Original thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macrumors-site-forums-causing-battery-drain.2298839/
After a long and winding road, I think we've pinpointed an issue regarding complaints of iPhone/iPad battery drain while browsing MacRumors Forums.
It appears there is a Safari/Webkit issue that affects both macOS and iOS most recent versions. Some combination of Javascript triggers a persistently high CPU usage which doesn't go away when you navigate to another page on the same site. Once it starts, it persists throughout the session, including on static pages.
On iPhone/iPad: Force quit Safari and restart.
Based on my testing, this should reset this particular issue. Then you may continue browsing, though if it recurs, you may have to repeat this.
On Mac, you can use Chrome, Firefox or another browser of your choosing, which should sidestep the issue.
On iOS, unfortunately, all browsers use the same rendering engine, so switching browsers won't help.
Ad blockers or Subscribing to our Ad-free Tier has been inconsistent with fixing it, but I believe that's because once it starts, these interventions won't immediately fix it. You need to quit/relaunch your browser to clear the issue.
It's possible there are other reasons that can trigger this to start happening, but this is where we are right now.
arn
After a long and winding road, I think we've pinpointed an issue regarding complaints of iPhone/iPad battery drain while browsing MacRumors Forums.
It appears there is a Safari/Webkit issue that affects both macOS and iOS most recent versions. Some combination of Javascript triggers a persistently high CPU usage which doesn't go away when you navigate to another page on the same site. Once it starts, it persists throughout the session, including on static pages.
My iPhone/iPad/Mac is Hot with Battery Drain while using Safari. What do I do?
On Mac: Quit Safari (command Q), and restart.On iPhone/iPad: Force quit Safari and restart.
Based on my testing, this should reset this particular issue. Then you may continue browsing, though if it recurs, you may have to repeat this.
Can you stop it from happening?
We are working with our ad network to prevent this from happening, and have a hot-fix in place right now which I believe prevents it. However, the bug is in Webkit/Safari itself, so even if our ad-code doesn't trigger it, it's possible other Javascript could trigger it -- on this site and others. As a result, it won't completely get fixed until Webkit/Safari addresses it.On Mac, you can use Chrome, Firefox or another browser of your choosing, which should sidestep the issue.
On iOS, unfortunately, all browsers use the same rendering engine, so switching browsers won't help.
Ad blockers or Subscribing to our Ad-free Tier has been inconsistent with fixing it, but I believe that's because once it starts, these interventions won't immediately fix it. You need to quit/relaunch your browser to clear the issue.
It's possible there are other reasons that can trigger this to start happening, but this is where we are right now.
arn
Last edited:
