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My battery stopped fast draining. Here's how.

I did a restore through iTunes and set up the phone with 5.0.1 as new phone. I transferred my apps back to my phone from iTunes. I was having worse drain than with 5.0. I always have "send data to Apple" or whatever that setting is, turned off. Also turn off location services unless I need it along with bluetooth. I also leave cellular data on.

Some people mention this next step and many overlook it, but it made a world of difference for ME. Let the battery go / drain until the phone shuts off (just play Asphalt 6, that will drain the sucker) and then charge it back to 100%. I was charged to 100% at 4:00 PM Monday. I turn the phone off at night and have used it just for typical calls and emails and texts since then (phone stays on from about 8:30 AM through 11:30 PM). It is 1:45 PM Wednesday now and I have 40% battery left. It wasn't like this for me before. Highly recommend calibrating the battery. You don't need to do it very often.
 
Okay I'll start right on that ...

Be back to tell you if it worked in a month. :rolleyes:
 
UPDATE: Batt Life & Usage with Cellular Data On

Very pleased to see that I can turn on cellular data without it running usage up and battery down as it did just yesterday before a total overhaul.


96a5506b.jpg

..............excuse the jumbo image................


What a difference!
 
I didn't do any of the crap you did and I get similar if not better usage stats then you. Sooooo.....yea....
 
I wish people would stop thinking 10 hours of standby but only touching the phone for 30 minutes is a battery improvement. It's not. It's a smartphone, not a paperweight.
 
HeyGreggie said:
I wish people would stop thinking 10 hours of standby but only touching the phone for 30 minutes is a battery improvement. It's not. It's a smartphone, not a paperweight.
Click to expand...

Sure, it's a smartphone but when your phone is in standby and using just as much battery as if you were in a call then there's a problem. My usage and standby were almost identical while the phone sat.

You're right. Not using the phone is no improvement.
 
I have been restoring from backups since the original iPhone 1. No battery issues at all after restoring any of the backups as I purchased each phone throughout the years. Heck, I even still have text messages I created back on the iPhone 1.

I'm not quite understanding how any improvement can be made by wiping the entire iPhone clean and starting from scratch. When you buy a new phone, you are basically buying a clean operating system. iTunes simply restores your data, NOT the underlying function of the OS. If you start having battery issues, you probably have an issue somewhere in the OS or a setting that you forgot about that is constantly running.

I would suggest to anyone that before throwing a Hail Mary pass and wiping the entire iPhone clean, check your settings OR wait until Apple produces a fix (which they are working on now).

It would be rediculous to even suggest to anyone that re-creating your contacts would fix anything.
 
Chris Blount said:
I'm not quite understanding how any improvement can be made by wiping the entire iPhone clean and starting from scratch. When you buy a new phone, you are basically buying a clean operating system. iTunes simply restores your data, NOT the underlying function of the OS. If you start having battery issues, you probably have an issue somewhere in the OS or a setting that you forgot about that is constantly running.

I would suggest to anyone that before throwing a Hail Mary pass and wiping the entire iPhone clean, check your settings OR wait until Apple produces a fix (which they are working on now).

It would be rediculous to even suggest to anyone that re-creating your contacts would fix anything.
Click to expand...

Understanding it or not there is bugs and issues with faulty backups.
If you're the kind that likes to save texts from 6 years ago up to you but I just dont see the need. I'd rather setup as new at times to avoid issues like that. There's always going to be bugs around with older iphone or older firmware backups not playing nice with the new hardware and firmware version.
It is a well known documented thing and even Apple techs will advise you to setup as new if you continue to have software problems.
Wether you want to do it or not its up to you.
But saying its rediculous that you will see any improvement but setting up as new is pretty "rediculous":D
 
Chris Blount said:
I'm not quite understanding how any improvement can be made by wiping the entire iPhone clean and starting from scratch.
Click to expand...

It's true that there are those who have no issues with their phones and have done restores from past backups. I wish that was my experience.
But, for many there is a problem with the battery and corrupt or incompatible data could be the cause.

ZDNet shed a little more light on this and helped me decide to start from scratch.

I can say that I removed apps, turned off functions, drained the battery, said a prayer, and lit some incense without seeing lasting improvement.

So far, for me, this was what worked.
 
Chris Blount said:
Read my message again. I said re-creating contacts. I did NOT say setting up as new.
Click to expand...

Chris Blount said:
I'm not quite understanding how any improvement can be made by wiping the entire iPhone clean and starting from scratch.
Click to expand...


You said something similar above.
Either way, I dont see a point in recreating your contact list either.
You can transfer your contacts back using itunes without having to restore from backup.
 
offcamber said:
There is no doubt in my mind that this process isn't for everyone but it was the only way to make the phone usable again without purchasing a batt case.

The bottom line is that the iPhone community and Apple have yet to locate the exact source of the batt drain issue and I couldn't wait any longer.

As ZDNet proved that it was not a hardware issue (at least with the iPhones they tested) I guessed it was in the data on the phone originating from a corrupt backup file or something not playing nice with the new OS. I use multiple backups for iOs devices so I made a mistake along the way and choose the wrong one.

I hated to dump contacts but most were on my SIM.
Outlook calendar stuff will come back when you add your Exchange acct.
iTunes allows you to see all of your apps and then decide which or all to add back.

It became a battle to keep things turned off and the phone on charge all the time. If I ever forgot to charge it then the phone would be near death and one phone call would kill it.

Obviously no one has to follow this advice due to the unique setup of their phones but after many hours looking for a solution I said "F" it and started from square one.

It worked!
Click to expand...

Can't you wait for iOS 5.0.2 then do it?
 
offcamber said:
Very pleased to see that I can turn on cellular data without it running usage up and battery down as it did just yesterday before a total overhaul.


Image
..............excuse the jumbo image................


What a difference!
Click to expand...


Not sure what you did for the hour and half usage? but an 85% drain 15hr standby suggests 100hrs Total standbys at 1% drain per hour. Half apples quoted 200hrs. I'd be more interested in what your drain is on pure standby. It should be 0.5% an hour. 4% over an 8hr period. 2% over a 4 hr period or 1% over 2hr just to throw some figures out. It shouldn't be 1% or higher per hour.
 
I real wish there a feature that disabled cellular data when the phone is connected to WiFi. There is NO reason MY phone should be connected to and using 3G when I'm connected to WiFi.

As for that nuclear option, that's nuts. There's a service called The Google. Use it.
 
Thetonyk123 said:
Can't you wait for iOS 5.0.2 then do it?
Click to expand...

I waited for 5.01 and that didn't help.

For me, acting on the problem paid off.

Believe me, I tried many suggested fixes with mixed results.

----------
Pattycerts said:
LOL this process would take hours and is totally unnecessary
Click to expand...

Didn't take hours for me. I just didn't want to do it not knowing what the result would be.

For others the process would take more time and that's up to them to decide.

The possible benefit outweighed the time spent getting the right setup and results I now enjoy.
 
Their are so many variables that need to be taken into consideration as to why everyone's battery is performing differently.

  • How many firmware versions have you been restoring from a back-up?
  • Screen Brightness
  • Network and Notification Settings
  • How do you use your phone on a daily basis (for Calls, Music, Games etc...)
  • Network Reception (the less bars you have the harder your phone has to work to maintain a connection, resulting in less battery performance)
  • WiFi Reception (same as above^^)
  • Push email and how many email accounts you have set-up
  • Fetch Settins
  • Etc...

img0093x.png


When I upgraded to iOS 5 I Restored my device and Set it up as new, then I synced my Info and Media from iTunes and then I enabled iCloud, this is the best performance that I have been able to get out of my iPhone 4 under iOS 5.0 (I did my test before iOS 5.0.1).

11hrs 18min. Of that, 3hrs was Music from the Music.app (I commute for work and spend about 3hrs in my car round trip). The other 8 hrs was a mixture of Calls, Web Browsing, Emails, Games (Words with Friends, Edge Ex, Angry Birds, Spy Mouse) and texting (iMessages, I canceled my text plan and added a block).

Screen brightness is set around 60%-655
  • Notifications On
  • Push is ON
  • Fetch is set to Manual
  • Location Services is Locked, only Weather, Maps, Camera can use my Location

System Services
  • Cell Network Search On
  • Compass Calibration Off
  • Diagnostics & Usage Off
  • Location Based iAds Off
  • Setting Time Zone Off
  • Traffic On

Settings> General> About> Diagnostics & Usage> Don't Send
Settings> Mail, Contacts and Calendar> Fetch Manually (Push On)
 
This is ridiculous and leaves out many variables. I have nearly 400 contacts. Not to mention a bunch of apps. Oh and a life. This is impractical. The battery problem is a software problem that has been acknowledged by Apple. We'll see what 5.0.2 brings.
 
aztooh said:
If you don't already have a gmail account, make one. Set it up on your phone as an exchange account (google it if you don't know how, easy step by step instructions available). Follow the proper steps to get your contacts to your gmail account. Then set your phone up as new, re-add the exchange account and sync contacts (all done OTA).

There's been no need for quite some time now to plug your phone in to sync your contacts.
Click to expand...

Lol. I have a Gmail account and I don't want my contacts there. I use Entourage on my MAC to keep my contacts and am quite happy to sync them from there to my Iphone.
 
mcdj said:
What worked for me was wiping my phone, setting it up as a new phone, not downloading ANY apps, having NO contacts, putting it in Airplane mode permanently, covering the screen with black tape, placing it in a padded envelope and mailing it, first class, to a random PO Box in Alaska.

Battery life has been awesome since then. I assume.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the good laugh. Best one I had in weeks!
 
This seems to be a combination of what i've read to fix the issue. I've heard its a corruption of contacts from iOS4 and previous syncs/backups, and I've heard its memory leak from some various Apps, etc, or corrupted backups from the 4 or 3GS.

I have never been able to get over 5 hr of usage with my 4S, I have great standby time and no standby drain, but my usage time just drains so fast when using twitter or news apps. My cousin has a 4S and he just sent me a snapshot of his usage, 55 percent remaining, 5 hr usage, 6 hr standby....I'd kill for that...so its making me think that my backup or contacts from my previous phones could be bugging out my phone.

However, since the report is 5.0.2 next week, before I waste 2 hrs of my life doing this, I might just wait and see...

My avg usage:
Usage - 5 hrs roughly give or take
Standby 10-12 hrs easy.

Will take a pic next time.
 
put in contacts by hand? Are you delirious? haha I have over 400 contacts. some with multiple numbers, multiple emails,birthdays and some even have addresses. my battery isnt even bad and i restored a backup that has text messages all the way back to 09. I can get from like 7am-9pm before i get to 20%.
 
nebo1ss said:
Glad it works for you but maybe you don't have many contacts and calendar events. This would not be possible for some of us. I have over 250 contacts set up in Groups by Family, Friends, Business associates, Restaurants, Medical, Travel etc. All contacts have addresses, emails phone # There is no way i could ever enter all this data again.
Click to expand...

iCloud?
 
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