need some advice

[SaleenS351]

I need to know if I should exchange my iPhone. I know the battery issue has been discussed to death, but my return date ends tomorrow and I need some advice. I've had my phone for 13 days and have a gone through quite a few charge cycles. and I still have the same battery life as I did when I got the phone. It seemed today that the battery life is getting worse. After 10 min. Of phone calls and 45 min. Of safari on wifi my battery went down to 90% with about 1 hour usage and 2 hr standby. Right now stats are:

3hr 47 Min. Usage
11hr 29 min. Standby

Battery is at 20%

For what its worth its a 5 series.

Nothing else is wrong with it except for the battery but I think this is a bit under par.


Thoughts?

 

[unity]

Have you tried a deep cycle. Not a good idea to do it often, but for all you know the battery life is fine but the phone is reading it wrong. Try this:

Get it down to 10 percent or less. Then plug it into the wall charger or USB port and make sure it fully charges *over night*. Try not to use it and turning off the radios helps it charge faster it seems.

Some use it and drain it back and repeat a second time - its not needed.

Try that an see what happens. If its still sub-par and you want to keep and iPhone, remember you have a 1 year warranty and it will cover the battery. So you have a full year to return it for exchange under warranty.

 

[SaleenS351]

So I can have them replace the battery any time within the one year warranty? Just as easy as telling them my battery performance isn't where I think it should be?

If that's the case that would be awesome. As I stated nothing else seems to be wrong with the phone.

I have done a complete drain of the battery and full charge over night before, after that I would charge frequently and whenever possible, then today it just started dropping like a rock.

 

[unity]

Yes, you have a year. 14 days to return for refund, after that its yours. So, your covered.

Have you changed your charging method at all? From computer USB versus wall charger?

I rarely use my wall charger now. Some have reported odd issues with it.

Next time you deplete it, try charging back via USB. Make sure the computer does not go to sleep or it will not get charged. Its worth a shot.

 

[SaleenS351]

That's how I'm charging now. I also just did a restore through iTunes so we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

How come people are rushing to exchange their iPhones due to poor battery performance within the return period?

Edit: This warranty does not apply: (a) to damage caused by use with non-Apple products; (b) to damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire,
earthquake or other external causes; (c) to damage caused by operating the product outside the permitted or intended uses described by Apple; (d)
to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized
Service Provider (“AASP”); (e) to a product or part that has been modified to alter functionality or capability without the written permission of Apple; (f )
to consumable parts, such as batteries, unless damage has occurred due to a defect in materials or workmanship; (g) to cosmetic damage, including but
not limited to scratches, dents and broken plastic on ports; or (h) if any Apple serial number has been removed or defaced.

 

[[G5]Hydra]

That is surprising as the 5 series are purportedly superior in battery life

Seriously though you do seem to be on the short end of the stick in regard to battery life. What are your settings? BT on or off? Wifi ask to join on or off? Brightness level and auto adjust on and off? Mail auto check time? Many things will affect battery life so start by telling us what you are using? Also keep in mind if you have weak signal strength constantly it will drain your standby time far quicker, this isn't so much an iPhone issue as a cell phone one in general one.

 

[SaleenS351]

That is surprising as the 5 series are purportedly superior in battery life

Seriously though you do seem to be on the short end of the stick in regard to battery life. What are your settings? BT on or off? Wifi ask to join on or off? Brightness level and auto adjust on and off? Mail auto check time? Many things will affect battery life so start by telling us what you are using? Also keep in mind if you have weak signal strength constantly it will drain your standby time far quicker, this isn't so much an iPhone issue as a cell phone one in general one.

BT-off
Wifi ask to join-off
Brightness level-30%, auto adjust-off
mail auto check-1 hour
Strong signal strength i live in an area with really good coverage. I surf the web about 2 hours give or take on wifi always shut it off when i'm done. 30min. tops iPod use. other use is phone calls, notes,calendar, texting.

 

[unity]

BT-off
Wifi ask to join-off
Brightness level-30%, auto adjust-off
mail auto check-1 hour
Strong signal strength i live in an area with really good coverage. I surf the web about 2 hours give or take on wifi always shut it off when i'm done. 30min. tops iPod use. other use is phone calls, notes,calendar, texting.

Well if you drop 20 percent doing all that, thats not really bad. Turning off WiFi all together if not needed will help. Checking mail every our is ok, anymore and it really starts to drain.

For me surfing the net takes the most. I think Apple said 8 hours of net use so there is you 20 percent (give or take) right there really. I surf about 6 hours a day with no iPod use and little talk time generally. I typically have to re-charge everyday but its not from a depleted state. I could maybe make it two days.

 

[jecapaga]

Funny because I had one major battery issue where it was charged supposedly to almost full the second night i had the phone and it drained 100% over night and wouldn't even turn on or respond to plugging in. A reset eventually fixed it and I charged it but went to see a 'genuis' at the apple store and he said, quote, "the iphone will not charge via usb." I said, uh, it most definitely does/should. We bickered a bit and then he said either way to never use usb to charge because it is not a quality charge and that is possibly why I had my problem. Fortunately I haven't had any issues again but I left the store shaking my head a bit. The other issue I complained about was the earpiece volume but was shot down when the 'genius' took my phone in the back and came back proclaiming that it was within spec. I digress...

Yes, you have a year. 14 days to return for refund, after that its yours. So, your covered.

Have you changed your charging method at all? From computer USB versus wall charger?

I rarely use my wall charger now. Some have reported odd issues with it.

Next time you deplete it, try charging back via USB. Make sure the computer does not go to sleep or it will not get charged. Its worth a shot.

 

[unity]

Funny because I had one major battery issue where it was charged supposedly to almost full the second night i had the phone and it drained 100% over night and wouldn't even turn on or respond to plugging in. A reset eventually fixed it and I charged it but went to see a 'genuis' at the apple store and he said, quote, "the iphone will not charge via usb." I said, uh, it most definitely does/should. We bickered a bit and then he said either way to never use usb to charge because it is not a quality charge and that is possibly why I had my problem. Fortunately I haven't had any issues again but I left the store shaking my head a bit. The other issue I complained about was the earpiece volume but was shot down when the 'genius' took my phone in the back and came back proclaiming that it was within spec. I digress...

I agree that charging via USB is not best. There are too many power-management issues that could crop up. But like you, I do it and it seems to work well. I should do some tests, but I swear I get a better charge off USB even though it charges slower.

By the way, has anyone noticed the wall charger is an iPod charger? My is labeled as such, not specifically for an iPhone.

 

[SaleenS351]

Well if you drop 20 percent doing all that, thats not really bad. Turning off WiFi all together if not needed will help. Checking mail every our is ok, anymore and it really starts to drain.

For me surfing the net takes the most. I think Apple said 8 hours of net use so there is you 20 percent (give or take) right there really. I surf about 6 hours a day with no iPod use and little talk time generally. I typically have to re-charge everyday but its not from a depleted state. I could maybe make it two days.

I meant that is when my 20% warning came on. it dropped 10% with 45 min. of safari use with wifi on. Are you saying that is to be expected?

 

[After G]

20% of the rated 8 hours web browsing time is 1.6 hours or 96 minutes.

45 minutes is close to 50% of that time so using half the expected time should use half the remaining charge, no? Sounds reasonable to me.

 

[unity]

I meant that is when my 20% warning came on. it dropped 10% with 45 min. of safari use with wifi on. Are you saying that is to be expected?

Oh ok, no - thats not to be expected. Try one more good charge and try again if you can. If not, write down the numbers you get and take it in. If you have something on paper and prepared you will stand up better to an exchange.

 

[SaleenS351]

Oh ok, no - thats not to be expected. Try one more good charge and try again if you can. If not, write down the numbers you get and take it in. If you have something on paper and prepared you will stand up better to an exchange.

I thought they were exchanging iphones pretty much no questions asked

 

[SaleenS351]

ok so here's the update:

Usage-6hr 13min
standby-8hr 28min

~2hr safari wifi on
~2hr iPod
~1 1/2hr video
~12min phone calls
8 or so SMS

And the rest just a little messing around.

Battery is at about 35-40% remainng.

Def. Better than the other day. Should i hang on to it?

 

[plumbingandtech]

ok so here's the update:

Usage-6hr 13min
standby-8hr 28min

~2hr safari wifi on
~2hr iPod
~1 1/2hr video
~12min phone calls
8 or so SMS

And the rest just a little messing around.

Battery is at about 35-40% remainng.

Def. Better than the other day. Should i hang on to it?

I would.

 

[jecapaga]

ok so here's the update:

Usage-6hr 13min
standby-8hr 28min

~2hr safari wifi on
~2hr iPod
~1 1/2hr video
~12min phone calls
8 or so SMS

And the rest just a little messing around.

Battery is at about 35-40% remainng.

Def. Better than the other day. Should i hang on to it?

This doesn't seem like a terrible battery time at all to me. Mine currently is: standby 40hrs, useage 2hrs 16 mins with useage being a little safari, no ipod and a few phone calls. wifi off when not browsing, bluetooth off and only manual check on email. I'm at about 50%

 

[SaleenS351]

Well I just spoke with apple tech support and they said it didn't sound like my battery was performing like it should and will replace the phone. I have an appoinment tomorrow at the local pple store where they said they will be able to run some tests to see if the battery is bad don't know what test that could be. They also said they would do an exchange even if it's after the return period, my apple store said you have a year to exchange if under warranty they wouldn't said it away to be repaired, pretty good. I guess I'll see what they have to say. Like I said I don't wanna exchange it and end up with more problems.

 

[[G5]Hydra]

ok so here's the update:

Usage-6hr 13min
standby-8hr 28min

~2hr safari wifi on
~2hr iPod
~1 1/2hr video
~12min phone calls
8 or so SMS

And the rest just a little messing around.

Battery is at about 35-40% remainng.

Def. Better than the other day. Should i hang on to it?

That doesn't sound bad. The way I think about using the iPhone is the phone has about 8ish hours of continuous usage for calls, safari, and video combined. Some things a little more some a little less of course. EDGE will use more life with Safari than wifi. Video can be less battery draining than browsing. Music playback over the earbuds won't use much battery life so I don't factor it in too much in day to day use. The short of it is if you use about 4 hours of a combination of Safari-Video-Calls you will have around 50% of the battery left over the course of the day.

 

[SaleenS351]

That doesn't sound bad. The way I think about using the iPhone is the phone has about 8ish hours of continuous usage for calls, safari, and video combined. Some things a little more some a little less of course. EDGE will use more life with Safari than wifi. Video can be less battery draining than browsing. Music playback over the earbuds won't use much battery life so I don't factor it in too much in day to day use. The short of it is if you use about 4 hours of a combination of Safari-Video-Calls you will have around 50% of the battery left over the course of the day.

I think your right, I just think my paranoia is setting in. You read all these people getting the same amount of usage(about 6hr's.) With a day+ standby and there at 50% battery. That's what I think has gotten into my head. And I don't know what to attribute the poor performance to the other day. I ended up with at the 20% warning:

6hr 56 min usage
9hr 43min standby

thanks everyone for your opinions and advice.

 

[SaleenS351]

I put a bestskinever cover on the back of my phone, should I remove this before I take it into the apple store? DOes it void the warranty?

 

[SaleenS351]

Just wanted to give an update:

I did exchange my iphone the other day after the 14 days and tgey did replace it on the spot. My new phone is 7 series and the battery life is much much better same kind usage and not even a full drain of the battery and my stats are:

4hr 12 Min usage
1 day 1hr standby
40% battery left I'm having trouble draining it for a deep charge.

The only problem is the black backing isn't flush completely but I can deal with that. I might see later about a repair, if its covered under warranty. Just wanted to let those know who were having the same stats as me that you can do better. I gave my phone about three weeks and nothing changed with more charges, not to say it wouldn't have but I didn't think something was right.