I Think My 5s' Battery Needs Replacing

[MarioPhone96]

Hello,

I got my new 5s swapped out for a refurb unit last September for a proximity sensor failure. Ever since then I noticed the battery wasn't as good as my old one.

Ever since I updated my 5s to iOS 10, the battery life has been horrendous. I've gotten anywhere between three to five hours of use from my phone.

I just checked Coconut Battery on my sister's Mac and saw that the battery is not too good. 82% with just 233 cycles?

Just how accurate is Coconut Battery, and what should I do?

 

[MarioPhone96]

Hello? No one? It's been three days and no response.

 

[Septembersrain]

I'd take it to an Apple store. See if they'll run diagnostics. Ask them what they think.

I'm sorry no one has responded and I'm not much help either.

 

[MarioPhone96]

That's okay. I'm just happy someone actually responded!

I would go to an Apple Store but last time I went in February with this same issue, I was told "the battery is fine". Maybe now the battery is starting to go bad?

 

[Septembersrain]

That's okay. I'm just happy someone actually responded!

I would go to an Apple Store but last time I went in February with this same issue, I was told "the battery is fine". Maybe now the battery is starting to go bad?

A battery can go bad anytime. They may say it's fine again though. Really, you might have to read around a bit about other users with the 5s. I wish more people responded to you as I don't have a 5s and didn't keep that device long.

If they say it needs one, do you have Apple care +? If not, you may be out of pocket. If they say it doesn't but you're sure it'll help, you'll likely be out of pocket (Unless they can be convinced and you've got their extended warranty coverage that includes it). I read it's if it retains less than 80%. Guess it's a toss up depending on what they see.

https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power

 

[MarioPhone96]

A battery can go bad anytime. They may say it's fine again though. Really, you might have to read around a bit about other users with the 5s. I wish more people responded to you as I don't have a 5s and didn't keep that device long.

If they say it needs one, do you have Apple care +? If not, you may be out of pocket. If they say it doesn't but you're sure it'll help, you'll likely be out of pocket (Unless they can be convinced and you've got their extended warranty coverage that includes it). I read it's if it retains less than 80%. Guess it's a toss up depending on what they see.

https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power

I'm sure they'll say it's fine, but doesn't Apple say that iPhone and iPod batteries should hit 80% capacity by 500 cycles? My phone isn't even close to that, according to CoconutBattery.

I actually got my 5s in February 2016 and got AppleCare+. What I'm worried about is that the coverage ends in a few months, and the Geniuses saying that the battery is "fine" only makes me worry that I'll be stuck come February paying out of pocket for a battery replacement when I think it's crapping out right now.

Thanks again for answering me!

 

[Septembersrain]

I'm sure they'll say it's fine, but doesn't Apple say that iPhone and iPod batteries should hit 80% capacity by 500 cycles? My phone isn't even close to that, according to CoconutBattery.

I actually got my 5s in February 2016 and got AppleCare+. What I'm worried about is that the coverage ends in a few months, and the Geniuses saying that the battery is "fine" only makes me worry that I'll be stuck come February paying out of pocket for a battery replacement when I think it's crapping out right now.

Thanks again for answering me!

If all else fails, keep polite but ask for the person above them. Keep trying. It might not work but it's worth a try if you really feel that it's an issue that needs addressing. Good luck!

Let me know how it goes if you go in.

 

[allan.nyholm]

You really should go have your iPhone 5s' battery replaced.. I just recently got a new battery in my 4 year old(this upcoming November) iPhone 5s and it's like night and day. I never measured it beforehand like you did - I did not know of CoconutBattery and the added ability to check for iOS devices battery status. I know of the older CoconutBattery for Mac laptops only.

The symptoms of my iPhone was sudden shutdown - at 10% status even. An SMS or iMessage - even phone call would reboot my phone. The reboot of my iPhone when getting a call happened only one time and it's what made me go have the battery changed for approx. 400 Danish kroner - (whatever the current rate of $USD is) - and you can get an idea of the price.

You can probably get a new battery in yours for a penny if you haggle a little. The perks of living in America.

The built-in storage is about to fail on me, because the phone - although more stable now, is still very slow.

 

[KGB7]

Before going to Apple Store, have you tried doing a full wipe and a fresh reinstall of iOS using iTunes? If you haven't, most likely Apple tech will suggest you do that first as a first step to see if it will resolve the issue.

If you still want to go to Apple Store, call Apple support and make an appointment with your local store.

 

[MarioPhone96]

Before going to Apple Store, have you tried doing a full wipe and a fresh reinstall of iOS using iTunes? If you haven't, most likely Apple tech will suggest you do that first as a first step to see if it will resolve the issue.

If you still want to go to Apple Store, call Apple support and make an appointment with your local store.

If I remember correctly, I updated from iOS 9.3.5 to 10.2.1. It was and still is a huge mistake.

I restored my phone and set it up as new until iOS 10.3 came out. I then restored and set up as new again and the battery life was a little better but still much worse than iOS 9. I'm on 10.3.1, but I really don't think 10.3.3 will fix anything.

I don't know if I want to go to an Apple Store because they'll just say it's "fine". That's what they always say. I guess I need to work on being firm.

 

[KGB7]

If I remember correctly, I updated from iOS 9.3.5 to 10.2.1. It was and still is a huge mistake.

I restored my phone and set it up as new until iOS 10.3 came out. I then restored and set up as new again and the battery life was a little better but still much worse than iOS 9. I'm on 10.3.1, but I really don't think 10.3.3 will fix anything.

I don't know if I want to go to an Apple Store because they'll just say it's "fine". That's what they always say. I guess I need to work on being firm.

From reading the forums for the past few days, forum members have seen a battery life improvement with 10.3.3.
You could have a hardware issue as I did when I inherited a family members iPhone 6s+, that would drain a nearly a perfectly good battery even when iPhone was shut off.
So it's a 50/50 toss up between iOS bug or hardware issue. There is also a small chance that you got a battery from a bad batch, which sometimes happens. So now you are at 30/30/30.

You could go to Apple Store and leave the phone with them for few days for them to run a proper full diagnostic and not the quick diagnostic with an iPad over a Bluetooth.

You do have options.

Have you left your phone turned off fully charged overnight? Does it excessively drain the battery after 8-9 hours when you wake up? The phone has to be unplugged from the charger.

 

[MarioPhone96]

From reading the forums for the past few days, forum members have seen a battery life improvement with 10.3.3.
You could have a hardware issue as I did when I inherited a family members iPhone 6s+, that would drain a nearly a perfectly good battery even when iPhone was shut off.
So it's a 50/50 toss up between iOS bug or hardware issue. There is also a small chance that you got a battery from a bad batch, which sometimes happens. So now you are at 30/30/30.

You could go to Apple Store and leave the phone with them for few days for them to run a proper full diagnostic and not the quick diagnostic with an iPad over a Bluetooth.

You do have options.

Have you left your phone turned off fully charged overnight? Does it excessively drain the battery after 8-9 hours when you wake up? The phone has to be unplugged from the charger.

I can tell them to take my phone and perform a full diagnostic while sitting there and they'll do that? I didn't know.

I haven't tried turning it off at night. In the past, my phone would drain up to 10% overnight while idle, but lately it's been good. What I noticed, though, is the battery dropping a bit since I last looked at it. Like today, the battery dropped from 24% to 18% while idle.

Since it's 9:46PM where I live I can try turning off the phone before I head to bed!

 

[KGB7]

I can tell them to take my phone and perform a full diagnostic while sitting there and they'll do that? I didn't know.

I haven't tried turning it off at night. In the past, my phone would drain up to 10% overnight while idle, but lately it's been good. What I noticed, though, is the battery dropping a bit since I last looked at it. Like today, the battery dropped from 24% to 18% while idle.

Since it's 9:46PM where I live I can try turning off the phone before I head to bed!

A great test with any phone, make or model, is to leave it over night turned off. It's one of great steps in the process of eliminating an issue at hand.

Start with process of elimination on your end before going to Apple Store.

 

[Erdbeertorte]

I once got a very cheap 5c because of very fast battery draining (one hour max. even in airplane mode or completely shutdown). I purchased a €6 battery and put it in myself and it was behaving exactly the same as before.

So it is possible there might be another hardware failure than just the battery being too old.

P.S.: I wouldn't recommend doing this because I slightly bended the old battery. It got very hot, melted in the middle and steam came out of it.

 

[KGB7]

I once got a very cheap 5c because of very fast battery draining (one hour max. even in airplane mode or completely shutdown). I purchased a €6 battery and put it in myself and it was behaving exactly the same as before.

So it is possible there might be another hardware failure than just the battery being too old.

P.S.: I wouldn't recommend doing this because I slightly bended the old battery. It got very hot, melted in the middle and steam came out of it.

This is the exact reason I hate phones that have a sealed battery.

When I had Galaxy s5, AT&T sent me 2 new batteries for free because phone was draining the battery too fast for no reason with in 6 month. I had 3 batteries in my hand that were manufactured in 3 different countries. Even after 4 Android security and 1 major OS updates, the battery drain was not resolved. Sending out the phone to att or to Samsung was pointless, up to 2 weeks being with out a phone.
So I said screw it and got a new Galaxy phone.

What I like about Apple, is they have stores with techs across the globe. Samsung representatives at local Best Buy are useless. In my experience, they won't authorize phone replacement under warranty even if you bought the phone at Best Buy.

 

[MarioPhone96]

This is the exact reason I hate phones that have a sealed battery.

When I had Galaxy s5, AT&T sent me 2 new batteries for free because phone was draining the battery too fast for no reason with in 6 month. I had 3 batteries in my hand that were manufactured in 3 different countries. Even after 4 Android security and 1 major OS updates, the battery drain was not resolved. Sending out the phone to att or to Samsung was pointless, up to 2 weeks being with out a phone.
So I said screw it and got a new Galaxy phone.

What I like about Apple, is they have stores with techs across the globe. Samsung representatives at local Best Buy are useless. In my experience, they won't authorize phone replacement under warranty even if you bought the phone at Best Buy.

I had a Samsung Galaxy S5 before getting my 5s, and the battery and software was amazing... until Android 5.0 was released. Hated Android and Samsung phones ever since.

Anyway, I woke up and I turned on my phone and it was still on 100% after booting up.

 

[MarioPhone96]

I got home late last night after school, and I decided to just leave my phone in standby and charge it the next morning.

It drained overnight about 5% doing nothing. No apps were in the app switcher, and the phone was face down (isn't it a feature where the screen doesn't light up while face down?).

I did manage to get almost five hours of use according to the battery section in settings, although that was while my phone was in low power mode all day. On iOS 9 I would get an awesome eight hours while in LPM all day, same use as now.

I don't know, I feel like I'm worrying over nothing at times.

 

[addamas]

Check YouTube, Facebook apps if they are in the background - for me they drained using background activity even when in LPM...
By the way that's my SE capacity (around 89% when fully charged). Is it normal ?

 

[MarioPhone96]

Check YouTube, Facebook apps if they are in the background - for me they drained using background activity even when in LPM...
By the way that's my SE capacity (around 89% when fully charged). Is it normal ?

YouTube doesn't use any background activity for me. I know that Facebook and Messenger do a lot when they are suspended. I make sure to close them out from the app switcher once I'm done using them.

I don't know when you got yours, but assuming your SE was bought in Spring 2016, then it looks like normal wear to me over a year later with 313 cycles. My problem is that it's ~80% already with ~240 cycles now.