Well guys, I have noticed that my battery has been erratic today and yesterday. It was at 80% earlier and went down by just opening safari to 74% then to 70%. Also I have noticed then I set it to charge and the battery will display 97% 98% yet it will show that the battery is fully charged. I have also noticed some cracks in the finish but I don't mind them because I know every iPhone will develop them its just a matter of one noticing them. I have an appointment at the Apple store at 7PM tonight and Im wondering if I should get the phone swapped? I do not believe this is a common problem, I have been researching it on the Apple support forums and on Macrumors and have not been able to find much on it, at least not enough to make it a widespread problem. Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Battery percentage is erratic, should I get a replacemnt?
- Thread starter ejuanpiman
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
First, there's actually a lot on this on here. At any rate, your issue may be simple calibration, and you don't give enough detail to know if you have a battery issue. It just might be the calibration is off and once you fix that you'll be fine. To calibrate, drain the battery fully and then recharge. You should do this once a month or so. Search for calibrate or calibration for more info. The apple site has the same info.
Sorry about that, I have calibrated it twice since I first got it on the initial date. The battery last me about a day depending on how I use it. I do have everything turned on and I do have the brightness set at 50% with autobrightness on. With barely any use I take it off at 8AM at 100% and by 5PM it is by 50% with minimum text messaging and maybe 10 20 mins on calls.
You're not supposed to calibrate that often, so that may have messed up your battery. Who knows. However, you say you have everything on, so that may have a lot to do with how fast you're going down. I'll let others give their thoughts, but you may want to read all the threads about batteries and the 3GS and usage. Bluetooth sucks the battery and so does 3G. There are a lot of variables. For example, if you're in an area for bad cell reception, then the constant searching for a signal can really drain the battery.
You are right. Bluetooth is however the only thing I dont have on. What really worries me is the issue with the battery percentage going up and down. My friend that I bought the 3GS with does not have this problem. It reminds me of a problem with the uMPB that the capacity of the battery would decrease substantially and then come back up were faulty.
Well, it could be faulty, that's for sure. If it bothers you enough, just go back to the store. They'll replace it no problem.
Your not suppose to calibrate it that often??? What about if your phone just dies like normal phones do? The batter less than a month old would net get messed up why letting your phone die twice...
When you bought your new iPhone did you "Restore it" from the back up of a previous iPhone? If so I was told by a Genius that this will mess with the battery configuration and to solve the problem restore your phone to factory settings via itunes and "set up" as new iPhone. Hope this works!
As an edit I had this problem and did everything they said, it didn't fix the problem so I took it back and they gave me a brand new replacement right off the shelf still in original box.
As an edit I had this problem and did everything they said, it didn't fix the problem so I took it back and they gave me a brand new replacement right off the shelf still in original box.
Well sorry for the late response, but I just came back form the Apple store. They did offer to replace it but I backed out because he told me he has experienced the same issue with the battery percentage indicator. So im taking what Ive read here and his advice and waiting for 3.1 to see if that makes it better. If not I will replace. Thanks for all the help guys.
I was having issues with my battery percentage etc as well. But, I have noticed an improvement with iPhone OS 3.1 beta. I believe it's more of a software issue instead of a hardware issue. I would test your battery one day to see how long it actually lasts. I am getting around 4.5 to 5 hours of internet usage on 3G which is about where it should be according to its tech specs. If you notice your battery draining much faster then it might be more of a hardware issue. I would power cycle it 2 or 3 times to calibrate it as well. I have done this and my battery seems to be much better.
Occasionally my battery percentage will drop to 99% or 98% immediately after my iPhone is unplugged from the charger and then go right back to 100% when plugged back in which isn't normal. But, after turning my iPhone off and back on again the problem goes way which leads me to believe it's more of a software issue.
Also the battery meter is using the voltage off the battery to measure the charge left in it. This is the standard method for everyone to do it. The draw back to going this route is when you put the battery under load the voltage drops a little even though the total battery power left is the same.
So you boot up safari that means the iPhone has to spin up so to speak. It drawing more juice to power talk with the cell tower and the processor. This means the voltage off the battery will drop a little during this time which in turn causes the meter % to drop a little. After everything is done it will cause it to jump back up.
So you boot up safari that means the iPhone has to spin up so to speak. It drawing more juice to power talk with the cell tower and the processor. This means the voltage off the battery will drop a little during this time which in turn causes the meter % to drop a little. After everything is done it will cause it to jump back up.