Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
WARNING to Sprint Users

After attempting to restore my phone I get an error message saying I have an incompatible SIM card. Neither Sprint nor Apple support was able to help and tomorrow I have to go to Sprint.

So if you are on Sprint please be careful. I don't know if this was just me or if it could be a problem for any Sprint user.
 
After attempting to restore my phone I get an error message saying I have an incompatible SIM card. Neither Sprint nor Apple support was able to help and tomorrow I have to go to Sprint.

So if you are on Sprint please be careful. I don't know if this was just me or if it could be a problem for any Sprint user.
No need to spam every thread with this.
 
I'm in the process of doing this as I type. Going to set up as new and not restore from backup. Didn't have anything important anyway.

I got home from work today at around 2pm with a percentage of I believe 65. I docked my 4S and let it charge. Around 530pm when I decided to use it again it was at 100%. I honestly undocked it, opened up GetGlue, posted to Facebook that I was watching Anchorman and the battery went down to 98%. It had actually gone down to 99% when I got to the part of signing into my account. So hopefully this process improves my battery or else I'll be taking it to my nearest Apple store.
 
I think the main problem is that we have to turn off all these junk, which is basically why we bought these phones, and that all this effort is required to get it to work on par to our expectations, or even below it.

I think right now, instead of doing all this crap (which I have, and hasn't worked)...we should just sit back and wait for a fix...we are all covered under the warranty, so if the software fix doesn't fix your particular issue, you grab a new phone.

I am done trying to clog whatever it is that is draining my phone...I have prob done 4 restores, turned off maybe 12-15 settings, and its given me like a slight improvement, but my batter is still equaling my 3GS of 2 yr use, which isn't good.

Sit back relax, and wait for a fix...
 
Well... honestly not sure if it's an improvement. I guess it is.
30/30 minutes of usage/stand-by and it's at 93%.
Used Transfer App to put some photos in from my computer, messed with all the settings, notifications, logins for different apps, and I browsed through some HD wallpapers. Wi-fi and bluetooth are turned off and the only thing using location services is Siri and I haven't even used her yet.
Writing this message it went from 93% to 91%. Doing nothing, only the screen was on.
 
I am interested in this theory and going to give it a go, however unlike most people here, I am wanting to keep my SMS and such, and so install restore my backup a short while after setting up the phone as new.

However what is puzzling me is the location of where the backups are stored on my hard drive on my Mac (Lion 10.7.2)

The link suggests that they should be in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
but I dont seem to have a folder called MobileSync in Application Support?
 
OK, so I showed you screenshots etc. My Standby has increased significantly, however I am at 65% after only 2 hours of usage today.. WTF. I was texting.
 

Attachments

  • photo.png
    photo.png
    118 KB · Views: 70
No difference

I've restored and set up as a new iPhone three times over the past two weeks and my battery life did not improve. I'm on AT&T, 32gb, white version btw.
 
To be frank in my opinion the "software is corrupt" explanation is BS. The battery issue is endemic to too many iPhone 4S and iOS 5 users for that to be taken seriously--not to mention how far-fetched it is.

Moreover, if you restore from backup all the settings that were there before come back again. You end up with virtually the same iPhone you started out with so it is a waste of time. Any improvements from that are likely placebo effect in my opinion.

Now if you DID setup as new without restoring from a backup, and yes that might be a tough pill to swallow, it very well could help, along with common sense battery management (e.g., at the very least turning off auto timezone support). This is especially true if you have had several iPhone models and have gone through them without setting up as new. MORE so if you were ever jailbroken as some jailbreak apps merely change or add a setting that is not available normally. Those things can come back to haunt you if you don't setup as new.



Michael
 
To be frank in my opinion the "software is corrupt" explanation is BS. The battery issue is endemic to too many iPhone 4S and iOS 5 users for that to be taken seriously--not to mention how far-fetched it is.

Moreover, if you restore from backup all the settings that were there before come back again. You end up with virtually the same iPhone you started out with so it is a waste of time. Any improvements from that are likely placebo effect in my opinion.

Now if you DID setup as new without restoring from a backup, and yes that might be a tough pill to swallow, it very well could help, along with common sense battery management (e.g., at the very least turning off auto timezone support). This is especially true if you have had several iPhone models and have gone through them without setting up as new. MORE so if you were ever jailbroken as some jailbreak apps merely change or add a setting that is not available normally. Those things can come back to haunt you if you don't setup as new.



Michael

I agree, people just try to convince themselves that it helped. What I did notice it helps with Standby but not when phone is active and that is where I loose % so quickly!
 
Is it anything to do with the fact that bluetooth is on by default but no symbol on iOS 5 and people maybe not turning it off
 
Worked

Was gonna set up as new and not bother with a restore but put stuff back manually and from Icloud. never got round to that because of the huge difference I have got from turning 'location services' off. Phone unplugged about 7.45am and by now I would be down to around 20%. Tonight I am on 44% after approx 14 hours. Maybe not done as much FB etc but well pleased. Have also now turned off the auto time set to see if even more improvement.

PS. Did same with wifes 4S and hers also about 20% more than normal by this time of night
 
I did see on the news just now that turning off time zone settings seems to fix it. Am looking thru the forum now to see if theres any merit to it...
 
I did see on the news just now that turning off time zone settings seems to fix it. Am looking thru the forum now to see if theres any merit to it...
While that is legit it does not affect all.

When you go into Settings-->Location Services-->System Services, see if the little navigation icon is next to Setting Time Zone. If it is gray it has been used in the last 24 hours.

Also notice that any time a location based reminder is set but not checked off, even if you already arrived, it will leave GPS active and you can see the blue navigation indicator on the title bar. Clearing those reminders as soon as you arrive will help.

For system services I only left Cell Network Search and Compass Calibration on.

I also went through the list of apps that can use location services and cut the down to the minimum.




Michael
 
Hi Guys,

I've been a longtime MR member, and have had all the different generations of the iPhone. I was also having this issue on my new 4s, and last night around 1am EST, i came across this thread and said f it, let me give it a shot. I had tried everything recommended across all blogs, turning off this, turning off that, but I wasn't going to live with all those features off (then why have an iphone?) and I was just patiently charging my 4S twice a day, and waiting for apple to post a fix. After doing what the OP mentioned, I must say it has made a significant difference. My iPhone was charged at 100% last night when I finished the OS restore at about 1:30am...I read an iBook on it for about another hour, and as I am writing this post, my phone just died with 6 hrs of usage, and 20 hours of stand by. I forgot to get a damn screenshot before it died, and right now I'm leaving it off charging until it gets a 100% charge (want to give it a good full charge after restoring the OS last night). I didn't do anything different from before, usage wise, push was on, location services on, siri on, etc etc, so something worked. I'm a registered dev and have been using iOS 5 since it's first beta back in june, and even when I upgraded my old iPhone 4 to iOS 5 GM, on that last build, I noticed significant battery drain. I gave that phone to my wife, and she's not really a power user so she hasn't complained much about battery life on it, but I do remember a big difference that week until the 4S came out, and I was using the 4 with iOS 5 GM on it. I suspect something may be off on the GM build which I assume all 4S's are running, but doing what the OP said has solved my issues. I know it may sound ridiculous, but heck it worked for me.

AJ
 
i do not currently own an iphone, but i cant believe this thread hasn't blown up. no clue just how effective this is, but i would think with some positive feedback and the amount of disgruntled iphone owners over their batteries, that EVERYONE would at least try this reporting back with results.

im surprised.
 
i do not currently own an iphone, but i cant believe this thread hasn't blown up. no clue just how effective this is, but i would think with some positive feedback and the amount of disgruntled iphone owners over their batteries, that EVERYONE would at least try this reporting back with results.

im surprised.
Because restoring from a backup gets the iPhone right back to where it was before you restored. It is like cloning your hard drive while it has a virus, reformatting it, and then restoring it back from the clone.

If I said going into the Notes app and creating a new note with only the words "battery reset" in it will fix battery issues, x% of people would swear it works. :) (But at least they would not have wasted an hour on it.)




Michael
 
I tried this weeks ago on my old 4S before I got it replaced and it didn't work...meaning that something COULD have changed in the iOS build. My new 4S is working as expected, however.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.