Apple Addresses Alleged Throttling of iPhones With Degraded Batteries

[Fugitivo8]

Hi everyone,

I already talked about this in the original thread here in the Forum. But for the ones that didn't read that I will post here my comments:

TL/DR.: This is a stupid move by Apple, if the battery of the 6S was a problem they should have just recalled the battery or the phones. Saying this is a feature is insulting to us user, because if you had the misfortune of having one device affected by this you would see that the phone is completely unusable. It's not a case where you are trading performance for a couple more minutes in battery. It's a case where you can't even use your device properly.


If you stayed this long I will give you my experience.
I have 2 iPhone 6 (one white, one black), bought in lauch day. A couple of months ago when iOS 11 was released, I updated both phones and noticed a lot of lag on the white phone. I tried hard resets, I tried to put it as a new phone without any apps or anything but I still could feel it was slower than the black one. I thought that the phone was simply malfunctioning at the level of the chip or something. Then on Black Friday I saw that Geekbench 4 was free on the app store so I downloaded it and tried it on both my phones.
The black one: SC-1348 MC-2395
The white one: SC-536 MC-1389
Both were on the same iOS version and had the battery charged to 100% when I did the test, so now I knew something very wrong was with the white one.
I also checked in the app Battery life the health of both devices
The black one: 86%
The white one: 82%
Both phone never suffered any intervention whatsoever. But at the time they were both out of warranty. I took the white iPhone to a 3rd Party Store to have it checked to see if they could find whatever was causing this.
They had the iPhone for nearly a week and at the end they told me that they didn't knew what was happening, they did multiple resets on the phone, DFU mode, Hard resets, everything they could do other than opening the device.
Then I saw the first news about this throttling issue, I took it again to the store and had the battery of the white one swapped. And after the change and a reset on DFU the values on Geekbench of the white iPhone came back to the same range as the black one.
There is also another thing I noticed, under Geekbench 4 you can have for the same device different values if you run the tests at 100% battery or 50% for example. So there is also light throttling depending on the battery charge
So in conclusion, now I have both iPhones working correctly again.

Now, I believe that this f*ck up by Apple was not intentional, I think that they tried to address the problem of the 6S pulling too much power from the battery the wrong way, if the problem was only in a range of batteries a simple recall of the devices or battery would be the better solution. The software solution however could have be done in these ways:
-Implement a cap for the apps, what I mean is, if any given app, or the sum of the apps running should never reach certain point of capabilities of the chip. That way the chip would not try to draw more power than the battery was able to give.
- Implement some kind of warning that your battery is not able to give enough power to keep the cpu at 100%. Giving you the option to, change battery, throttle the device with your knowledge or ignore this and face the possibility of random shutdowns.

Now doing this like this, is at minimum sloppy, and I will not be surprised it this action would lead to a class action suit.

 

[FrankStein]

I find it amazing that a lot of people are still defending Apple as though this type of behavior is acceptable. Do you all really think it is for the consumers benefit? Ask them to show the data and not the data they want to show, but to provide all the data so we can interpret the results for our-self. They will never do this even if ordered by the courts. They will provide only the data that will support their claim. The reality is this company like every other company is greedy and by throttling the older phones, people are more likely to suspect that the age of the phone is causing the issue and will therefore go out and buy a new one. To me that is dirty and people need to stand up to this type of behavior. I have already done so with false/fake advertisements by Old Navy, Target, Michael's, and a few others that are trying to mislead the consumer. Consumers have the biggest voice of all, but they need to stand together. Without your money, these companies will either fall or make the appropriate changes.

 

[Abazigal]

I like this analogy...to add to this, you can't see how worn the tires are and you have no knowledge that worn tires cause your car to lose some of its control. You go to the manufacturer and they run their test and say the car and tires are fine. Your car becomes so uncontrollable you decide to upgrade to the 2018 model because you think your previous car is just old / outdated.

Fair enough point.

I agree that Apple should have been more forthcoming here. Waiting till someone called them out on this does give the impression that they are indeed guilty of some wrongdoing and doing damage control.

I am not certain this throttling feature is something Apple will walk back on (given that it’s either this or your phone shutting down by itself), but I guess there is still a lot of room to tweak the power management settings in future software patches so performance isn’t impacted as much.

 

[namenotfound]

If it’s tied to battery health, the throttling likely won’t kick in right from the start. Likely much later as the battery starts to wear down.

I think you are missing the point. If the battery is going bad and should be replaced under warranty, it likely won't be. It will be covered up by the throttling "scheme".

My 6 was still under AppleCare warranty with battery problems and Apple would not replace the battery. They had me do multiple resets for 2 weeks. Then it went out of warranty. Guess what? Suddenly my AppleCare case number could not be pulled up from the website. The Apple Store claimed they had no access to prior AppleCare incidents. This was at a time when my phone "was not affected" by the battery recall. So no resolution under warranty. I DID get a replacement 6s for $79. Which I still have. Am I likely to buy one of the new glass backed phones? Not bloody likely. My backup plan was to go for a new 7. Now that is in question. Next time I am at Best Buy, I will be looking at Android. Which sucks since my Apple watch will become useless.

 

[kaidou1412]

I'm deeply disappointed by behavior of apple. Current X user, and bought it within holiday return period.
Seriously thinking about returning it before end of return deadline and go to android.

I have MBP, iPad 10.5 with pencile and smart keyboard, Airpods and my wife has almost same set. This may be my last time using iPhone if Apple doesn't act right soon.

 

[curtvaughan]

Have you not seen the stories of exploding batteries? I personally would not feel safe using a third party battery given how dangerous they can be if the part is bad, or installed badly.
Always go to Apple.

There are several authorized Apple repair businesses in my area who are Apple authorized service providers, and use genuine Apple parts. They generally offer cheaper service and parts than Apple Stores. I will always use businesses like this for out-of-warranty Apple repairs.

 

[Well]

Over the course of the last week, there's been speculation that Apple is throttling the performance of older iPhones with degraded batteries, leading to resurgence of accusations that Apple is deliberately slowing down older iPhones that aren't operating at peak battery performance.

In a statement to TechCrunch on the results people are seeing when testing iPhones with older batteries, Apple says it is aiming to smooth out the high power draw peaks that can result in shutdowns and other problems in older devices to "deliver the best experience for customers."

Lithium-ion batteries degrade over time by nature, and there's nothing Apple can do to halt the process, so it uses power management techniques to attempt to prolong the life of the iPhone and its battery. Apple isn't denying that iPhones with older batteries can sometimes see slower performance, but power management is not a feature that's been implemented to force users to upgrade by deliberately slowing devices.The throttling accusations first surfaced last week, after a Redditor shared Geekbench results taken before and after the battery in his iPhone 6s was replaced. He claimed that performance on his iPhone 6s sped up drastically after replacing a battery with a wear level "around 20%."

Then, earlier this week, Primate Labs founder John Poole showed some aggregate Geekbench data that visualized a link between lower processor performance and degraded battery health. He compared iPhone 6s scores between iOS 10.2 and iOS 10.2.1, which showed variations in benchmarking scores following the update.

Apple in iOS 10.2.1 introduced an update designed to fix a bug that was causing iPhone 6s models to shut down unexpectedly, a problem attributed to uneven power delivery from older batteries. Apple says this feature has been implemented for iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, and, as of iOS 11.2, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. It will be implemented in future iPhones going forward, too.

It's this power management feature causing the benchmark variations John Poole found in Geekbench scores between iOS 10 updates last year. As explained by TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino:When an iPhone's battery ages, there may come a point when it can't provide the processor with enough power to reach a peak of power, and thus it spreads the requests out "over a few cycles," resulting in the peaks and perceived lower scores on benchmarking tests. As Panzarino points out, benchmarking tests are not reflective of real world usage and will artificially trigger the power management features in the iPhone.

"In other words, you're always going to be triggering this when you run a benchmark, but you definitely will not always trigger this effect when you're using your iPhone like normal," writes Panzarino.

Apple has clear battery replacement guidelines in place. The iPhone battery is designed to retain 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles. A defective battery that does not meet those parameters can be replaced for free for customers who have AppleCare+ or who have devices still under warranty.

For out of warranty customers, Apple offers a battery replacement service, with the company charging $79 for a battery replacement plus $6.95 in shipping.

Apple's iPhones do send out a notification when a battery has degraded enough that it's going to impact performance, but it is "pretty conservative" according to Panzarino, and he recommends Apple make this notice more aggressive, in addition to providing customers with clearer information on the link between battery life and performance.

Article Link: Apple Addresses Alleged Throttling of iPhones With Degraded Batteries

 

[sterlingindigo]

High power draw, my azs! Typing a google search is a high power draw?! Effin ridiculous! I employ all the battery saving rigamarole that dumbs down the factory default “user experience” settings.

Also, my battery was replaced by Apple Store one year ago, degraded??? My azs...

Apple, buy this brick back from me, rebate me on a trade in or I’m moving on. What’s my motivation for staying? iTunes? More of the same in another year? Bische, please...

 

[snc]

"There is also another thing I noticed, under Geekbench 4 you can have for the same device different values if you run the tests at 100% battery or 50% for example. So there is also light throttling depending on the battery charge" - not so light - on my iPhone 6s batery over 80% geekbench4: single 2542 multi 4444, batery around 50% single 1464, multi 2509

 

[Well]

What about MacBooks? My old MacBook runs very slowly for no good reason, unless OSX has become so bloated over they years. May be I just need a new battery...

Now there's a thought..

 

[Fugitivo8]

"There is also another thing I noticed, under Geekbench 4 you can have for the same device different values if you run the tests at 100% battery or 50% for example. So there is also light throttling depending on the battery charge" - not so light - on my iPhone 6s batery over 80% geekbench4: single 2542 multi 4444, batery around 50% single 1464, multi 2509

I called it "light" because it is something that you can revert by basically charging the phone. But I would prefer that they would simply let the throttling to happen when we put the phone on saving mode.

 

[Spectrum]

If it’s tied to battery health, the throttling likely won’t kick in right from the start. Likely much later as the battery starts to wear down.

Here is what John Gruber has to say on the issue.

https://daringfireball.net/2017/12/iphone_battery_throttling

I strongly disagree with Gruber. Apple customers (like me at least) continue to buy Apple products regardless of flaws, options, (or ports). For example, I've just ordered an iPhone 8 and two new USBC MacBooks (despite my misgivings about the design). Many, I think, are wedded to Apple/MacOS, and will continue to buy it due habit/ease/fear.

And on the specific point about the iPhone battery: Surely, if the battery has degraded enough to necessitate throttling, shouldn't the end user be offered the option of a replacement? Under a certain number of charge cycles the battery replacement should be free, but over the warranted amount it should be a fee. That seems reasonable. Perhaps 500 charge/discharge cycles?

 

[malcolmman89]

I had a 6S+ that I bought new in November 2015. When the iPhone X was announced, I decided that I wanted to upgrade to it. I ordered it on launch day, and got it within two weeks. My plan was to sell my 6S+ to my mom, but over the last 2 or so months I had the phone it got very sluggish. Apps would take noticeably longer to open, the animations of switching apps and opening apps would stutter, and the overall performance of the phone was noticeably worse. I also noticed the battery life took a big hit, even when not actively using the phone. When I got my X, I called Apple and had them run their remote diagnostics on the 6S+, and the guy told me the overall battery health was at 90%, and that it needs to be lower than 80% for Apple to consider it "defective" and in need of replacement. Thinking the battery was fine, I wiped and reloaded iOS, thinking the poor battery life and bad performance was related to a software bug. A new shiny install of iOS 11 made no difference. Being decently handy at electronics repair, I decided to order a new battery online and install it. I did it, and it made a world of difference. Not only does the battery last much, much longer, but the performance is night and day. It runs like it did the day I bought it new. No lag, stutters, or sluggishness. Once I read this story, everything made sense. The phone was throttling itself, and I honestly feel like the battery was more than 90% depleted of its charge capacity given how poorly it was running.

 

[Abazigal]

I strongly disagree with Gruber. Apple customers (like me at least) continue to buy Apple products regardless of flaws, options, (or ports). For example, I've just ordered an iPhone 8 and two new USBC MacBooks (despite my misgivings about the design). Many, I think, are wedded to Apple/MacOS, and will continue to buy it due habit/ease/fear.

Well then, why do you continue to do so? Grass isn’t always greener on the other side?

 

[I7guy]

Hi everyone,

I already talked about this in the original thread here in the Forum. But for the ones that didn't read that I will post here my comments:

TL/DR.: This is a stupid move by Apple, if the battery of the 6S was a problem they should have just recalled the battery or the phones. Saying this is a feature is insulting to us user, because if you had the misfortune of having one device affected by this you would see that the phone is completely unusable. It's not a case where you are trading performance for a couple more minutes in battery. It's a case where you can't even use your device properly.
..snip...
Now doing this like this, is at minimum sloppy, and I will not be surprised it this action would lead to a class action suit.

First, they did put the battery of the 6s under a quality program. Mine was replaced and it's now a different phone in terms of holding a charge. Second, the power management was supposed to address shutdowns in cold weather and not just worn batteries that couldn't supply enough juice. Third, I'm sure attorneys have $$$ in their eyes and not really consumers best interests, are now scrambling to see how this can be certified as a class action lawsuit. Whether it leads to anything is obviously anybody's guess.

 

[Glassed Silver]

So it seems that Apple rather have the phone slow down a bit than have it shut off completely.

Im not sure how I feel about this, I think Apple has to give a notification to the user. The user may just think he/she needs a new phone as apposed to just a new battery for $79 or free.

Something something "Apple is so green and customer friendly and their support is amazing"...

Sweet Jesus.

Glassed Silver:ios

 

[Zaft]

I'm deeply disappointed by behavior of apple. Current X user, and bought it within holiday return period.
Seriously thinking about returning it before end of return deadline and go to android.

I have MBP, iPad 10.5 with pencile and smart keyboard, Airpods and my wife has almost same set. This may be my last time using iPhone if Apple doesn't act right soon.

I get how you feel, but for all you know this is done on Androids as well.

 

[Spectrum]

Well then, why do you continue to do so? Grass isn’t always greener on the other side?

Because it is easier to just buy a new version of the hardware and then not have to worry learning about how it works and what software it may or may not require to allow you to do what you've been achieving every day up to that point. it doesn't necessarily mean this is the *best* choice I should make. But it is the simplest. Apple know this. That is why they make an ecosystem. The more Apple products you own, the less likely you are to jump ship whether or not the experience/service you are receiving is really the best available.

Now, I don't actually think Apple are all that bad. I like using their computers and software and phones. And this is enough to stop me looking elsewhere - even with recent escapades like headphonejack-gate, battery-gate and dongle-gate.

 

[Aydy]

I wish there was a way to dislike or downvote comments on here. Although expected, this is Apple apologist all day long and manipulative from MR to say the least.

 

[Kra-Kow]

Is Apple implementing this in the older Macbooks/Air, as well? I have a 2012 MB Air maxed out (2.0 GHz and 8 gigs ram) and have now 582 cycles on it. Just a question...

 

[Arty6]

So in other words: they are selling devices that after a couple of weeks deliver app. 50% of the promised power and call that a feature...

=No. That's not at all what is being said.

 

[Aydy]

Deleted. Edit post

 

[Arty6]

A rational explanation for a rational solution to a real problem that every lithium battery experiences. Yet the irrational majority ignores this and has a field day with it.

 

[Delgibbons]

I get how you feel, but for all you know this is done on Androids as well.

IPhone batteries are, in mAh compared to android devices, tiny. We were all told this was because of the great efficiencies of iOS. The wondrous symbiosis of software and hardware engineering.

Turns out this was all a load of crap.

Once again. Samsung s7 edge: 3000mAh. IPhone 8: 1700mAh.

Give it a year, that iPhone 8 will throttle.

 

[RainbowHurrican]

I had this happen with my 6S+ as well. Their diagnostic showed the battery was fine yet the battery would randomly drain and was just unpredictable. I had the battery replaced by a local shop who came to my house about 3 weeks ago and charged me $59. The phone is now like new again.

This should be called what it is: BATTERYGATE