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Battery issue on iPhone 6

akash.nu

akash.nu

macrumors G4
Original poster
May 26, 2016
10,885
17,061
First of all, just to make it clear, I've done enough research on battery technology and have never cared about charge cycle and all because the newer batteries actually can take way more than we think and the whole battery charge cycle business doesn't really work with the newer type lithium ion batteries.

Having said that I've been experiencing weird issues with my iPhone 6. Granted it is almost 2 years old, but I didn't really expect the battery to behave like this within its life time.

So here's the issues. The battery charges fine but while discharging I see sometimes the percentage drops a lot suddenly. An example would be literally yesterday when I left home for a meeting right in the morning the battery was charged up to 93%, on the way up to the meeting I was listening to music which brought it down to 90%. That's still a bit quick drainage given the fact that it was about 45 minutes journey but I can live with that.

Now bearing in mind I was at a meeting so I didn't really use the phone at all, when it finished and I took my phone out of the pocket I noticed the battery has already drained down to mid 80s. On the way back to work I was checking emails and Facebook and Twitter, the battery drained to mid 70s.

Then I put the phone in my pocket and next time when I took it out, it was down to 45%

Soon another sudden drop followed and now the phone was down to 32%. By the time I got to work it was low 20s.

And all of this happened within a span of 3 hours.

This has been happening since last couple of months. I've tried to restore and set the phone up as new, still the same issues.

I'm really worried about the sudden drops. I've got it checked by Apple Store and their diagnostics doesn't flag any issues. The genius confirmed that the battery is working at 88% capacity, which is expected for a 2 years old device I suppose & also depends on the number of charge cycles it goes through.

Also, this seems to be an intermittent issue, so I can't be sure when exactly it's going to happen & can't reproduce on demand.

Have you guys faced any issues as such? What did you do?
 
Unless you got something running in the background you should not see that much of a drop in 3 hours.

Being an "intermittent" problem is going to make it difficult to diagnose.

About the best I can suggest is restore as new and add your apps slowly over days time to see if one is acting up.

Not much you can do in the end.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Unless you got something running in the background you should not see that much of a drop in 3 hours.

Being an "intermittent" problem is going to make it difficult to diagnose.

About the best I can suggest is restore as new and add your apps slowly over days time to see if one is acting up.

Not much you can do in the end.
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I did and the issue still persists. The problem is that nothing comes up in the Apple diagnostic tools. So it's difficult for me to prove that there's an issue. I'm what you call in the "tech savvy" category of users so I know all the processes and could be running in the background business. Nothing helped.
 
akash.nu said:
That's exactly what I did and the issue still persists. The problem is that nothing comes up in the Apple diagnostic tools. So it's difficult for me to prove that there's an issue. I'm what you call in the "tech savvy" category of users so I know all the processes and could be running in the background business. Nothing helped.
Click to expand...

Your path will be difficult due to it being intermittent. You could try making an appointment and leveling with the Apple people and see what they do. not sure how this will work as Apple seems to have raised the fence on replacement due to past abuse.

Hope you get it sorted out.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Your path will be difficult due to it being intermittent. You could try making an appointment and leveling with the Apple people and see what they do. not sure how this will work as Apple seems to have raised the fence on replacement due to past abuse.

Hope you get it sorted out.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I hope so. I've booked another appointment. Let's see.
 
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Do you have Facebook and messenger installed?
I had huge issues and my battery was draining like crazy because those apps were using the geolocalization constantly. You should take a look at that.
 
MNR said:
Do you have Facebook and messenger installed?
I had huge issues and my battery was draining like crazy because those apps were using the geolocalization constantly. You should take a look at that.
Click to expand...
I do have both installed. But my concern is the sudden battery percentage drop rather than overall battery life, if you know what I mean.
 
I had much the same issue with my iP6 bought at release. I had Apple diagnose the battery via the built in diagnostics process and they said that everything looks like normal wear. I had 530 charge cycles on my phone and battery capacity was redusced by 18-22% which they said was normal. I was hoping they would say it was abnormal so I could put in a warranty claim on my Amex card.

What I decided to do is buy a replacement battery and replace it myself. I was curious if that might help and for $40 thought it would be worth it. It was! Since replacement my discharge issues went away and things are back to normal. I used iFixit battery kit as I trust they are sourcing reliable batteries https://www.ifixit.com/Store/iPhone/iPhone-6-Replacement-Battery/IF268-002-2

I would suggest downloading a good battery analysis app (I use Battery Life by Robert Tkotzyk https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/battery-life-check-internal/id1080930585?mt=8) and see how many cycles you are at and what you current capacity is. If it's similar to mine I'd say replace it.
 
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It just seems like you need a new battery regardless of what the apple diagnostics are saying. I remember you posted battery results last month and you had 74% capacity left with over 460 charge cycles. See what happens with your next appointment, if they are willing to swap it out great! If not replace the battery yourself, what is it now $80? Especially if you aren't looking forward to a newer device?
 
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Mine has been having a similar issue. My batter jumps randomly up and down. It died this afternoon at 36%. It just dropped from 34% to 1% (quick low battery warning), plugged it in and it immediately jumped to 61%. I used to use it for running and it could do Endomondo and Pandora with 50% left after a two hour run. Now it dies after 40 minutes.

Oh and my GPS doesn't work either.

The 'Geniuses' replicated the battery problem in the store, but said it wasn't a batter issue. Wouldn't let me even pay to get a new one. They were clueless on the GPS...even though we couldn't gain a signal. Their first advice was to erase and load as new. That didn't work, so their next fix was for me to buy a new one.

Apple quality is such a myth. Their hardware and software quality is total crap these days.
 
mantan said:
...
Apple quality is such a myth. Their hardware and software quality is total crap these days.
Click to expand...

The thread starter said his iphone is 2 years old. I suggest getting a new battery. A 2 year old battery that has problems is not Apple's fault.
 
macfacts said:
The thread starter said his iphone is 2 years old. I suggest getting a new battery. A 2 year old battery that has problems is not Apple's fault.
Click to expand...

If Apple admits a problem. They claimed the battery was fine with mine. At the time it was loaded with bare software and everything turned off in the background. I'd had problems with the battery on my 5 which I paid to have replaced (worked fine after that.) Apple just sent me out the door saying it checked out fine.

I had no issues paying for a repair...but instead got sent out with a phone with a crap battery and broken GPS.
 
akash.nu said:
First of all, just to make it clear, I've done enough research on battery technology and have never cared about charge cycle and all because the newer batteries actually can take way more than we think and the whole battery charge cycle business doesn't really work with the newer type lithium ion batteries.

Having said that I've been experiencing weird issues with my iPhone 6. Granted it is almost 2 years old, but I didn't really expect the battery to behave like this within its life time.

So here's the issues. The battery charges fine but while discharging I see sometimes the percentage drops a lot suddenly. An example would be literally yesterday when I left home for a meeting right in the morning the battery was charged up to 93%, on the way up to the meeting I was listening to music which brought it down to 90%. That's still a bit quick drainage given the fact that it was about 45 minutes journey but I can live with that.

Now bearing in mind I was at a meeting so I didn't really use the phone at all, when it finished and I took my phone out of the pocket I noticed the battery has already drained down to mid 80s. On the way back to work I was checking emails and Facebook and Twitter, the battery drained to mid 70s.

Then I put the phone in my pocket and next time when I took it out, it was down to 45%

Soon another sudden drop followed and now the phone was down to 32%. By the time I got to work it was low 20s.

And all of this happened within a span of 3 hours.

This has been happening since last couple of months. I've tried to restore and set the phone up as new, still the same issues.

I'm really worried about the sudden drops. I've got it checked by Apple Store and their diagnostics doesn't flag any issues. The genius confirmed that the battery is working at 88% capacity, which is expected for a 2 years old device I suppose & also depends on the number of charge cycles it goes through.

Also, this seems to be an intermittent issue, so I can't be sure when exactly it's going to happen & can't reproduce on demand.

Have you guys faced any issues as such? What did you do?
Click to expand...
I had the exact same problem with my almost two year old iPhone 6. The percentage of battery remaining would drop quickly, or seem to freeze for a while. I installed the Battery Life app, and it immediately went red showing 39% battery life.

I replaced the battery with one I bought on Amazon, and it's as good as new. The battery kit came with all of the tools and adhesive strips that hold the battery in place. Oh, pulling the battery away from the factory adhesive was the most difficult part of the procedure. Had to use pliers to pull it out of the phone.

This is the battery/kit that I bought:
Replacement Battery for iPhone 6 (not 6+ or 6S) by ScandiTech / Repair Kit - Replace Set w/ Battery, Tools and Instr. - Works with All iPhone6 Carriers - Fix Your Battery in 15 min - 1 Year Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B4TEJUM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_9sZFxbQ6281VQ
 
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Mylo130 said:
Oh, pulling the battery away from the factory adhesive was the most difficult part of the procedure. Had to use pliers to pull it out of the phone.
Click to expand...
DO NOT PRY OUT YOUR OLD BATTERY!! You can easily damage and bend your phone

There are two tabs at the end of the battery that you pull on to release the original adhesive.
 
Thank you very much guys. I think replacement is the only option available at this point. Last time at the Genius Bar the guy said the turn around time for battery replacement would be 3-4 hours. So I've booked a morning appointment so that I can, hopefully, get the phone back on the same day.
 
BearBert said:
It just seems like you need a new battery regardless of what the apple diagnostics are saying. I remember you posted battery results last month and you had 74% capacity left with over 460 charge cycles. See what happens with your next appointment, if they are willing to swap it out great! If not replace the battery yourself, what is it now $80? Especially if you aren't looking forward to a newer device?
Click to expand...
Yeah you're right. I did post it. Although at the Apple Store they said that the battery is functioning at 88% capacity.
 
if i remember i had the same problem with mine , What I did is that i replaced the battery myself since then the problem has gone
 
Newtons Apple said:
Sorry but I got to call BS on that as I have never had a problem with any of my iPhones and I have owned everyone of them.
Click to expand...

Well then. I guess since you've had a problem, nobody else in the world (like me and OP has).

I'd happily swap phones with you if I could, so you could enjoy the experience of no GPS.
 
mantan said:
Well then. I guess since you've had a problem, nobody else in the world (like me and OP has).

I'd happily swap phones with you if I could, so you could enjoy the experience of no GPS.
Click to expand...

If your iphone is under warranty, Apple will repair of replace if it has no GPS. If it is out of warranty they do not owe you squat and you will remain "lost"..
 
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Started using my rented iPhone6 in August 2015, battery has been really good, i have no battery draining Aps on phone. also i am not a texting freak or do i have long running phone calling, no using it for music.
I am happy i am just renting it from Sprint, and also carry am insurance policy if it get damaged or stolen.
I also have it in a Thule tough case that makes it better for holding, and gives it good protection.
 
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Something has to be up. I am having the exact same problem. Just started 2 days ago. I will look at my phone and my battery will have dropped 20% without me using it. It will say its dead sometime around 30% then when I plug it in, it jumps to 60%. I was just at the gym a bit a ago and I could almost see it drop by 1% every minute or so. Nothing on in the background. The even weirder thing is while I was at the gym my wife called, she has a 6 as well and she said her percentage is just randomly dropping as well. We are both on the latest iOS. This is just strange.
 
back up to iTunes on your computer first. then restore and set up as NEW. if the problem still persists take it to an Apple store.
 
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