Hello MacRumors,
I've had an iPhone 5 since October 2012 and while the battery life was decent for the first year of its existence it started degrading at about November 2013.
What would happen is the battery would drain as usual from 100% to about 40% and it would then start depleting rapidly, falling in chunks of about 5% per drop. Finally, it would shut off randomly at any value below 20% and would refuse to turn on. Strangely, the phone would turn back on and would run through the remainder of its battery if the Lightning cable is plugged in - even if the other (USB) end isn't!
Eventually I did a restore on the phone and the problem was relieved to an extent, though I never saw the phone reach 1% before shutting off ever again. After some time, in August 2014 battery life started degrading very rapidly and for the past couple of weeks it has gotten to the point where the phone won't last from 9 to 5 off the charger (with light use on Wi-Fi) without shutting off in the early afternoon. If left off the charger overnight, it would indicate 15%-25% less battery in the morning (this used to be just a 2-3% drop at most when it was okay). I've tried turning off features, uninstalling apps, calibrating, doing clean restores - absolutely everything you can think of, none of it makes even the slightest difference.
I've been to the Genius Bar twice about these issues. Once in early 2014 and once a week or two ago. Both times the genius ran the battery test and said the stats don't indicate a battery failure. Since my phone is out of warranty, both times I was offered two options: a battery replacement (£60) or an OOW replacement unit (about £200). Also, the geniuses claimed that because battery stats were not indicative of a failure, a new battery would make no difference and that they'd advise to get a replacement unit, since they thought something else in the phone was causing this, though they have absolutely no idea what.
I am not entirely convinced this is correct and I wold definitely not pay £200 for the same phone, so I'd like to ask people with similar problems who've had their battery replaced: Did it help? Also, should I bother spending the extra money for a Genius Bar battery or should I just go to a third-party repair shop?
Already checked the battery replacement program page, says my phone is not eligible.
TL,DR: iPhone 5 doesn't hold charge well, shuts off at random percentages. Genius Bar tests don't show the battery as faulty. Would a battery swap fix this? Is a genuine replacement worth it or should I go to a cheaper third-party repair shop?
I've had an iPhone 5 since October 2012 and while the battery life was decent for the first year of its existence it started degrading at about November 2013.
What would happen is the battery would drain as usual from 100% to about 40% and it would then start depleting rapidly, falling in chunks of about 5% per drop. Finally, it would shut off randomly at any value below 20% and would refuse to turn on. Strangely, the phone would turn back on and would run through the remainder of its battery if the Lightning cable is plugged in - even if the other (USB) end isn't!
Eventually I did a restore on the phone and the problem was relieved to an extent, though I never saw the phone reach 1% before shutting off ever again. After some time, in August 2014 battery life started degrading very rapidly and for the past couple of weeks it has gotten to the point where the phone won't last from 9 to 5 off the charger (with light use on Wi-Fi) without shutting off in the early afternoon. If left off the charger overnight, it would indicate 15%-25% less battery in the morning (this used to be just a 2-3% drop at most when it was okay). I've tried turning off features, uninstalling apps, calibrating, doing clean restores - absolutely everything you can think of, none of it makes even the slightest difference.
I've been to the Genius Bar twice about these issues. Once in early 2014 and once a week or two ago. Both times the genius ran the battery test and said the stats don't indicate a battery failure. Since my phone is out of warranty, both times I was offered two options: a battery replacement (£60) or an OOW replacement unit (about £200). Also, the geniuses claimed that because battery stats were not indicative of a failure, a new battery would make no difference and that they'd advise to get a replacement unit, since they thought something else in the phone was causing this, though they have absolutely no idea what.
I am not entirely convinced this is correct and I wold definitely not pay £200 for the same phone, so I'd like to ask people with similar problems who've had their battery replaced: Did it help? Also, should I bother spending the extra money for a Genius Bar battery or should I just go to a third-party repair shop?
Already checked the battery replacement program page, says my phone is not eligible.
TL,DR: iPhone 5 doesn't hold charge well, shuts off at random percentages. Genius Bar tests don't show the battery as faulty. Would a battery swap fix this? Is a genuine replacement worth it or should I go to a cheaper third-party repair shop?