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iPhone 4S excessive battery drain in standby inc. flight mode

S

sammy-boy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 2, 2013
183
0
Staffordshire, UK
I bought a preowned iPhone 4S a couple of days ago, which came with iOS 6.1.3 installed. I updated it to 7.0.6 immediately as I wanted to restore a recent backup. Noticed the phone's battery is draining excessively quickly, especially when in standby mode. It then shut down with the low battery & plug into charger displayed when the battery showed 37%. However, a few minutes later it powered back up again at 37% and continued to work for a few more hours! This included using it regularly, when actually in use the battery seems to drain at a more appropriate rate. I discharged it to 3% and charged back up to 100% leaving it on the charger after for a couple of hours (all in airplane mode). The battery continued to drain in standby mode too much. The usage showed it had been in use for 6 hours in only just over 6 hours since being unplugged. Thing is, I'd been asleep and the phone in airplane mode for more than 4 of those hours! Hers a screenshot of the usage, and a log of the low battery crash.

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Would this be a software issue, maybe an app constantly running in the background, an issue with the backup I used (it was from an iPhone 4 running the same firmware version) or is the battery on its way out?

I couldn't find an estimated purchase date for the phone in Apples support section of their website and the warranty appears to be long expired so guess the phone is about 2 years old. Just debating whether to return the phone or have a go at replacing the battery - just want to rule out any software issues first.
 
I'm going to guess that something is running in the background and killing your battery. Try putting your phone in DFU mode and restoring that way. For troubleshooting purposes, it's best if you don't restore from a backup.
 
Cheers for the reply, can't do a DFU restore but done a full reset and restored it as a new iPhone, still seem to be having the same issues.

Also, both before and after the full restore I've found a couple more issues. Firstly, the volume keys are adjusting the volume but the pop up graphic showing the level doesn't show the volume level it's set at, flicking the silent switch off then on again will briefly show it but won't stay showing. Also, the loudspeaker's not working properly. It'll work in the ringtone setting screen but no actual notifications sound. It vibrates but no sound, no keyboard clicks regardless of volume level.

Not sure if these are iOS 7.0.6 bugs on the iPhone 4S or the phone is faulty, I suspect the latter. I'll be returning it tomorrow, hopefully for an exchange but failing that a full refund.
 
I may not have understood. You restored as new and then did not restore your apps/data and still have the issue? What you are describing sounds like a typical battery drain issue after restoring apps from a backup. If I happen to be correct :) try restoring as new and then installing your apps manually.
 
Yes, I've restored as new and still seem to be having battery drain issues. The volume adjusting and speaker issues appear to have fixed themselves for now, still having battery drain issues. Now showing 2hr 19 min uptime and 2hr 12 min usage despite being sat in standby for most of that time.

Will take it back to the shop and hope they give me an exchange or refund tomorrow :(
 
My 4s and gf's 5 have been having these issues since Oct 2013.

To add to that the phones will turn off randomly at around 40%, then i have to either plug it in or wait 20+min to turn it back on.
 
iphone 4s, ios 6.1.3 similar battery problems

Sounds like we have the same iphone. Got mine new 17 months ago, and worked perfectly for over a year. Now it drains about 10% per hour in normal standby, and 2% per hour with airplane mode on. Occasionally gets very warm as well. I noticed your usage and standby usage times were almost the same.....like mine. Seem to differ, however, when I am in airplane mode. Not sure if that's normal. I have tried numerous fixes from the internet to no avail. I'm now looking at battery change. Interested to see how yours turns out.
 
Ever since upgrading to iOS 7, my 4s has had horrible battery life. It was great in iOS 6. One day, the day I switched to ios7, lost me at least 1/3 battery life. It has not improved since :mad:
 
I couldn't get iTunes to install or run for some reason on my laptop, though it's working now. I returned the phone and got a refund though, never did get to the bottom of why it did what it did.
 
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