Battery Drains While Plugged In

[GovtLawyer]

Last night I plugged the iPhone 4s into the wall when it was at around 50%. When I got up in the middle of the night I looked at it and it was at 100%. I left it plugged in. When I woke up this morning it was at 95%. How could it lose power while still plugged in to the wall? When I got to work ½ hour later it was at 93%. From then on, everything I did took more power than I could have imagined.

I'm not so concerned about the power drag when I am on the Internet or otherwise using the phone. Does the loss of power while plugged in sound like a serious problem, or is it just typical of the 4s, which seems to have battery issues?

 

[macingman]

Sounds like a really serious strange problem to me take both the charger and the phone to the apple store as they should replac both.

MM

 

[joeshmo2010]

Had the same problem. Got it swapped out for a new one and now this one has the vibrate issue. Ugh. Back tomorrow it is....

 

[tigress666]

My 4 did that to me once recently and I've had this one since about at least May (it was a replacement for my original which had a bad home button which this one is developing too but I am getting the impression the problem is a crappy home button that wears out quickly and since I am constantly making sure my phone doesn't have too many apps open since i find it runs better that way I think I wear mine out quicker. Still annoys me that it wears out quickly when they design the OS to rely on it so much. I mean if it dies completely there is no way I can get around not having a home button).

Anyways, just hte other day it did it but I chalked it up to some game I was playing was so battery intensive it was sucking battery even when I had it plugged in (some WoW wannabe multiplayer game and it really does suck battery quickly. I mean I've not had any other games be quite the battery hog as it is). But I have noticed that I have played the game other times and not had it suck battery (but wasn't playing it for quite as long as that time).

 

[sirpots]

this happened to me too, I actually watched it drop 5% but not sure if I should take it back to the apple store I did a complete drain and it hasn't done it again, so I will keep watching it for the future

 

[fjk]

Apple store says this is normal behavior for ios5 and it will continue to drain into perpetuity even while plugged in once it hits 100% and you use it.

Hard to believe.

 

[ShionoyaTamaki]

Mine stays at 100% while plugged in so far from what i've noticed.

 

[Iphonelvr]

Ive noticed that my 4s will discharge while on the charger if i'm using it. Should i be concerned?

 

[GovtLawyer]

I wasn't using it

Apple store says this is normal behavior for ios5 and it will continue to drain into perpetuity even while plugged in once it hits 100% and you use it.

Hard to believe.

The thing which alarmed me was that it went to 100% an down to 95% during the night while it was plugged in and not being used. Last night it stayed at 100%. I think I'll drain it completely over the weekend and see how it responds with a complete recharge.

What's the best (most effective) way to drain the battery? I don't have songs on it, so I can't simply let it play for hours.

 

[jake921660]

the first part of this story is not abnormal. most phones with a Li ion battery will stop charging once they hit 100% to prevent damage to the battery. they will restart charging once they go below a certain point.

 

[fjk]

the first part of this story is not abnormal. most phones with a Li ion battery will stop charging once they hit 100% to prevent damage to the battery. they will restart charging once they go below a certain point.

Well the issue is more that:

1) this was not behavior on previous iPhones/iOS versions
2) for example laptops disable the battery and run off AC power. Or trickle charge the battery

 

[Scott-n-Houston]

Mine used to do this when I had my rapid battery drain issues. (fixed by turning off iCloud sync of contacts/cal. (Still use MobileMe so don't need it yet).

I did notice that it would not do this when plugged into an iPad charger though. Only when plugged into an iPhone charger.

 

[cababah]

Had the same problem. Got it swapped out for a new one and now this one has the vibrate issue. Ugh. Back tomorrow it is....

That's why you test the replacement thoroughly as much as possible before you walk out.

 

[londoner888]

Could you have accidentally have knocked the usb cable out of place?
I've done this a few times with my iPod where I somehow knocked the connector diagonally so it was slightly out of place.

 

[Dlanod]

Could you have accidentally have knocked the usb cable out of place?
I've done this a few times with my iPod where I somehow knocked the connector diagonally so it was slightly out of place.

Yeah I agree - I use a leather case and it only does this when charging it in the case. When docked uncased it's fine. Possibly the connection is just not tight enough for a full charge.

 

[boomhower]

I've had the same issue. Woke up in the morning to a battery at 94%. It's hit or miss and doesn't happen all the time. Don't have a clue what's going on with it. In general my battery life is acceptable.

 

[Thetonyk123]

Mine does that. Wake up at 100, use it for like 5 minutes and its down to 95%.

 

[MaxximusPrime]

Hey guys,

I had a similar issue with my phone and actually started a thread on the official Apple Discussion boards. You can check that out here.

https://discussions.apple.com/message/16577076#16577076

That might help some of you alleviate your worry. It seems a lot of people are experiencing it.

 

[Melodeath]

Twice now I've woken up and the battery was at 92%, but had the "charged" icon next to it. I unplug and re-plug and it goes to 100%. Probably a software bug

 

[FallenAnjel]

Happens to me too now

I've had my 4s for 3 years now. I think the battery is shot. With my normal usage it would last about 6-8 hours. Now it lasts 2 if i'm lucky. I have to keep the phone plugged in 24/7 or have it in a battery case. It often drains while it is charging now too. I woke up the other morning and it was at 28% when it was at 100% earlier that night. It just seems to charge then when it hits 100% it starts draining.

I don't have money for another phone so I'm going to have to attempt a battery replacement myself. I looked on line it doesn't look too hard, as i only have to take the back off. Let's hope it works.

 

[cmichaelb]

the first part of this story is not abnormal. most phones with a Li ion battery will stop charging once they hit 100% to prevent damage to the battery. they will restart charging once they go below a certain point.

Exactly. It's normal. As far I can remember I''ve seen this with my 3 iPads, and last three iPhones - 4S, 5S, and 6.