iPhone 5s battery draining issue

[fermer]

Hi,

I currently have the iPhone 5s bought close to 4 years ago. The phone is still running good. The only thing that I noticed happening lately is that the battery is draining way too fast. I started using Bluetooth earphones for the gym lately and the battery is running out of juice really quickly.

I realize that lithium batteries decrease in performance over time, and it has been 4 years since I bought my phone..

I have searched on eBay and found battery replacement kits for iPhone 5s under $10. By the look of it, battery replacement should be a real easy DIY with the iPhone 5s.

I wanted to inquire whether changing the battery would'd resolve the battery drainage issue? Are there any other reasons for the battery draining so fast?

 

[C DM]

Hi,

I currently have the iPhone 5s bought close to 4 years ago. The phone is still running good. The only thing that I noticed happening lately is that the battery is draining way too fast. I started using Bluetooth earphones for the gym lately and the battery is running out of juice really quickly.

I realize that lithium batteries decrease in performance over time, and it has been 4 years since I bought my phone..

I have searched on eBay and found battery replacement kits for iPhone 5s under $10. By the look of it, battery replacement should be a real easy DIY with the iPhone 5s.

I wanted to inquire whether changing the battery would'd resolve the battery drainage issue? Are there any other reasons for the battery draining so fast?

Battery itself can certainly be a reason. Usage can be another, if you are often in an area with lower/bad signal or doing some more intensive things like gaming or media. App or OS issues could also be another reason if there's some conflict or something is stuck.

Have you checked your battery usage page to see what's using your battery and how long and what usage/standby numbers you are getting? What iOS version are you on?

 

[fermer]

Battery itself can certainly be a reason. Usage can be another, if you are often in an area with lower/bad signal or doing some more intensive things like gaming or media. App or OS issues could also be another reason if there's some conflict or something is stuck.

Have you checked your battery usage page to see what's using your battery and how long and what usage/standby numbers you are getting? What iOS version are you on?

Thanks for the reply C DM.

I am not doing anything that unusual with my iPhone. I have also noted that on few occasions, my phone would shut down when there's still around 20-30% battery left and the only way to turn it on is through hard reset. It happened today.

I am just doing the basic stuff with my phone, but it is only now that I notice that my battery drains too fast.
Here is a screenshot of my usage.

Should I just change the battery? Would really like to know myself if another issue might be at fault...




fast.

 

[C DM]

Thanks for the reply C DM.

I am not doing anything that unusual with my iPhone. I have also noted that on few occasions, my phone would shut down when there's still around 20-30% battery left and the only way to turn it on is through hard reset. It happened today.

I am just doing the basic stuff with my phone, but it is only now that I notice that my battery drains too fast.
Here is a screenshot of my usage.

Should I just change the battery? Would really like to know myself if another issue might be at fault...




View attachment 727173 View attachment 727172 fast.

If the phone is dying when the battery is still showing something like 20-30% that does sound a bit more like it's probably more on the battery not being as good anymore vs. something else. But are you saying it turns off in that case, or gets stuck in some state where you can't even turn it on and only a hard reset works (in which case that might be more along the lines of the device crashing and getting stuck in a weird state). Seems like contacting Apple about it might be worth a shot to see if they can run a diagnostic on the battery.

 

[laptech]

I repaired a relatives 5s who had a very similar near exact same problem. I bought a new battery off ebay and problem was gone BUT remember, changing the battery fixed my relatives phone, it does not mean doing the same will fix your phone, it could still be something else but replacing the battery is the first step, it's just fortunate the first step fixed my relatives phone.

 

[fermer]

If the phone is dying when the battery is still showing something like 20-30% that does sound a bit more like it's probably more on the battery not being as good anymore vs. something else. But are you saying it turns off in that case, or gets stuck in some state where you can't even turn it on and only a hard reset works (in which case that might be more along the lines of the device crashing and getting stuck in a weird state). Seems like contacting Apple about it might be worth a shot to see if they can run a diagnostic on the battery.

When that occurs, the phone just shuts off completely and there is no way to turn it back on except a hard reset, or I assume plugging it to a power source.
I am considering going to an Apple store to inquire about the issue. Wonder if it matters if my phone is out of warranty..

I repaired a relatives 5s who had a very similar near exact same problem. I bought a new battery off ebay and problem was gone BUT remember, changing the battery fixed my relatives phone, it does not mean doing the same will fix your phone, it could still be something else but replacing the battery is the first step, it's just fortunate the first step fixed my relatives phone.

Thanks for the recommendation and for the foresight. That is something that I might have to do as well as a last resort.

 

[Minho]

The easiest way to see if the battery is the issue is to test the battery with an application like coconutBattery if you have a mac or 3uTools if you have a windows computer. Download the program, connect your phone to the computer and look at the battery informations. Specifically, look for the Design Capacity. That will tell you how much of the battery's theoretical design capacity is available for use (as opposed to charge state). If your design capacity is lower than 70%, then a change is in order. Batteries that are really weak, typically have a design capacity of <50%.

As a reference point, Apple warranties their batteries in the first year of the device to maintain a design capacity of >80%. For your 4 year old battery, I suspect the DC is quite low.

 

[bobright]

I repaired a relatives 5s who had a very similar near exact same problem. I bought a new battery off ebay and problem was gone BUT remember, changing the battery fixed my relatives phone, it does not mean doing the same will fix your phone, it could still be something else but replacing the battery is the first step, it's just fortunate the first step fixed my relatives phone.

Is it pretty easy to do? Any dos and don't tips you can offer?

Thinking of replacing mine

 

[laptech]

Is it pretty easy to do? Any dos and don't tips you can offer?

Thinking of replacing mine

If your a complete novice then it's a difficult job because everything is small and fiddly. Too much pressure lifting the screen away from the housing can cause it to crack. If you puncture the battery while trying to lift it out with your tools, it could short out and cause a fire. Removing the lcd is recommended which means having to carefully lift off the lcd connectors from the pcb. Trying to put them back on is fiddly and if they are incorrectly aligned they could break when you push down to reconnect it to the pcb.

There are many online guides that show you how to remove a battery, look at a few of them, not just one and see if it's something you feel you are capable of doing.

 

[bobright]

If your a complete novice then it's a difficult job because everything is small and fiddly. Too much pressure lifting the screen away from the housing can cause it to crack. If you puncture the battery while trying to lift it out with your tools, it could short out and cause a fire. Removing the lcd is recommended which means having to carefully lift off the lcd connectors from the pcb. Trying to put them back on is fiddly and if they are incorrectly aligned they could break when you push down to reconnect it to the pcb.

There are many online guides that show you how to remove a battery, look at a few of them, not just one and see if it's something you feel you are capable of doing.

Gotcha, I've looked at a bunch and it looks pretty straight forward. I think I'm going to give it a shot. Why is it though that some guides say you don't need to remove the display while some do? Seems a lot easier if you just rest it against something and not remove it unless there's something else behind it.

One last question where should I get the battery? I'm eyeing either Amazon or ifixit prob best to stay away from eBay.

 

[laptech]

Gotcha, I've looked at a bunch and it looks pretty straight forward. I think I'm going to give it a shot. Why is it though that some guides say you don't need to remove the display while some do? Seems a lot easier if you just rest it against something and not remove it unless there's something else behind it.

One last question where should I get the battery? I'm eyeing either Amazon or ifixit prob best to stay away from eBay.

Some guides say it is best to remove the display because that's how it's supposed to be done but the real reason is due to if the original battery has been replaced before. If the battery has never been replaced then it is being held firmly in place by the very strong double sided tape, which you need to apply heat to loosen it's strength. To be able to get enough strength to lift off the battery, you need a firm grip of the phone and trying to do this with a loose lcd screen attached is near on impossible because the ribbon cable is likely to break.

Once the battery is removed, the double sided tape on the metal base loses it's strength and never sticks properly to the new battery (just enough to stop it moving about). Now if this battery was ever to be replaced, due to the double sided tape already being weakened, you do not need as much strength and effort to remove the battery, hence in this case the lcd can stay connected but held in place, say against the side of a cup.

As to where to get the battery, ebay is hit and miss. I had to buy two batteries because the 1st one didn't work, got a refund and bought from a different ebay seller for the 2nd battery.

 

[jeyf]

i own a original 5.0 iphone. Bottom line, practical advice; consider a craigslist red iPhone 7:

-yes my battery and associated hardware software has a system error(s).

First off i have seen the display read battery at 50% than the phone goes all insufficient battery charge remaining. I do a reset and the display again reads 50% and the phone is good to go for a bit more.

On other iPhones i have replaced the battery. So read reviews on who you buy the battery from as I have received battery assemblies that looked dangerous if not beat up damaged. You have an old phone and likely even the new battery sat in a warehouse for years. I have above avg skills but still 50 / 50 success rate changing any one style iPhone. I just dont work on iPhones every day so consider a local shop, verify on yelp.com or something if the shop takes care of their customers.
With Verizon and the older iPhones they tend to loose all voice communication but still have data (both wifi and cellular data). I had the day free and called Verizon cust support, took like 3 hours, but a 99th level tech support guy from NJ actually discovered my closest cell tower (i live in Colorado) and re synched me with that tower. It happened again a month later and i sat under a tower I knew was Verizon, all service bars lit up, and the iPhone restarted voice communication just like nothing ever happened. Just saying likely Verizon and the Apple Fruit company are disabling the old iphones with software upgrades un tested for the older iPhones. Just not worth the battle so buy a Craigslist red iphone 7.0 .

do what you want but make sure you do a backup.
best of luck.

 

[Minho]

Every iPhone starting with the iPhone 4 has some form of pull tab adhesive. Starting with the iPhone 5C, the adhesive is a white strip pull tab, like the 3M wall adhesive. Sometimes the tabs break but if they don't, getting the battery out is quite easy. Check out the repair guides on iFixit. There are some good guides on Youtube but you have to sift through some really bad ones to find them, so for the novice, it's can be hard to know what is the right approach.

If the tabs break, then you have to be really careful about prying the battery out. Never apply pressure on the logic board side unless you use something that is wide enough to spread out the pressure. If you use something narrow, like a spudger, you could damage some of the surface mount components on the edge of the board. Then you're low cost battery replacement turns into a micro-soldering repair.

As for removing, or not, the screen...caveat emptor applies. Sometimes trying to save a few minutes can be very expensive. The flex cables securing the screen assembly to the logic board can tear very easily so if the screen is not solidly held in place, it could tip over or fall, tearing the flexes and costing you a replacement screen. It's best to remove the screen if you are a newbie. Please keep track of your screws as they are all different lengths and if you put a long one in a short hole, you will damage the logic board.

All this to say that changing a battery or screen can be easy but it can also go sideways really fast if you aren't careful. Take your time, check the guides before opening your phone and remember that all of these parts are more delicate than they look and everything will go fine.

 

[bobright]

Every iPhone starting with the iPhone 4 has some form of pull tab adhesive. Starting with the iPhone 5C, the adhesive is a white strip pull tab, like the 3M wall adhesive. Sometimes the tabs break but if they don't, getting the battery out is quite easy. Check out the repair guides on iFixit. There are some good guides on Youtube but you have to sift through some really bad ones to find them, so for the novice, it's can be hard to know what is the right approach.

If the tabs break, then you have to be really careful about prying the battery out. Never apply pressure on the logic board side unless you use something that is wide enough to spread out the pressure. If you use something narrow, like a spudger, you could damage some of the surface mount components on the edge of the board. Then you're low cost battery replacement turns into a micro-soldering repair.

As for removing, or not, the screen...caveat emptor applies. Sometimes trying to save a few minutes can be very expensive. The flex cables securing the screen assembly to the logic board can tear very easily so if the screen is not solidly held in place, it could tip over or fall, tearing the flexes and costing you a replacement screen. It's best to remove the screen if you are a newbie. Please keep track of your screws as they are all different lengths and if you put a long one in a short hole, you will damage the logic board.

All this to say that changing a battery or screen can be easy but it can also go sideways really fast if you aren't careful. Take your time, check the guides before opening your phone and remember that all of these parts are more delicate than they look and everything will go fine.

Great post lots of good stuff in here. I'll remove the screen for sure you're right about trying to shortcut things it could end up costing you..my battery kit should be here Friday. One thing though can you tell me which side of the battery the logic board is located at?

 

[Minho]

Great post lots of good stuff in here. I'll remove the screen for sure you're right about trying to shortcut things it could end up costing you..my battery kit should be here Friday. One thing though can you tell me which side of the battery the logic board is located at?

Assuming you have the iPhone 5S, check out this guide to see where everything falls into place.

 

[bobright]

Assuming you have the iPhone 5S, check out this guide to see where everything falls into place.

I have an iPhone 6 and sheesh videos on YouTube seem easy enough but reading those comments on iFixit are scaring the hell out of me. Im lowkey scared of doing it now, blue dots on the screen, touchscreen not responsive, TouchID not working etc.. Arghh

 

[Minho]

I have an iPhone 6 and sheesh videos on YouTube seem easy enough but reading those comments on iFixit are scaring the hell out of me. Im lowkey scared of doing it now, blue dots on the screen, touchscreen not responsive, TouchID not working etc.. Arghh

Like I said, a lot "can" go wrong but it doesn't have to. If you are used to repairing your own stuff and are patient, try it. Another trick is to practice on a dead phone that someone you know may have. It doesn't have to be an iPhone 6, it could be an older model. Practice opening it up to get a feel for how things are put together and how much force is required. What most people don't realize is how delicate everything is. A phone can take a lot of abuse when it's fully assembled but it only takes one dumb mistake to cost you extra. You can't apply the same level of force as when your fixing a lawnmower or a blender ;>).

 

[fermer]

Just to post an update:

I went to an Apple store to the Genius Bar. The clerk did a battery health check for my iPhone 5s. Apparently, my battery is still going strong and it is at 88%, which he said is quite good for a 4 year old phone. I also had a very small number of charging cycles. He also recommended me to do a fresh iTunes restore, which will supposedly decrease my battery drainage. I guess my issues are not that bad. However, it is strange that sometimes my phone will show the battery status at 2%, and then would suddenly jump to 24% right after plugging it.

In any case, I have decided not to install a fresh battery for the moment. I will most likely get an iPhone 7/8 during the holiday season when the prices should drop.