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Advice needed after Genius Bar visit

B

beachbrum

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 18, 2014
4
0
So I visited the Genius Bar and got my iPhone 5 replaced due to a bad home button.

The technician did tell me however after diagnostic testing my battery was worn out and that I had lots of crashing apps to deal with after my iCloud restore.

First question is what are some good tips to keep the batter lasting a long time.

Secondly he said my apps had lots of crashing issues and that after I restore I should reinstall them. What would he have meant by this? Should I go through and delete and reinstall apps one by one?

Thanks in advance.
 
T5BRICK said:
I know two other folks have commented on this already, but, WHAT? :rolleyes:

Leaving your phone plugged in overnight doesn't cause battery issues.
Click to expand...

First I was sort of kidding. Second while it doesn't really damage the battery it can mess up the calibration. Most people would say to help keep the calibration accurate let the battery drain to at least 2% every 30 days.
 
beachbrum said:
First question is what are some good tips to keep the batter lasting a long time.
Click to expand...

It really depends on your usage. If you're running the battery down and re-charging your phone multiple times each day, you're putting extra cycles on it. If you hardly use your phone at all, Apple recommends that you complete a full charge cycle each month.

https://www.apple.com/batteries/

Secondly he said my apps had lots of crashing issues and that after I restore I should reinstall them. What would he have meant by this? Should I go through and delete and reinstall apps one by one?
Click to expand...

He's suggesting that you restore your phone back to stock using iTunes, and instead of restoring from a backup, re-installing each app individually. You'll possibly lose a lot of saved data, but it could help with crashing.

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kaielement said:
First I was sort of kidding. Second while it doesn't really damage the battery it can mess up the calibration. Most people would say to help keep the calibration accurate let the battery drain to at least 2% every 30 days.
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. And Apple does not suggest that you run your battery down every month. They simply suggest that you complete at least one charge cycle each month. Read though this to see their definition of a charge cycle(Hint: it doesn't mean you run it down all the way and charge it back up).

https://www.apple.com/batteries/
 
I've heard different schools of thought regarding the battery. I do tend to leave it plugged in all night and since I run pandora at work nearly all day it is plugged in a good portion of the day. Not sure if this is the best strategy.

----------

Is there a way to find out which apps have crashing issues so I can narrow it down?
 
It's possible the older phone simply had a bad battery on some level. Seems like a few iPhone 5 phones have started showing battery issues for people since iOS 7 perhaps due to batteries being kind of bad on some level and iOS 7 being more sensitive to that. It doesn't mean that this new phone will have those issues, especially if you reinstall the apps rather than just restoring from backup to avoid potential conflicts of some sort that might have existed in the previous setup (and perhaps contributed to the battery usage).
 
I've been running my iPhone 4 for close to 3 years, my first Gen iPad since iPad Day 3. Plugged into the charger every night (hint: this is what you do if you backup to iCloud, as intended by Apple). I never run the batteries down to 0.... If either device's battery indicator is wrong, I doubt it's by much.

What does switching to iOS 7 do to actually harm the physical battery? Nada, imho - it's a supposition that I've yet to see backed up by hard data.

But yes, there is a cause-and-effect relationship between iOS updates and battery life. Every time you load a major update of iOS, with a passel of new features that all, naturally, require power... It's time to revisit your settings. Not only will you get more life out of the battery, but you'll learn new and better ways to use your device. My iPhone 4's battery life today, on iOS 7, is little different than it was when I got the thing - it may even be better. (I'll leave the iPad out of this, since it can't be upgraded past 5.1.1.)
 
I suggest just using you phone and worrying less. Even after 3 years of daily use most iPhones are still going strong.

If you constantly worry about what you are doing to help of hurt your phone will only decrease the enjoyment of ownership!!!
 
I, too, notice that my battery isn't running great. Percentage goes down literally every time I use to phone for ANYTHING, to look at the time, or to read a text. Once the screen goes on, I notice the percentage going down by 1%. If it's 100% and I use it for say ten minutes, it'll go down by 5-10% without me doing anything to it - I don't play heavy games or go on Facebook; I just listen to music, read my e-mails, reply to some text messages, and the battery just does not last for anything. I've had this problem from the get go, but apparently, Apple saw no issue with it, so I just deal with it. My contract ends this September. I'll just get a new phone then; maybe the 6 will be out by then. But yeah, the battery on the 5 (at least most of them) aren't that great. I even calibrate it and still it doesn't last.
 
Honestly op apple is actively swapping out defective ip5's due to manufacturing issues. Just charge when you want to. There is no need to run it flat before charging (that's actually bad for the battery)

As for leaving it on charge that's perfectly fine too.
 
beachbrum said:
First question is what are some good tips to keep the batter lasting a long time.
Click to expand...

To summarize Apple's position, "Just use it". It doesn't matter how long it's plugged in or not plugged in. Apple's recommendation is to use 100% in a month. That's 100% in one day or 10% every day for 10 days, etc.

kaielement said:
First I was sort of kidding. Second while it doesn't really damage the battery it can mess up the calibration. Most people would say to help keep the calibration accurate let the battery drain to at least 2% every 30 days.
Click to expand...

Also not true. There's a lot of misinformation floating around.

beachbrum said:
I've heard different schools of thought regarding the battery.
Click to expand...

Yes, everyone is an expert. ;)

Gav2k said:
There is no need to run it flat before charging (that's actually bad for the battery)
Click to expand...

Actually, that's not true. The charging circuit takes care of protecting the battery.
 
PNutts said:
To summarize Apple's position, "Just use it". It doesn't matter how long it's plugged in or not plugged in. Apple's recommendation is to use 100% in a month. That's 100% in one day or 10% every day for 10 days, etc.



Also not true. There's a lot of misinformation floating around.



Yes, everyone is an expert. ;)



Actually, that's not true. The charging circuit takes care of protecting the battery.
Click to expand...

Yes the charge circuit is set to keep a certain level of charge in the battery but having kids I can tell you they try to power the device up time and time again despite the battery indicating it's flat. During cold months especially this reduces the life of the battery.
 
Been using iPhones since they came out. I can tell you I have a charging dock in my truck. My phone stay plugged in all night...NO issues. I'm running at 75% or better all day long because it is constantly on a charge.

I will say however, about once every 3 or 4 months, I'll let it drain all the way down until the battery dies. Then I'll re-charge it to 100%. I'm not certain if this does anything or not, but I'm convinced it helps the OS recalibrate its percentage readings.

I think I got this technique from Apple's position on MBP battery maintenance. So I applied it to the iPhone as well.

Like most have said, just use your phone. Charge it when you want, and as often as you want.
 
There are many opinions about what TO DO to take care of your battery. I think the truth is that current battery tech is pretty good at this point, i.e. no memory like the older ni-cad batteries, and so on.

I can let you know what NOT TO DO:

Don't let it go to 0% all the time.
Don't let it go to 0% and then leave it at 0% for a while, ideally not even overnight.
Don't let it go to 0% and let it get very cold, even for a little while.
I have experience that suggests that any of the above will likely reduce the capacity of your iPhone/iPod/iEtc battery...

Hope that helps a bit. Good luck :)
 
Thanks for the advice. I'm loving having a fully functional battery again that doesn't need to be on a charger all the time out of necessity. Somehow some way after 14 months my old battery turned to crap. I just really don't want that to happen again.
 
I use my phone however I want and charge the phone whenever I feel like. Never had battery issues. Just the luck of the draw I think.
 
First off check out battery university. Learn about Lithium batteries. Li batteries don't tolerate very low voltage or very high. While Apple has built in safe guards to not let battery get too low and trickle charge at full, you can still help your battery life by keeping it in the ideal range of 20 to 80 percent.

Once a month or every other month let it get below 10 percent and charge to 100 percent to calibrate the percentage meter. Sitting for long periods of time at 100% is not the best for lithium batteries. Also storing at very low percentage is not good for the chemistry.

Final word of caution, lithium batteries hate high temperatures. So if you feel it getting warm take it out of case, place it such that heat can dissipate. And never leave device in sun or hot vehicle. Even when off heat will destroy the battery.
 
HEK said:
First off check out battery university. Learn about Lithium batteries. Li batteries don't tolerate very low voltage or very high. While Apple has built in safe guards to not let battery get too low and trickle charge at full, you can still help your battery life by keeping it in the ideal range of 20 to 80 percent.
Click to expand...

You're over thinking this. Just enjoy your iPhone. Charge it when you need to, unplug it and use it when need to.

Once a month or every other month let it get below 10 percent and charge to 100 percent to calibrate the percentage meter. Sitting for long periods of time at 100% is not the best for lithium batteries. Also storing at very low percentage is not good for the chemistry.
Click to expand...

Apple does not suggest that you run the battery down like that. I believe they may have in the past, but that document is no longer associated with the iPhone/iPad/iPod. Now they simply suggest that you make sure a complete charge cycle is completed each month. This does not mean run it down to zero and charge it back up. If you run the battery down to 50% and then charge it back up to 100% two times, you've completed one charge cycle.

You are correct about storing lithium ion batteries though. It is best to charge or discharge them to about 50% before storing.

Final word of caution, lithium batteries hate high temperatures. So if you feel it getting warm take it out of case, place it such that heat can dissipate. And never leave device in sun or hot vehicle. Even when off heat will destroy the battery.
Click to expand...

True as well.
 
T5BRICK said:
Apple does not suggest that you run the battery down like that. I believe they may have in the past, but that document is no longer associated with the iPhone/iPad/iPod. Now they simply suggest that you make sure a complete charge cycle is completed each month. This does not mean run it down to zero and charge it back up. If you run the battery down to 50% and then charge it back up to 100% two times, you've completed one charge cycle.
Click to expand...

Getting kinda tired of seeing you post this in every thread related to battery life. They suggest you do a complete charge cycle every month, eh? How is it possible to not? To not have a full charge cycle every month, this would mean you use 3.3% battery per day, and never charge it. The iPhone powered on wouldn't last this long anyway. If you charge the phone to 100%, take it off the charger, and never turn the screen on, it will exhaust its charge within 10 days.

Even without using your iPhone at all, you'd have to charge it 3 times in 30 days.

Apple's advice, frankly, is idiotic. It's impossible to not use 100% of your battery life in one month.
 
Bacong said:
Getting kinda tired of seeing you post this in every thread related to battery life. They suggest you do a complete charge cycle every month, eh? How is it possible to not? To not have a full charge cycle every month, this would mean you use 3.3% battery per day, and never charge it. The iPhone powered on wouldn't last this long anyway. If you charge the phone to 100%, take it off the charger, and never turn the screen on, it will exhaust its charge within 10 days.
Click to expand...

I have no control over how you feel about my posts. You can choose to comment on how tired you are of seeing them, or you can ignore me.

Even without using your iPhone at all, you'd have to charge it 3 times in 30 days.

Apple's advice, frankly, is idiotic. It's impossible to not use 100% of your battery life in one month.
Click to expand...

The page I'm referencing isn't just for iPhones. It applies to Apple notebooks, iPods and iPads as well. I can tell you from experience that it certainly is possible to use a MacBook Pro or an iPad lightly for a month and fail to complete a full charge cycle.
 
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