My iPhone 5 battery is a pusillanimous

[Ultra AleM]

Hello my dear friends! I have a problem with my almost 2 years old iPhone 5. Battery life is ridiculous! Around 3-4 hours of usage (not even heavy) and it's done. They told me to do a DFU reset setting the phone as new, but I cannot do it for two reasons:
1) my sleep button doesn't work, and this doesn't let me go in DFU.
2) I have some very important data that can't be saved using this method and I cannot loose it!

So, I was wondering how to see if there's a problem with the battery itself (hardware, and not software) and I was wondering if my silicon case could be a reason (maybe it attenuates the signals or stuff decreasing the battery life?)

Do you have some other advices? Thanks a lot

Ps: only use wifi. Cellular data is off, Bluetooth is off. GPS pops up sometimes but not that often. App refresh is on for a few apps, 2 mail accounts in push, 25% brightness. I tried to recover the phone 5 days ago but it did not improve (at least I got extra 5 GB of storage ahah).

 

[pickaxe]

Seeing as your power button is dead, did you check if you are eligible for a defective power button replacement? You might be able to get a whole new device and thus fix your battery issues as well.

 

[Ultra AleM]

Seeing as your power button is dead, did you check if you are eligible for a defective power button replacement? You might be able to get a whole new device and thus fix your battery issues as well.

Yes, I will fix it in August before selling it to buy the iPhone 6. I was wondering if, meanwhile, there was a solution for its last days in my hands XD

 

[SpyderBite]

With out the sleep/wake button you're pretty much out of luck. You could take it apart and see if the button will respond from inside the case, but you risk damaging the main board.

 

[sunking101]

Yes, I will fix it in August before selling it to buy the iPhone 6. I was wondering if, meanwhile, there was a solution for its last days in my hands XD

I only get an hour or so of longer use and my i5 is 13 months old. Pony up for a new battery.

 

[Ultra AleM]

With out the sleep/wake button you're pretty much out of luck. You could take it apart and see if the button will respond from inside the case, but you risk damaging the main board.

Yep, that would be risky. Is there a software solution or a software diagnostic app to see if the capacity of the battery has lowered or something? Or if there's an app that sucks it up? iOS 8 would be helpful here

 

[bova80]

Just buy a new battery. They are $25 on ifixit.com. My iPhone 5 had a defective battery and was out of warranty. Apple wanted $80 to fix it. I did it myself.

 

[Ultra AleM]

Just buy a new battery. They are $25 on ifixit.com. My iPhone 5 had a defective battery and was out of warranty. Apple wanted $80 to fix it. I did it myself.

Is it difficult to replace it? I'm not that expert...ish.

 

[bova80]

No. Took like 15 minutes. Hardest part is prying the old batter out because it's glued in. There are lots of how to's.

 

[Ultra AleM]

I'm also trying to tell if it's an hardware or a software problem

 

[sunking101]

I'm also trying to tell if it's an hardware or a software problem

Well, after 2 years your battery isn't going to be great. Have you tested it?
The battery doc app will tell you the number of cycles and your max charge capacity, as will iBackupbot on a pc.

 

[GalvaJ]

The last phone I used for two years was the 4S and I had to replace that battery 14 months in. I wasn't getting the battery life I had been getting months prior and it was a regular thing for it to die when it still read 5-12% remaining. And I calibrate my battery once a month. So I got one off of iFixit and replaced it. Definitely helped. At two years your battery is due for replacement I'd say.

 

[Ultra AleM]

Well, after 2 years your battery isn't going to be great. Have you tested it?
The battery doc app will tell you the number of cycles and your max charge capacity, as will iBackupbot on a pc.

Great, is this app on App Store? And is it free? Could you please link it to me? Thanks a lot

 

[sunking101]

Great, is this app on App Store? And is it free? Could you please link it to me? Thanks a lot

Battery Doc Professional. It's on the App Store and costs 80p in my country.
iBackupbot is a pc program and that's free. You just hook up your iPhone via the USB port.

 

[Ultra AleM]

Battery Doc Professional. It's on the App Store and costs 80p in my country.
iBackupbot is a pc program and that's free. You just hook up your iPhone via the USB port.

Ok I used another battery app that seems to be pretty cool and it says I have a 1424 mAh capacity. Isn't that extremely good?

 

[sunking101]

Ok I used another battery app that seems to be pretty cool and it says I have an almost 1424 mAh capacity. Isn't that extremely good?

That's what a new battery should have. The only app which tells you the number of charge cycles your battery has undertaken, and the present max capacity, is the one I mentioned.

 

[Ultra AleM]

That's what a new battery should have. The only app which tells you the number of charge cycles your battery has undertaken, and the present max capacity, is the one I mentioned.

Hasn't a new battery a 1,440 mAh capacity?

 

[sunking101]

Hasn't a new battery a 1,440 mAh capacity?

Yes, that's the useless info your app is telling you. I guarantee that your battery has far less.

 

[Ultra AleM]

Yes, that's the useless info your app is telling you. I guarantee that your battery has far less.

The app says 1424, not 1440...

 

[sunking101]

The app says 1424, not 1440...

I'm not familiar with the app you are using. Does it give two readings? One for a brand new battery and one for your battery?
A two year old battery in good condition will be showing way less than 1440, and a very worn battery will be lower than 700.
Mine is just over one year old and reads 1200

 

[Ultra AleM]

I'm not familiar with the app you are using. Does it give two readings? One for a brand new battery and one for your battery?
A two year old battery in good condition will be showing way less than 1440, and a very worn battery will be lower than 700.
Mine is just over one year old and reads 1200

It only gives that one (Battery capacity). I'm gonna download the app you suggested to me (0,89€). Wait a few minutes...

 

[sunking101]

It only gives that one (Battery capacity). I'm gonna download the app you suggested to me (0,89€). Wait a few minutes...

Click the 'battery health' button and then tell me your 'max cap'. Also the number of cycles. Ignore the pie chart and the figure on the lower left, that is just the present charge level and will be affected by whether you have a full charge or a partial charge. It is meaningless.

 

[Ultra AleM]

I'm not familiar with the app you are using. Does it give two readings? One for a brand new battery and one for your battery?
A two year old battery in good condition will be showing way less than 1440, and a very worn battery will be lower than 700.
Mine is just over one year old and reads 1200

Okay man that's the result. It says over 1250! That's good, hell!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iq3zx7tc6lmg512/Foto%2028-07-14%2000%2031%2053.png

 

[sunking101]

Okay man that's the result. It says over 1200! That's good, hell!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iq3zx7tc6lmg512/Foto%2028-07-14%2000%2031%2053.png

Nice one. It's not your battery then. I suggest doing a full iTunes restore and setting your phone up as new. My battery life has been crap ever since installing iOS7 umpteen months ago. Was yours performing well with iOS7 previously?

*Edit, sorry. Just seen that your power button is kaput. I wouldn't worry about a DFU restore, it is unnecessary. You can do a full restore as new without an operational power button.
Alternatively, as previously suggested, take your phone in for the button repairing. It is free of charge on most early iPhone 5 handsets.

 

[Ultra AleM]

Nice one. It's not your battery then. I suggest doing a full iTunes restore and setting your phone up as new. My battery life has been crap ever since installing iOS7 umpteen months ago. Was yours performing well with iOS7 previously?

*Edit, sorry. Just seen that your power button is kaput. I wouldn't worry about a DFU restore, it is unnecessary. You can do a full restore as new without an operational power button.
Alternatively, as previously suggested, take your phone in for the button repairing. It is free of charge on most early iPhone 5 handsets.

Does it mean I am really good with batteries if after two years is at 1280?

Anyways, I would like to try it but I would loose some important data (messages, apps data and stuff) and I can't really do it! Would iOS 8 help with the app monitoring feature? I could wait!