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iPhone 4 battery issues?
- Thread starter mszpara
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Ha, just had a 53 minute conversation that took my battery from 14% to 1%. So usage was 7 hours 56 minutes, 31 hours standby!
You do know batteries don't perform at their optimum levels until they have run a few charges through them.
Also I'm guessing this is partly related to the reception thing, searching for signal uses excessive battery I'm expecting a bit of improvement when 4.0.1 gets released (supposedly on monday http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/25/death_grip_hysteria_may_end_monday_with_ios_4_01.html)
My battery has really impressed me. I had the 3G and the 3GS. The iPhone 4 blows both of them out of the water.
In a typical day for me I listen to lot of podcasts and lots of push email and SMS, a few phone calls. With my previous iPhone models I would be coming home from work with around 25% left in the tank. (and that's if I didn't have to top it off at work.
Today I came home with 70%. It was a pretty busy day at work so I didnt use much safari, but like I said the iPod was playing music/podcasts.
I'm looking at 5 hours usage (mostly iPod and push email/replies)
9 hours of standby.
62% left in the tank.
I am VERY HAPPY with this.
I feell like I can pull it off the charger in the morning and not worry about it till bed. And I'm a somewhat heavy user.
This is something my other iPhones could not do.
I chalk it up to the apple A4 chip. It's power sipping in my iPad. Great in my iPhone4
In a typical day for me I listen to lot of podcasts and lots of push email and SMS, a few phone calls. With my previous iPhone models I would be coming home from work with around 25% left in the tank. (and that's if I didn't have to top it off at work.
Today I came home with 70%. It was a pretty busy day at work so I didnt use much safari, but like I said the iPod was playing music/podcasts.
I'm looking at 5 hours usage (mostly iPod and push email/replies)
9 hours of standby.
62% left in the tank.
I am VERY HAPPY with this.
I feell like I can pull it off the charger in the morning and not worry about it till bed. And I'm a somewhat heavy user.
This is something my other iPhones could not do.
I chalk it up to the apple A4 chip. It's power sipping in my iPad. Great in my iPhone4
Mine was fully charged from the outlet (not the PC) last night before bed. I powered it off and went to sleep. I powered on this morning and it was at 56%. I spoke with Apple Support and the two suggestions he had were a reset and a restore. Since I am unsure if my local Apple Store has any replacements and not sure if the software 'fix' will solve it, I may just let it go for now. Still disappointing as I paid $499 + tax for this 'upgrade.'
I went to bed the other night at like 11 or 12% (was running battery out).. Woke up at 6%... Took a couple pictures and video.. and was at 3%.. then put it in my pocket for a couple hours and charged it back up.
Just because your phone says 3 hours of usage doesn't tell anything.
If your taking video with the flash on.. Its bound to go down quicker than just being on Safari.
Just because your phone says 3 hours of usage doesn't tell anything.
If your taking video with the flash on.. Its bound to go down quicker than just being on Safari.
This is my usage yesterday...
Push Email was turned back on at 100% battery.
Moderate to heavy Safari usage...mainly macrumors and engadget...gizmodo has lost touch..
Wifi turned on periodically
2 HD video clips about a min long a piece
5-10 pictures
half hour of ipod
Emailed 5 pictures
adjusted my backgrounds 3-5 times
then more safari to top off the night.
The only thing new to the equation is the camera use. never took too many pics throughout the day with my 3G. But its irresistible now with this gorgeous display and high res shots. But as you can see I did not use it heavily at all yesterday. Didnt even open iMovie. It should be better than this..... the only thing I can think of is that this choosing of the towers is different with iOS4 which I have read. So I think my already iffy connection up here is now (on iOS4) constantly searching and jumping around? therefore draining battery faster....AND DURING THE NIGHT WHILE IM SLEEPING NOT USING THE PHONE OR RUNNING ANYTHING IN THE BACKGROUND!! Sorry just had to let that out as I have never had an iphone drain battery like this new one does over night. Sometimes its 5% sometimes its closer to 10%..
Push Email was turned back on at 100% battery.
Moderate to heavy Safari usage...mainly macrumors and engadget...gizmodo has lost touch..
Wifi turned on periodically
2 HD video clips about a min long a piece
5-10 pictures
half hour of ipod
Emailed 5 pictures
adjusted my backgrounds 3-5 times
then more safari to top off the night.
The only thing new to the equation is the camera use. never took too many pics throughout the day with my 3G. But its irresistible now with this gorgeous display and high res shots. But as you can see I did not use it heavily at all yesterday. Didnt even open iMovie. It should be better than this..... the only thing I can think of is that this choosing of the towers is different with iOS4 which I have read. So I think my already iffy connection up here is now (on iOS4) constantly searching and jumping around? therefore draining battery faster....AND DURING THE NIGHT WHILE IM SLEEPING NOT USING THE PHONE OR RUNNING ANYTHING IN THE BACKGROUND!! Sorry just had to let that out as I have never had an iphone drain battery like this new one does over night. Sometimes its 5% sometimes its closer to 10%..
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Terrible Battery Life
I too am experiencing terrible battery life. No where near what Apple claims the iPhone 4 should be. I went to bed last night at midnight and by 6am this morning I had lost 11% of the battery. That's just unacceptable. My 3G battery lasted quite a bit longer. I have tried everything from a deleting all settings to restoring the phone with only minor improvements. I've cycled the battery all the way to nothing 4 times now with no improvements. I'm seriously considering taking it in to Apple and exchanging it. Going to give it another week or so and see if it gets any better.
I too am experiencing terrible battery life. No where near what Apple claims the iPhone 4 should be. I went to bed last night at midnight and by 6am this morning I had lost 11% of the battery. That's just unacceptable. My 3G battery lasted quite a bit longer. I have tried everything from a deleting all settings to restoring the phone with only minor improvements. I've cycled the battery all the way to nothing 4 times now with no improvements. I'm seriously considering taking it in to Apple and exchanging it. Going to give it another week or so and see if it gets any better.
similar battery issue
I had mine first day, also a week 25. Battery drained completely within * hours on first day, charged full cycle, drained in 8 hours on just standby, tried without BT, wifi, not doing anything, no background apps running, no push, same problem. Apple said restore as new device and I did. It solved it. I was getting about 48 hours of standby (little use) even with location, push, everything turned on (wifi, BT), I was amazed! This morning, I pulled from charger, and it seems to be draining at the fast rate again... can't figure it out! It has to be a software issue. I charged it on an old firewire based charger... I think I have used the new charger all the other time - can't figure out if that is what is causing the problem... anyone else with the super fast battery drain using a FW based charger in the wall plug?
I can't keep restoring this as a new device every 2 weeks!
____________
EDIT: I was mistaken, it's an old giant brick USB charger from early iPod days
I had mine first day, also a week 25. Battery drained completely within * hours on first day, charged full cycle, drained in 8 hours on just standby, tried without BT, wifi, not doing anything, no background apps running, no push, same problem. Apple said restore as new device and I did. It solved it. I was getting about 48 hours of standby (little use) even with location, push, everything turned on (wifi, BT), I was amazed! This morning, I pulled from charger, and it seems to be draining at the fast rate again... can't figure it out! It has to be a software issue. I charged it on an old firewire based charger... I think I have used the new charger all the other time - can't figure out if that is what is causing the problem... anyone else with the super fast battery drain using a FW based charger in the wall plug?
I can't keep restoring this as a new device every 2 weeks!
____________
EDIT: I was mistaken, it's an old giant brick USB charger from early iPod days
At first mine was amazing, now I'm wondering.
The past two nights I have had it charging while I've been on my laptop, each time it got to either 98% or 100%.
Monday night I unplugged it at 11pm with 98% charge, went to sleep, woke up and the battery was at 24% - I had been asleep and I had only received one text message around 12:14am.
Last night, I did the same thing as a test - plugged it in while I was working on my laptop, it got to 100% and was fully charged.
Went to bed around 11:30pm, woke up at 5:30am and the battery was at 18%.
What's even stranger is that during the day, it lasts fine.
I've been using it off and on for the past few hours and I'm at 92%.
Last night I could literally watch the percentages drop...
I have notifications on, 3G on, WiFi off and brightness on auto.
Fink
The past two nights I have had it charging while I've been on my laptop, each time it got to either 98% or 100%.
Monday night I unplugged it at 11pm with 98% charge, went to sleep, woke up and the battery was at 24% - I had been asleep and I had only received one text message around 12:14am.
Last night, I did the same thing as a test - plugged it in while I was working on my laptop, it got to 100% and was fully charged.
Went to bed around 11:30pm, woke up at 5:30am and the battery was at 18%.
What's even stranger is that during the day, it lasts fine.
I've been using it off and on for the past few hours and I'm at 92%.
Last night I could literally watch the percentages drop...
I have notifications on, 3G on, WiFi off and brightness on auto.
Fink
For those who are concerned, I would personally suggest fully cycling your battery (or "calibrating" it) and seeing if that helps you. I had decent battery life before calibrating mine and now it's significantly better... I went to bed around 2:00AM and woke up 6 hours later and had lost only 2%, for example.
Signal strength is relevant, I have found. I have notifications on, 3G on, bluetooth off, WiFi on, brightness around 60% auto, and push email.
What I've also found is that when I drained the battery completely, the "last" 20% drained MUCH slower than the top 20% or so (that is, when the battery showed 80%-100%). I think calibrating it leveled this out. This could be why some of you are seeing big drops when you have it charged to 100%, if I had to field an entirely unscientific guess.
Signal strength is relevant, I have found. I have notifications on, 3G on, bluetooth off, WiFi on, brightness around 60% auto, and push email.
What I've also found is that when I drained the battery completely, the "last" 20% drained MUCH slower than the top 20% or so (that is, when the battery showed 80%-100%). I think calibrating it leveled this out. This could be why some of you are seeing big drops when you have it charged to 100%, if I had to field an entirely unscientific guess.
With these being Lithium-based batteries this probably wouldn't have the same affect as it would on the older NiCD batteries, correct?
Do you think it's just the meter itself?
I guess that could be - it does seem to be software-related.
Fink
With these being Lithium-based batteries this probably wouldn't have the same affect as it would on the older NiCD batteries, correct?
Do you think it's just the meter itself?
I guess that could be - it does seem to be software-related.
Fink
It does affect it also. Running a couple of cycles on the battery helps calibrate the battery, even on an iPhone 4. It's also on Apple's website. They recommend doing it at least once a month. Drain the battery fully, then charge it up to 100%, then drain fully again and charge it to 100%.
Also, signal strength does make a huge difference in battery life. At work I have a weak 3G signal. The battery drainage is so bad that I have to turn off 3G in order to extend the battery life. Unfortunately the EDGE signal isn't that much better where I work at either, but it helps. I notice huge difference in battery life when I'm at home and when I'm at work.
Sorry guys, its NOT software. I had the same problem with the battery. Apple tested my iPhone and the battery tested good, but the Genius Tech replaced it. This new one is MUCH better. It is a hardware problem with the battery. When all else fails, go to the Apple Store.
I am on my 2nd iphone and the replacement for it is on the way. Both phones (32 gig model) have had terrible batteries.
Yesterday I charged to 100% and was done at 4:30 PM. I set everything in the phone to off. No Fetching mail, no apps running in background, no bluetooth or wireless. I drove 1 hour to my next stop and did not touch the phone. At 5:30 had 80% of battery left. Had a meeting from 6 to 8:30 pm and by 9 pm with only looking at the time on the phone and showing someone a photo or two i had 47% left. When I got home at 10 pm i had 20% battery and when you went into settings to look at the usage there were hyphens in both Usage and Standby Categories. That is totally unacceptable. I have also had the issue of being at 100% when i go to sleep and when I get up in the morning 7 or 8 hours later it says 35 minutes of usage and 7 hours of standby and 61% of the battery is left. I was sleeping, so what is using the phone and draining the battery if everything except mobile me is off???
My 3rd phone arrives tomorrow and I am hoping and praying it has a battery that works properly. Keep your fingers crossed everyone!
Yesterday I charged to 100% and was done at 4:30 PM. I set everything in the phone to off. No Fetching mail, no apps running in background, no bluetooth or wireless. I drove 1 hour to my next stop and did not touch the phone. At 5:30 had 80% of battery left. Had a meeting from 6 to 8:30 pm and by 9 pm with only looking at the time on the phone and showing someone a photo or two i had 47% left. When I got home at 10 pm i had 20% battery and when you went into settings to look at the usage there were hyphens in both Usage and Standby Categories. That is totally unacceptable. I have also had the issue of being at 100% when i go to sleep and when I get up in the morning 7 or 8 hours later it says 35 minutes of usage and 7 hours of standby and 61% of the battery is left. I was sleeping, so what is using the phone and draining the battery if everything except mobile me is off???
My 3rd phone arrives tomorrow and I am hoping and praying it has a battery that works properly. Keep your fingers crossed everyone!
Here's what I've found. There is some sort of bug in the email app that can keep it running in the background, even when the phone is not being used (sleep mode). I have been having battery issues ever since getting the phone, and I finally traced the problem back to the MobileMail process. I used Servin's Process Log app to help track down the troublemaker. The battery can drop around 3-4% every hour when the MobileMail process is running and the iPhone is not in use.
Solution:
I recommend going into the multi-tasking list and removing the Mail icon after using the mail app right before you put it in sleep mode. Be sure to do this every time you have used mail, otherwise it could quickly drain the battery. This does NOT appear to be related to the push/fetch schedule, as I have had my phone on manual fetch while having the quick drain problem. Whatever the process is doing, it is definitely not updating the inbox.
Hopefully Apple will be able to fix this soon in an upcoming patch. Having to manually turn off processes like this is annoying. I don't think the multi-tasking functionality is ready to be rolled out yet. And you shouldn't need a 3rd party app just to see what processes are running.
Solution:
I recommend going into the multi-tasking list and removing the Mail icon after using the mail app right before you put it in sleep mode. Be sure to do this every time you have used mail, otherwise it could quickly drain the battery. This does NOT appear to be related to the push/fetch schedule, as I have had my phone on manual fetch while having the quick drain problem. Whatever the process is doing, it is definitely not updating the inbox.
Hopefully Apple will be able to fix this soon in an upcoming patch. Having to manually turn off processes like this is annoying. I don't think the multi-tasking functionality is ready to be rolled out yet. And you shouldn't need a 3rd party app just to see what processes are running.
Bought my iPhone 4 just yesterday, in Belgium. I charged it all night, when I woke up the battery was at 100% and only 4 hours later it's at 52%. The worst thing is that I didnt use the phone at all. Is this normal? Should I return it?
17 hours standby. 5 hours of usage. Battery is at 5%.
Wifi is used when available. Screen is at full brightness. I have drained the battery to 0% once before. I have one email account which is set to push. The usage has come from mostly surfing the Internet and playing games. Is this battery life ok or shall I have it checked out by a genius?
Wifi is used when available. Screen is at full brightness. I have drained the battery to 0% once before. I have one email account which is set to push. The usage has come from mostly surfing the Internet and playing games. Is this battery life ok or shall I have it checked out by a genius?
Apple can run a test on the battery, but your numbers seem normal. Internet surfing and games will suck down the battery.
Keep it for about a week. If you think it is getting worse. Go have it checked out. MHO
batt life drains fast for me, went back to Apple Store and they said batt is fine in good shape BUT suggests i kill all apps in the multi-task bar?????????? i tried that last night and it "seems" to help. I have been using Camera + a lot lately and noticed that app might be killin the batt. faster than normal. I have to say when I bought that app its kinda the point where I started noticing batt life draining fast so... anyone else with Camera+ notice this?
Who knows, will keep an eye on this and come back but why should I kill EVERY SINGLE APP in the multi-task?
Who knows, will keep an eye on this and come back but why should I kill EVERY SINGLE APP in the multi-task?
You only need to worry about ones that are actually running. Get an app that shows you what processes are running at any given time. Just because it is in the home screen doesn't mean it is actually running. I'm using SysStats Monitor, but I'm sure there are plenty of others.
cool thanks for that heads up. That's what I thought but the Apple Genius told me to kill everything
battery leaking
after i did a couple of full cycle charges my battery life seemed to improve. unfortunatley this morning I woke up to find the contacts on the docking port covered in bluish white gunk that could only be battery acid! now i randomly get error messages from the phone thinking it is trying to connect to an incompatible accessory and I can only get audio output from the speakers at the bottom while using speakerphone or system sounds. ipod and games dont seem to work. I have an appointment at the apple store tommorow. we'll see if apple customer service is what everyone says it is. I have a feeling im going to be waiting for a replacement for a while. Ive barely had the phone two weeks
after i did a couple of full cycle charges my battery life seemed to improve. unfortunatley this morning I woke up to find the contacts on the docking port covered in bluish white gunk that could only be battery acid! now i randomly get error messages from the phone thinking it is trying to connect to an incompatible accessory and I can only get audio output from the speakers at the bottom while using speakerphone or system sounds. ipod and games dont seem to work. I have an appointment at the apple store tommorow. we'll see if apple customer service is what everyone says it is. I have a feeling im going to be waiting for a replacement for a while. Ive barely had the phone two weeks