iPhone 6 Battery Drain - Please Help! :(

[r-m]

if you have an ipad w same icloud acct and settings then i think you could rule out a corupt icloud acct if it works ok. removing safari bookmarks sync helped a couples yeras ago. but think they fixed that

True. Though I'm not sure I would notice excessive battery usage on my iPad, because that thing's a beast for battery life anyway.

I might set up a Google docs form, asking for the following inputs:
Model, size, colour, network, usage time since full charge, standby time since full charge, wifi/cellular mix (most wifi, mostly not, a similar mix), set up as new or restore, and anything else anyone can think is relevant?

Might highlight if there's a particular network that's better or worse than others.

 

[meagain]

r-m - That would be a great thing if you did that. Then we can see where everyone's at and also the 6 Plus. I'm curious to compare the 6 to the 6+

I might try to 'put up with' the Plus if it's better battery in real life.

 

[r-m]

Made a post about battery not draining so much in the last half hour... Deleted it cos must have just been fluke ha.
Gonna try switching off 4G on my next charge cycle. I'm on the Three network in the UK, and rollout isn't complete yet.

 

[shox2k2]

I'm not sure it charges whilst it's off?

It will charge while it's off. Usually once the power runs out and you plug it in it will power on. But you can then turn it off. I'm not sure if it helps or not. I only cycle the battery the first couple charges. My iPhone 5 battery never really ever improved but it also never really got much worse. I'm usually able to have a charger near by anyway if needed and usually don't stream more than 3-4 hrs anyway. I'd just like to have a usage time over 8 hrs.

 

[Dick Whitman]

DFU Mode restore.

Spotlight is always culprit. And, Background App Refresh...

Also, changing Mail app setting to manual, instead of Push/Fetch

Yep, thinking of doing a DFU restore. Is there any specific way to do this, or can I just follow the instructions I find via Google? Also, if I have an iCloud account that is corrupt, am I safe to still sign into that account? I wouldn't be restoring from any kind of backup. Just singing into an iCloud account for my contacts, notes, etc. I have disabled background app refresh completely and have now done the same for spotlight.

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I am wondering that, about a corrupt iCloud account.
I did set up my 6 as new, but it's the same iCloud account as I had on my 5S.


Example of corrupt settings being around on a new device - iPad safari tab reload. I'd set up my iPad air as new, added my iCloud account, email, and installed a few apps. It was reloading tabs when I only had 3 open and no other apps (had literally just switched on the iPad). After resetting settings (Settings- General- Reset- Reset all settings), my safari tabs stopped reloading so much and could have as much as 8 open before I noticed reloads.

Please update us on how you go, not adding the iCloud account

So after restoring my phone and setting it up as a new device, the battery still began to drop quickly. The phone will stay on 100% for about 12 mins or so and then drop 1% every 1 to 3 minutes after that. I signed into a different iCloud (that has nothing on it), but was still experiencing poor battery life so I just signed back into the iCloud account I typically use. I am going to attempt a DFU restore and possibly trying to create a new iCloud account altogether.

 

[r-m]

It will charge while it's off. Usually once the power runs out and you plug it in it will power on. But you can then turn it off. I'm not sure if it helps or not. I only cycle the battery the first couple charges. My iPhone 5 battery never really ever improved but it also never really got much worse. I'm usually able to have a charger near by anyway if needed and usually don't stream more than 3-4 hrs anyway. I'd just like to have a usage time over 8 hrs.

Annoying. Had typed a reply on my iPad air then left it to do something on a few other apps, came back, and the tab reloaded on my iPad so I lost what I typed.
Luckily one of the other apps was notes to make a note of battery % and times...

Anyway, so it does! Im sure it didn't on earlier iPhones, so haven't tried on recent ones.
Switched off at 18:25 at 33%, on again 22 minutes later at 58%, 25% up.

Then checked again 19:00 - 72%, 22 minutes later was at 90%. 18% up whilst charging switched on.
Not surprising its a little quicker.

That was on my iPhone 6 using an iPad power adapter.

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Yep, thinking of doing a DFU restore. Is there any specific way to do this, or can I just follow the instructions I find via Google?

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I am going to attempt a DFU restore and possibly trying to create a new iCloud account altogether.

You may have to try your last option.
Mine was a DFU restore, but with my existing iCloud account.

Google instructions will be fine, although I had to release the power button slightly quicker than ten seconds (about 1 second after the screen goes black, but I missed it a few times)

 

[r-m]

r-m - That would be a great thing if you did that. Then we can see where everyone's at and also the 6 Plus. I'm curious to compare the 6 to the 6+

I might try to 'put up with' the Plus if it's better battery in real life.

Soooo I had some time to kill, and created a form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BXvQW-gRP1GQvx06ElACCTu3dPhOe9JX42P22Z6VVwI/viewform

Google docs form, asks questions about device model, size, brightness setting, usage time, standby time.
I've only entered options for iPhone 5 and later (5, 5S, 5C, 6, 6+).
If there are any questions anyone can think of to add, let me know.

Once there's a fair amount of results, I'll put some stats of some sort together (ie, average time per model, max, min).

 

[Dick Whitman]

Soooo I had some time to kill, and created a form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BXvQW-gRP1GQvx06ElACCTu3dPhOe9JX42P22Z6VVwI/viewform

Google docs form, asks questions about device model, size, brightness setting, usage time, standby time.
I've only entered options for iPhone 5 and later (5, 5S, 5C, 6, 6+).
If there are any questions anyone can think of to add, let me know.

Once there's a fair amount of results, I'll put some stats of some sort together (ie, average time per model, max, min).

Just completed.

Pretty interesting. Hopefully more complete this so we get a better idea of battery life across the new iPhones.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Well, I performed a full DFU restore, and did not sign into, access, or associate any of my existing or previous Apple ID's or iCloud accounts with my iPhone 6 after performing the restore. Just curious, after performing a DFU restore, should I also have performed a typical restore where iOS 8 is downloaded again via iTunes?

Anyway, before disconnecting my phone from my MacBook, I disabled all suspect setting configurations. The results? Still losing 1% every 2 minutes or so, which is on par again for a battery life of roughly 5 hours. During this time, I was only browsing MacRumors (e.g. scrolling through a single page) and making a brief phone call. I had not even installed a single third-party application yet, as I had not created a new Apple ID or accessed my existing one.

At this point, I have come to the realization that based on my current usage, cellular network (Verizon, LTE), and location, real-world battery life in the iPhone 6 just isn't very good. I am absolutely bewildered as to how some can achieve a battery life of over 7 hours and beyond. I went through a period with the iPhone 5 where I swapped out devices for new ones, performed restores, etc., but still ultimately experienced the same measly battery life. One may argue that I performed device swaps too early into the launch period, and inevitably received similar units or some of those units plagued with manufacturing defects as it relates to the lithium-ion battery, but there comes a point where you can only do so much.

So now I'm wondering what I should do next. Here are my options:

1. Accept mediocre battery life for another year and hope that the A9 and M9 provide a small improvement. Wait for Mophie or other battery case manufactures to provide a temporary solution.

2. Make the hour drive through rush-hour traffic to my Apple store to have them perform some diagnostics and potentially swap my device out for another. Is it possible though, before surrendering my current device, to use a demo or test model over a cellular network and/or WiFi to see if I achieve similar or different results from those on my current phone? One thing I dislike about the Apple lottery is that when you perform a device swap you may encounter another issue that you had not previously experienced.

3. Return my iPhone 6, pay another $100, and go for the Plus. My only concern with this option is that, based on my current real-world battery life with the iPhone 6 (5.5 hours), I'm not sure I would really see a significant improvement, with respect to battery life, to really warrant the trade-off of carrying a bigger device and totally forgoing one-handed usability. If I elect to choose this option, however, can I return my iPhone 6 through Apple even though I purchased it from Best Buy?

 

[mario-64]

I too am dealing with this on my 6. Standby is fine. Barely drops at all. But the minute I turn it on and start web surfing it drops 1% every 5 mins or so. My 5 under ios 7 was WAY better than that. I have background app refresh disabled and brightness set to maybe 25%. Also tried different browsers. Same drain while surfing...and this is wifi not cellular data