first thought my phone was just lying to me. Now I'm inclined to believe Apple somehow integrated "free energy" into the most recent update! :cool:


I think you need to calibrate your battery meter...
Rating: 4 Votes
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bjb.butler
102 months ago

That is what it's supposed to lose. At that rate, you'd get at least 10 hours of battery life when it's being used, and even more if it's on standby.


What? He said he loses 5%~10% an hour on standby. That means, on average, his battery, on standby would go from full to empty in ~13 hours. How is that what it's "supposed" to lose? Apple claims up to 200 hours of standby time. He gets 13 :cool:

10% is wayyy to high to be losing on standby, unless he is in a poor signal area. I have 4~5 bars on Sprint, and my 4S has NEVER lost more than 5% while I sleep (6~8hrs).
Rating: 4 Votes
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gothamguy
102 months ago
Why not just give back the option to shut 3G off until this mess is resolved?
Rating: 3 Votes
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vitzr
102 months ago
I'm very impressed that the "New Apple" under Tim Cook is honest in admitting the update was less than a success.

That it failed to fix my battery problem is one thing. But to have Apple communicating honestly & openly is a huge relief and an admirable step up from the Old Apple.

When they do the right thing by not going silent as they did under the maniacal ego of Jobs, the customer feels appreciated & informed.

Tim Cook is taking Apple and really making a difference. This is terrific. It's win - win for everyone. :)
Rating: 3 Votes
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strausd
102 months ago

My iPhone 4 was running hot and the battery was draining in half a day while idle right after the iOS 5 update. The solution I found on the Apple forums was to delete my mail accounts, reset my network settings under Settings -> General -> Reset, and then set up may mail accounts again. I had no issues after that.


The thing is users shouldn't have to jump through so many hoops to get things working the way they were intended. That's how other people do it, but generally not how Apple does it.

troll, who said that 4S has battery issues? if you know what you're talking about you would know it's related to iOS 5 not iPhone 4S


My 3GS had no battery problems on iOS 5. Can't say the same about my 4S, even on 5.0.1.
Rating: 3 Votes

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