I have solved the iPhone battery problem!
I have solved the iPhone battery problem!
My devices
iPhone 4
Originally came with OS 4.2.1
Factory Unlocked
Jailbroken Greenpois0n RC6.1
iPhone 3Gs
Originally came with OS 3.0
Upgraded to OS 3.0.1, 3.1.2 & 4.2.1
Factory Unlocked
Old bootrom
Jailbroken Redsn0w 0.9.6rc4
Windows XP desktop PC
Windows XP notebook Acer
(Ahem, jailbreaking is legal by the way)
Background
In December 2010, I upgraded my iPhone3Gs to OS 4.2.1 and jailbroke with Redsn0w. After a few weeks, my iPhone3Gs has started feeling warm and when I checked, I noticed similar usage and standby times (Settings, General, Usage). The battery was starting to drain very quickly and was dead within half a day. This is not the first time I am facing this problem. When I first got my 3Gs in July 2009, the same thing happened.
The problem last time
In July 2009, when my 3Gs was still not jailbroken and running OS 3.0, the problem was quite easy to diagnose because I had not many apps installed. I had setup my yahoo email account through the mail app. A search on google shows everyone saying turn off push. I turned off push but the battery drain was still there.
I deleted the email account and re-added it and the problem was still there. I figured out that there was something wrong with the iPhone push programming because although I turned push off, I believe the push was actually still on as I was still getting emails. Even after deleting the email and re-adding it, the problem was still there.
I had to Restore my 3Gs for the problem to go away. And when adding the yahoo mail account again, I immediately turned off the push and changed it to fetch. The problem never came back again, until now.
The Current Problem
Initially I thought the problem was the same. Little did I know it was different, very different.
This time, when I noticed my 3Gs having this problem, I checked my iPhone4. It was also having the same problem. The iPhone4 has a better battery life therefore I didnt notice it as easily as my 3Gs.
I figured out the problem is I sync both phones to my notebook iTunes using the same account. Therfore there must be something wrong.
Other Solutions & Suggestions Found on the Internet
Doing a google search I found the following solutions which all did not work for me:
1) Delete the email accounts and re-add.
2) Turn off push
3) Turn off notifications
4) Turn off Bluetooth
5) Turn off Location Services (GPS)
6) Lower the screen brightness
7) Discharge and fully recharge
8) Allow to continue charging even after reaching 100% (trickle charge)
9) Use less data
10) Turn off fetch
11) Turn off wifi
12) Minimise use of apps
13) Use airplane mode in low coverage areas
14) Turn off equalizer
15) Let your phone breathe by changing your phone carrying case
16) Lock your phone
17) Turn off 3G.
Blady ****, the list was looking like I had to turn everything off. Why buy an iPhone in the first place?
Its like buying a BMW then the dealer tells you, that to save petrol, dont drive at night, dont drive in the rain, dont drive when its too hot, only have 1 person in the car, the person in the car should exercise and lose weight to save petrol, minimize the use of car lights, radio, CD player and brakes
. Like.. what the ****???
18) Change your default password from Alpine to something else
19) Download Push Checker (note : not applicable for me as my phones are factory unlocked not relying on ultrasnow)
20) Problem with push on email synchronization
21) Problem with push on contacts synchronization especially with the contacts with pictures (yup tried this by deleting all my contact pictures regret it like **** now)
22) Problem with push on calenders synchronization especially when emails are received for setup of appointments and meetings (I honestly thought this was my problem and went on to delete all the received appointments in my Outlook)
23) Problem with synchronization with Microsoft ActiveSync server. (believable as apple and Microsoft are not exactly friends)
24) Download System Activity Monitor to check if there are any programs running in the background (useless app by the way)
25) Hard reset the phone (Hold down the Power & Home button until the the screen goes black) this will remove the Usage & Standby time completely until you fully charge your phone again which is when you will notice the problem is still there.
26) Double click the home button to pull up the Recently Used Apps bar and close them one-by-one.
27) Open the Mail App then hold down the Sleep button until you see the Slide to Power Off then release the sleep button and hold down the home button until the Mail App closes. Repeat this for the Calendar App and Contacts.
28) Sign out of the AppStore.
29) Sign out of the Game Center.
30) Reboot the phone duhh..
31) There is something wrong with Greenpois0n wait for the next jailbreaking tool to be released.
32) Go to the Apple store and replace your phone for a new one EVEN THIS WILL NOT HELP!!! Its a software problem not a hardware problem. Many people (check google) have got replacements for their phone and still have this problem.
33) Finally, the one that works (temporarily) Restore the phone as a new iPhone.
There were people without this problem trying to help with solutions but there was one person in particular who was in many forums Lawrence Finch. He was NOT helpful, actually USELESS and yet he behaved all high and mighty. He can go suck his own balls.
What I have Done
I started by deleting my email accounts one-by-one as I had gmail, hotmail, yahoo & my company email on my iphone. I did the standard reboot after removing each account. It didnt work. Tried re-adding the accounts, also didnt work.
Perhaps it was not the email. I started deleting my apps one-by-one. Rebooting after each removal. Sometimes waiting a day & recharging. Also tried hard resets (explained above). It didnt work.
Finally I had removed everything on my iPhone. No apps, no mail.
I knew it was not the Jailbreaking because people who have never jailbroken their phones were reporting the same problem. Additionally, I had two phones with my iPhone4 being jailbroken using Greenpois0n and my 3Gs being jailbroken using Redsn0w. Both were facing the problem so it was unlikely that both Greenpois0n and Redsn0w were giving similar problems (although there was a possibility as the jailbreaking community is small and they share resources).
It came the time to Restore my phone as new. The problem went away. I re-added everything. After 3 days, the problem returned.
I tried again, Restored my phone as new. I started adding email accounts one at a time always remembering to turn off push and put on fetch instead. My battery was back to normal. I started adding apps then after a week, the problem came back. ****. Must have been one of the apps?
I tried again, this time adding only a few popular apps comparing with my friends who were also using theiPhone4. My email accounts were added back but only yahoo, gmail and hotmail. After 3 days the problem returned.
I tried again, Restored my phone as new, this time not jailbreaking. Added my email & apps. The problem returned.
Trying again, I installed all my apps with no email accounts. The problem went away. I was so convinced it was a problem with the Mail, Contacts & Calendars then suddenly the problem returned after 2 weeks.
Thats it. It must have been my notebook computer which I was Syncing to. I switched to my desktop. Installed iTunes there, re-downloaded all my programs from the App Store. Restored the phone from my desktop. The problem went away initially. Then again, battery drainage restarted after a week.
To make things worse, Apple released the 4.3.0 & 4.3.1 and stopped signing the 4.2.1. I had to use TinyUmbrella to Restore my phone as I was still trying to figure out the battery drain on the 4.2.1. Fortunately Cydia had my shsh.
All in all, I must have restored my phone at least 20 times in the last 3 months. I have been searching the web for answers and found many, many suggested solutions but nothing worked. All this headache is making me wonder if I will still be getting the iPhone5 in June.
My Solution
Finally I found it! Apple take note.
It is not the email accounts as there are no email accounts installed on my phone.
It is one of the downloaded apps from the App store. But which particular app I am unsure.
All this while, when using my iPhone 3Gs and iPhone4, I have not used my 3G data because I have been using WiFi at home and WiFi in the office and WiFi everywhere.
One of the programs using Notifications or Push has been requesting data through the Cellular Data.
The program somehow does not want to use your WiFi.
The program is running in the background and even when you reset your phone, the program will still come on and try to use your Cellular Data. All you have to do, is turn on your cellular data (assuming you have a data plan)
(Settings, General, Network, Cellular Data ---> ON)
Then after 1 minute, turn it off again. The problem is solved.
(This is assuming you have a cellular data plan)
No need to Restore your phone. No need to hard reset your phone. No need to reboot your phone.
Oh my gosh.. after 4 months, the solution is so simple. No wonder Apple says there is no problem. They probably have Cellular Data and WiFi in their testing environment.
Come to think of it, thats why people going overseas (and turn off their cellular data) complain of this poor battery life.
Apple : You can test this out yourself Take an iPhone4 disable the Cellular Data add the normal Email accounts and standard apps from the AppStore. Use the phone for a month I am quite sure you will face a similar problem. Check for similar Usage & Standby times.
You may want to check out Bump, Facebook, Foursquare, Palringo, Talkbox, Tango, Viber but I suspect its Facebook.
Useful
Thank you all for reading my post. I have spent many days, weeks and sleepless nights trying to solve this problem. If my post has been useful and solved your battery drain problem you can make a contribution for all my effort to my paypal account at
jonathanhsc@gmail.com
Note to Apple
Dear Apple, if you are reading this I just have to add, I just purchased a new Windows 7 notebook with the second generation Intel i5 Core arrived yesterday. I actually really really wanted to get the MacBook Pro, but because Apple couldnt solve my iPhone battery problem, I was forced to purchase a Windows. Perhaps in 3 years time, I will reconsider switching to a Mac.
Fix the problem fast and stop blaming Microsoft ActiveSync for a bug.
Search Keywords
Usage = Standby similar time Battery Drain 4.2.1 iPhone Push Netstat push.apple.com 5223 Notifications hot warm bug amazonaws synchronization Microsoft ActiveSync protocol server calendar System Activity Monitor App Rogue program jailbreak
