iPhone 6 plus is charging but battery level decreasing

[L-Tuned]

I know it sounds like bs but it just happened to my 64gb 6 plus while I was charging it (via PC USB to be specific). I started charging it at 50%, then I left it on my desk. After 2 hours later, I found the phone is really hot and the battery level is down to 38% . I know it sounds like some app is running hot so I checked the battery usage immediately, only found Whatsapp at 32% and Home & Lock screen at 11%, and other apps at less than 10%. Nothing was uploading (ie. Dropbox, iCloud, etc.). This is 1st time happened since I've owned the original iPhone and I have charging with PC USB since all the time. Has anyone else experienced this before? do I have a bad device?

 

[Trebuin]

I know it sounds like bs but it just happened to my 64gb 6 plus while I was charging it (via PC USB to be specific). I started charging it at 50%, then I left it on my desk. After 2 hours later, I found the phone is really hot and the battery level is down to 38% . I know it sounds like some app is running hot so I checked the battery usage immediately, only found Whatsapp at 32% and Home & Lock screen at 11%, and other apps at less than 10%. Nothing was uploading (ie. Dropbox, iCloud, etc.). This is 1st time happened since I've owned the original iPhone. Has anyone else experienced this before? do I have a bad device?

If your computer is not a mac, then this is expected, at least by me. USB by standard should only provide .5 amps. I'm willing to bet the phone is burning more than that and thus, it drains, slower than normal, though.

Example...I have an iPad 2 with a 2.1 amp charger. When I'm not charging it, my jailbreak info says it drains at 1 amp. I plug it in and it shows charging at 1 amp, not 2, because the rest is going t run the iPad while charging. My watt meter says that it is drawing 2 amps like expected. Hopefully that clears it up.

 

[L-Tuned]

If your computer is not a mac, then this is expected, at least by me. USB by standard should only provide .5 amps. I'm willing to bet the phone is burning more than that and thus, it drains, slower than normal, though.

Example...I have an iPad 2 with a 2.1 amp charger. When I'm not charging it, my jailbreak info says it drains at 1 amp. I plug it in and it shows charging at 1 amp, not 2, because the rest is going t run the iPad while charging. My watt meter says that it is drawing 2 amps like expected. Hopefully that clears it up.

I undertand the charging speed is a lot slower when it charging via a PC USB, but I have been charging with my work PC USB since the day I start using the iPhone 5, I'd say a good 80% of time juice are charged via this PC since the day 1. However, I just own this 6 plus less than 2 weeks and this is my 2nd time charging via this PC. The first time took a good 7 hours from 20% to 100% (no decreasing) when it only takes about 4 hours with iPhone 5. I think it has nothing to do with # of amp here, I understand it charges much much slower via PC USB but decreasing? for real?

 

[noobinator]

This phone uses much more juice than previous iterations.

 

[Trebuin]

I undertand the charging speed is a lot slower when it charging via a PC USB, but I have been charging with my work PC USB since the day I start using the iPhone 5, I'd say a good 80% of time juice are charged via this PC since the day 1. However, I just own this 6 plus less than 2 weeks and this is my 2nd time charging via this PC. The first time took a good 7 hours from 20% to 100% (no decreasing) when it only takes about 4 hours with iPhone 5. I think it has nothing to do with # of amp here, I understand it charges much much slower via PC USB but decreasing? for real?

I'm telling you, the 6 and 6+ require more power. My iPad will do the slowest drain on my 1 amp chargers while showing itself charging. Thinks like cell reception, wifi connection, light settings, use all affect the charging and power use.

PCs power at .5 amps while Macs should power at 1 amp.

 

[L-Tuned]

I'm telling you, the 6 and 6+ require more power. My iPad will do the slowest drain on my 1 amp chargers while showing itself charging. Thinks like cell reception, wifi connection, light settings, use all affect the charging and power use.

PCs power at .5 amps while Macs should power at 1 amp.

I heard ya already and I already knew 6 and 6+ require more power, but it should still be able to charge via a PC USB no matter how much MORE power it requires.

As the 2nd post you quoted, I stated "The first time took a good 7 hours from 20% to 100% (no decreasing)". It took almost double the time to charge a 6+ as opposed to the 5.

 

[scaredpoet]

do I have a bad device?

You probably do now. Whatever happened in this last charging cycle caused physical damage. It could be that the battery overheated and is now bulging.

I would definitely take it to be looked at.

 

[zorinlynx]

I heard ya already and I already knew 6 and 6+ require more power, but it should still be able to charge via a PC USB no matter how much MORE power it requires.

As the 2nd post you quoted, I stated "The first time took a good 7 hours from 20% to 100% (no decreasing)". It took almost double the time to charge a 6+ as opposed to the 5.

Lots of things in life SHOULD be, but aren't.

PC USB ports only provide 0.5 amps. That's not enough to charge the 6+ if the phone is active.

 

[Trebuin]

I heard ya already and I already knew 6 and 6+ require more power, but it should still be able to charge via a PC USB no matter how much MORE power it requires.

As the 2nd post you quoted, I stated "The first time took a good 7 hours from 20% to 100% (no decreasing)". It took almost double the time to charge a 6+ as opposed to the 5.

Here's some rough math:
iphone 6+ has just under 3000mAmps (3 ams) for simplicity.
If it runs and lasts 36 hrs, it is using 83 mah power...round up to 100
PC USB charger is rated at 500mah, so yes, it should charge it.

PC law: if you plug in something, power is divided equally...no control over this.
If you have a mouse and keyboard plugged in, the usb is only capable of providing 167mah. It will charge your phone at 67, because 100 is being used to run it (closer to 80). If you plug three more devices in, the power goes to 83 and will not charge your phone anymore. I'm only guestimating your iPhones draw, but if you have a weak cell reception, that power can easily go up to 200ma to keep connection. If that's the case, your phone will definitely discharge on a usb charger. USB hubs make things much worse unless they are self powered. Look into that and see if that helps.

 

[fs454]

This is normal - use the Apple charger that came with it, a Mac, or better yet, the 12w charger that they sell as an accessory if you want fast charging. If its an issue of convenience, grab a longer Lightning cable - it's worth it to get this thing charged up in a reasonable amount of time. The 12w charger can do it in 2 hours.

My 2009 BMW does the same thing, it has a standard 0.5a USB port. Even my 5S would lose battery while charging if I was using GPS with the screen on.

 

[winterny]

Like others are saying, this is unfortunately expected. The device is much larger, and if it's active, it will use much more power. More power than the computer is putting out for "charging", and you will just end up with a "slower discharge" rather than actually charging your device.

The same thing happens from my car's iPod integration, if I have the screen on and I'm using Waze (which activates the GPS and uses even more power). If I leave the screen off, and just play music, it does (slowly) charge.

As far as charging options from a computer -- USB3 ports also are full-powered, so a modern PC will also be able to charge it at full speed.

This same issue will happen on a large android device like a Note as well.

 

[heisenberg123]

a rouge app could be running

 

[tl01]

With my 6 plus, charging it in my car with my car charger from a previous generation phone...the phone would just decrease. The charger's only purpose was to charge... and it could not keep up where as it could charge my iPhone 5 quickly. I'm guessing the port you have was okay with other phones but not this one. Try charging with something like the original equipment and see what happens. USB ports on computers have varying charging capabilities from none to being able to charge an iPad.