iPhone 6S - Huge battery drain (brand new phone)

[Andrei221]

Hello guys. 3 days ago I bought a new 6s (not refurbished !), with Battery Health 100%.
It came with iOS 12 from the box and then updated to 12.1.1 The drain is huge. I can actually see the battery going down as I write this post. I do not have other apps installed except gmail and WhatsApp . What can I do ?
I took it out at 8 AM and now at 2:20 PM i have 37% left with very light usage (only whatsapp as I said). Usage picture: https://imgur.com/a/rxvHGlY

 

[FeliApple]

It's almost 3 hours of usage on 50%. I'm using iOS 9 on my 6s, but isn't it somewhat normal? I have read many that said battery life was woeful on the 6s on iOS 12.
Many reports of around 4-5 hours of battery life, which would be on par with what you're seeing.
I'm not entirely sure whether that's normal, though, maybe someone else can weigh in?

 

[aakshey]

Hello guys. 3 days ago I bought a new 6s (not refurbished !), with Battery Health 100%.
It came with iOS 12 from the box and then updated to 12.1.1 The drain is huge. I can actually see the battery going down as I write this post. I do not have other apps installed except gmail and WhatsApp . What can I do ?
I took it out at 8 AM and now at 2:20 PM i have 37% left with very light usage (only whatsapp as I said). Usage picture: https://imgur.com/a/rxvHGlY

2hr 45 min usage and approx 50% left. That’s like 5+ hrs of usage from 100% to 0%. That seems normal for an iPhone 6s on iOS 12. I would be shocked if it lasted any longer.

 

[bodonnell202]

Sorry, but 6 hours & 45 minutes of screen on time in a 24 hour period is not very light usage.

 

[Andrei221]

@bodonnell202 - it was removed from battery at 8 am, so I didn't use it for 6hours from 100% to 50%.
From 8 am I went to work and just checked some emails + whatsapp and at 14:28 I had 35% battery. I did another charge now to 100% to see how it works

 

[C DM]

Generally speaking, first few days after an update aren't the best to judge battery life by. And this is even more so when it comes to new batteries which take at least some cycles (and thus some days) before they get to their peak capacity, or at least close enough to it.

 

[FeliApple]

@bodonnell202 - it was removed from battery at 8 am, so I didn't use it for 6hours from 100% to 50%.
From 8 am I went to work and just checked some emails + whatsapp and at 14:28 I had 35% battery. I did another charge now to 100% to see how it works

No, but according to the pic, you used it for three, which is more or less the norm on iOS 12.

 

[bodonnell202]

@bodonnell202 - it was removed from battery at 8 am, so I didn't use it for 6hours from 100% to 50%.
From 8 am I went to work and just checked some emails + whatsapp and at 14:28 I had 35% battery. I did another charge now to 100% to see how it works

Yes, but from the looks of things you used it for about 3 hours of screen on time after you took it off the charger which brought it to the 48% shown in the screen shot you provided.

 

[Andrei221]

Thank you for your opinions. I think I was used with my old android device (3800 mah) which lasted a lot longer.
I will keep an eye on the battery usage (i'm not used with the style from ios 12) and update the thread if necessary.

 

[Andrei221]

Look, is this normal? In 1h, 9 min screening time, all the usage is whatsapp. When i use the phone It drains 1% per min

Le: after posting i just browsed a bit, and already have 72%.

 

[aakshey]

80 mins and you're down to 75%.

That's like 4 hrs of screen time from 100% to 0%. That's normal for a 6s. A X might last 6-7 hrs or more of similar usage.

 

[FeliApple]

80 mins and you're down to 75%.

That's like 4 hrs of screen time from 100% to 0%. That's normal for a 6s. A X might last 6-7 hrs or more of similar usage.

Wow. That's a telltale sign regarding iOS updates. My 6s on iOS 9 is on 87% after 80 mins on-screen time.
I have said that already but really, I keep being surprised. Why do updates kill the battery so much? In my opinion, that's unacceptable.

 

[aakshey]

Wow. That's a telltale sign regarding iOS updates. My 6s on iOS 9 is on 87% after 80 mins on-screen time.
I have said that already but really, I keep being surprised. Why do updates kill the battery so much? In my opinion, that's unacceptable.

That’s probably a bit better than my X.

 

[FeliApple]

That’s probably a bit better than my X.

But wasn't the X getting 9-10 hours of on-screen time? Well, at least it was on iOS 11, or so I've seen. I do remember checking iPhone X's battery life thread and they all seemed to consistently - even if slightly, by around 30 minutes to an hour on 1% - outlast my 6s.
I did try an X on iOS 12 once, for around 30 minutes, and the drain if calculated by min/% seemed a little high compared to my 6s. (I think I extrapolated that to 99% - as the only percentage that isn't linear is 100%), and it gave me something like 7 hours. The phone was on extremely low brightness, settings off, and Low Power Mode on.
Of course I did not conclude anything from that: 30 minutes of usage on one charge isn't indicative of anything, but I was slightly surprised.

 

[aakshey]

But wasn't the X getting 9-10 hours of on-screen time? Well, at least it was on iOS 11, or so I've seen. I do remember checking iPhone X's battery life thread and they all seemed to consistently - even if slightly, by around 30 minutes to an hour on 1% - outlast my 6s.
I did try an X on iOS 12 once, for around 30 minutes, and the drain if calculated by min/% seemed a little high compared to my 6s. (I think I extrapolated that to 99% - as the only percentage that isn't linear is 100%), and it gave me something like 7 hours. The phone was on extremely low brightness, settings off, and Low Power Mode on.
Of course I did not conclude anything from that: 30 minutes of usage on one charge isn't indicative of anything, but I was slightly surprised.

I don’t recall properly for iOS 11. But I don’t think it would get 9-10 hrs screen time even on iOS 11. It might get 4 hrs Screen Time plus 5-6 hrs calling on iOS 11. Maybe. I don’t recall. But certainly not on iOS 12.

 

[JoeBM]

Hello guys. 3 days ago I bought a new 6s (not refurbished !), with Battery Health 100%.
It came with iOS 12 from the box and then updated to 12.1.1 The drain is huge. I can actually see the battery going down as I write this post. I do not have other apps installed except gmail and WhatsApp . What can I do ?
I took it out at 8 AM and now at 2:20 PM i have 37% left with very light usage (only whatsapp as I said). Usage picture: https://imgur.com/a/rxvHGlY

Does your battery level sometimes jump as well, for example from mid-thirties to single digits? Mine does that, but its health is at 83%, so I'm looking to take it to the store for a battery change.

 

[emembee]

On 12.1 my 6s battery seems good when fully charged but after getting below 50% it then seems to drain much faster. Capacity life is 87% on 276 cycles but this seems to change frequently to 82% the back up to 87. SO not really getting a full day but it is 2 years old.

 

[C DM]

On 12.1 my 6s battery seems good when fully charged but after getting below 50% it then seems to drain much faster. Capacity life is 87% on 276 cycles but this seems to change frequently to 82% the back up to 87. SO not really getting a full day but it is 2 years old.

Might be a good time to get it replaced.

 

[nordique]

X has a lot of variability, for example it lasts a lot longer on smart invert, and black backgrounds.

I do remember my 6s lasting a full day on iOS 9. It does drain faster on iOS 12, but it’s very fast on iOS 12...90% of the apps open identical speed to newer iPhones and the UI feels similarly responsive.

The processor reaches a higher clock sooner to help this, and I wonder if it plays a role or if there’s a bug some people might witness

OP, looks like your iPhone has lasted pretty long. You can always try low power mode to help, and give it a few days.

6s battery life is decent but not the greatest these days

 

[jefnot]

that is not normal or acceptable. i only have drain like that while using waze actively. if you're using it so little, why is the screen always on, do you have it at full brightness?
since that phone is 4 years old, maybe you should look into a new battery. i believe some of the apps will give you mah for battery capacity. could be helpful.

I don’t recall properly for iOS 11. But I don’t think it would get 9-10 hrs screen time even on iOS 11. It might get 4 hrs Screen Time plus 5-6 hrs calling on iOS 11. Maybe. I don’t recall. But certainly not on iOS 12.

Hello guys. 3 days ago I bought a new 6s (not refurbished !), with Battery Health 100%.
It came with iOS 12 from the box and then updated to 12.1.1 The drain is huge. I can actually see the battery going down as I write this post. I do not have other apps installed except gmail and WhatsApp . What can I do ?
I took it out at 8 AM and now at 2:20 PM i have 37% left with very light usage (only whatsapp as I said). Usage picture: https://imgur.com/a/rxvHGlY

 

[FeliApple]

X has a lot of variability, for example it lasts a lot longer on smart invert, and black backgrounds.

I do remember my 6s lasting a full day on iOS 9. It does drain faster on iOS 12, but it’s very fast on iOS 12...90% of the apps open identical speed to newer iPhones and the UI feels similarly responsive.

The processor reaches a higher clock sooner to help this, and I wonder if it plays a role or if there’s a bug some people might witness

OP, looks like your iPhone has lasted pretty long. You can always try low power mode to help, and give it a few days.

6s battery life is decent but not the greatest these days

I tried a 6s on iOS 12 and I found exactly this. The phone was fast, but battery life seemed like half that of my 6s on iOS 9. I'm getting 8-9 hours on-screen on iOS 9.

 

[C DM]

I tried a 6s on iOS 12 and I found exactly this. The phone was fast, but battery life seemed like half that of my 6s on iOS 9. I'm getting 8-9 hours on-screen on iOS 9.

How have you been measuring on-screen time?

 

[nordique]

I tried a 6s on iOS 12 and I found exactly this. The phone was fast, but battery life seemed like half that of my 6s on iOS 9. I'm getting 8-9 hours on-screen on iOS 9.

yeah. My thinking is that it has to do with how much sooner the higher frequencies in the CPU clocks, a feature that was introduced in iOS 12 and is one of the reasons every device has sped up. Even on iOS 10 the 6s was fine. This is pure speculation. I cannot think of anything else that has been introduced since iOS 9 that would cause such a battery drain. Keep in mind, unlike the iPhone 7 and more recent, the 6s does not have the low power of energy efficient cores, the A9 only has the two high power cores which are the primary processors and they are on all the time. It could be a bug related but I am not sure.

The flip side to this, is that iOS 12 absolutely flies on the 6s. Its super fast. Just goes to show how impressive the core tech in the A9 was and still is today. I have opened apps on it next to my XR for fun, which also has an LCD display and the latest and greatest A12 chip, and there's no difference in launching apps, outside of a few milliseconds or a few seconds in games. Everything else from scrolling to text messages to email to safari to calendar to control centre and notification centre....its all pretty much the same.

iPhone 6s is 3 generations old...I cannot recall a phone that was 3 generations old in the past performing this well (that is to say, almost identical to the current gen device) on the latest iOS version

last year on iOS 11, the iPhone 6 was a noticeably different experience to the iPhone 8
the year prior on iOS 10, the iPhone 5s was noticeably different to the iPhone 7
and the year prior on iOS 9, the iPhone 5 was noticeably different to the iPhone 6s
of the year before that the iPhone 4S was noticeably different to the iPhone 6 on iOS 8

They all held up well enough and were usable, like the iPhone 5s for example was still fine on iOS 10. It's just when you put them side by side to an iPhone 7 you could see a clear difference.

This is the first time I have not noticed a clear difference. It's amazing. The A9 was truly a step forward. People who got the 6s and have stuck to it, have certainly received incredible value for that device. Three years on and its still a powerful device, that can still handle anything you throw at it, with all the modern features one would need..I am sure the same will be true for those who hold on to the iPhone SE, 7, 8/X, XR/XS and onward

/end love letter to 6s lol

 

[FeliApple]

yeah. My thinking is that it has to do with how much sooner the higher frequencies in the CPU clocks, a feature that was introduced in iOS 12 and is one of the reasons every device has sped up. Even on iOS 10 the 6s was fine. This is pure speculation. I cannot think of anything else that has been introduced since iOS 9 that would cause such a battery drain. Keep in mind, unlike the iPhone 7 and more recent, the 6s does not have the low power of energy efficient cores, the A9 only has the two high power cores which are the primary processors and they are on all the time. It could be a bug related but I am not sure.

The flip side to this, is that iOS 12 absolutely flies on the 6s. Its super fast. Just goes to show how impressive the core tech in the A9 was and still is today. I have opened apps on it next to my XR for fun, which also has an LCD display and the latest and greatest A12 chip, and there's no difference in launching apps, outside of a few milliseconds or a few seconds in games. Everything else from scrolling to text messages to email to safari to calendar to control centre and notification centre....its all pretty much the same.

iPhone 6s is 3 generations old...I cannot recall a phone that was 3 generations old in the past performing this well (that is to say, almost identical to the current gen device) on the latest iOS version

last year on iOS 11, the iPhone 6 was a noticeably different experience to the iPhone 8
the year prior on iOS 10, the iPhone 5s was noticeably different to the iPhone 7
and the year prior on iOS 9, the iPhone 5 was noticeably different to the iPhone 6s
of the year before that the iPhone 4S was noticeably different to the iPhone 6 on iOS 8

They all held up well enough and were usable, like the iPhone 5s for example was still fine on iOS 10. It's just when you put them side by side to an iPhone 7 you could see a clear difference.

This is the first time I have not noticed a clear difference. It's amazing. The A9 was truly a step forward. People who got the 6s and have stuck to it, have certainly received incredible value for that device. Three years on and its still a powerful device, that can still handle anything you throw at it, with all the modern features one would need..I am sure the same will be true for those who hold on to the iPhone SE, 7, 8/X, XR/XS and onward

/end love letter to 6s lol

I have heard about that theory of the cores ramping up in order to increase the performance, too. Makes sense.
Regarding the rest, it's true. The 6s has held up remarkably well performance-wise. I tried an X compared to my 6s on iOS 9, and I even think the 6s was a little faster. That remaining "true or close enough" three iOS versions afterwards is a great achievement by Apple. Shame that it had to come with the battery life issue, though.
[doublepost=1546054124][/doublepost]

How have you been measuring on-screen time?

By using it? I don't understand the question, sorry. I used it and it dropped fast compared to my own 6s. End result was about 4 hours.

 

[C DM]

I have heard about that theory of the cores ramping up in order to increase the performance, too. Makes sense.
Regarding the rest, it's true. The 6s has held up remarkably well performance-wise. I tried an X compared to my 6s on iOS 9, and I even think the 6s was a little faster. That remaining "true or close enough" three iOS versions afterwards is a great achievement by Apple. Shame that it had to come with the battery life issue, though.
[doublepost=1546054124][/doublepost]
By using it? I don't understand the question, sorry. I used it and it dropped fast compared to my own 6s. End result was about 4 hours.

4 hours of use as in you took it off the charger at some point and 4 hours later it was basically dead? You mentioned on screen time, which would be somewhat different than that. In iOS versions prior to iOS 12 there wasn't much of a measurement of on screen time, while that now exists in iOS 12. That said, it seems that that measurement in iOS 12 might not always be correctly accounting for usage also, going by some personal experiences with it as well as those from some others across a few threads dealing with iOS 12 battery stats (and somewhat related screen time as well).