Replacement 4S -- new battery just as bad.

[scrappledog]

I had a 4S that had been heavily used since December replaced under AppleCare+ for water damage. Was told at Apple Store that, yes, the motherboard may be a reused one, but that camera and battery were brand new. I also have an iPhone 4 that, since I bought the 4S, was provided to me by my job.

This reaffirms it. The 4S battery life -- even when the battery is new -- is just god-awful.

Shockingly bad.

 

[RotaryP7]

Indeed.

 

[Geckotek]

I'm going to disagree. To start, your providing no data to back up your opinion such as what apps you're running and how good the signal is in your area. It's strictly anecdotal. Also, what are you comparing against? Is your comparison phone being used in the exact same locations with the same apps and same legal of usage. Is there a control?

What I've found was this, my iPhone 4S battery was doing fine, e made it through the day. That is until I started a new job. At the new job I consistently get 3-4 bars on "4G". But the data is slowwww and the battery barely makes it through my work day. My co-worker, with a Sprint iPhone 4S has no battery issues. So you see, sometimes it's not the phone. It could easily be a network issue or it could be some new app you are using sucking up more battery. Could be increased BT usage as well.

In my experience, the iPhone 4s battery is fine, depending on the conditions it's running under. BTW, I suggest getting Carat to watch you power hungry or buggy apps.

 

[FrankHahn]

I had an experience that restoring the iPhone 4S greatly improved the usage of battery.

I had a problem of battery drain over 20% overnight while it was in the airplane mode. I took it to an Apple Authorized Service Provider and they did not find anything wrong with the battery. I then restored the iPhone. Now the battery drain is <2% overnight in the airplane mode.

The longest time lasted between two recharges was 4 days, with very few calls, some texts, and music playing for several hours.

 

[lordofthereef]

Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal. I get exactly the same usage out of my 4S as I did out of my 4. Have had it since launch and none of the updates increased/decreased battery life. I can make the statement that the 4S battery is definitely great, but I won't. I can say that more people seem to be happy with it than not.

 

[daneoni]

The 4S battery isn't bad. Your usage model is just too power hungry.

 

[Leonard1818]

4s owner here and the battery is great! I was really worried about the battery before I got it. I had done some reading but went for it anyway. Really glad I did since its so much better than the old android

 

[wordoflife]

Battery is fine for me. Then again, we use our phones differently so it's hard to say.

Though I must admit that my new iPad is much better compared to my 4S. Also must say it takes a lot longer to charge up too.

 

[RyanF]

When I first got my 4S the battery seemed weak but after a month it definitely strengthened up with calibration.

 

[SqueekerLite]

Try closing apps that you aren't using and turn down the brightness of the screen... it helps.

Also, it does take a new battery about a month for fully "calibrate" to full capacity.

 

[pk7]

My battery is just fine on iOS 5.1.1. More than 2 days on one charge is easy. It was terrible on 5.0.1 though. Would not go through half the day without dying. But 5.1 made a huge difference.

Though I must admit that my new iPad is much better compared to my 4S. Also must say it takes a lot longer to charge up too.

Um, I'm honestly not trying to be snarky, but that's just how it naturally is...you're comparing a device meant to last 1 month on standby vs. a device that is meant to last 200 hours on standby.

"The new iPad" has a 42.5 W-h battery that is 11,600 mAh.
iPhone 4S has a 5.3 W-h battery that is 1,432 mAh.

Of course the iPad is gonna last longer. And, of course it's going to take longer to charge. It is fueling up a battery that is absolutely massive, and one that has to power 5x the amount of pixels of the 4S and two additional GPU cores.

 

[wordoflife]

Um, I'm honestly not trying to be snarky, but that's just how it naturally is...you're comparing a device meant to last 1 month on standby vs. a device that is meant to last 200 hours on standby.

"The new iPad" has a 42.5 W-h battery that is 11,600 mAh.
iPhone 4S has a 5.3 W-h battery that is 1,432 mAh.

Of course the iPad is gonna last longer. And, of course it's going to take longer to charge. It is fueling up a battery that is absolutely massive, and one that has to power 5x the amount of pixels of the 4S and two additional GPU cores.

Good info, thanks.

 

[mjpearce023]

I never thought the 4s was as good as the 4 when it came to the battery. I finally got a replacement through Apple because of battery problems and the difference was huge. I went from having to charge it every night to sometimes making it 2 days before having to charge it. I am very happy with the replacement 4s I just wish I would have taken it to Apple sooner because the 4s battery can be just as good as the 4.

 

[SurferMan]

1st 4S I had was horrible, no matter what settings or changes or restore as new, phone sucked down battery life like crazy. The replacement one is better but still not as good as the 4 or my GSII which granted is running a custom Rom where battery life is same/slightly better than the 4. All our phones are on AT&T and used pretty heavily in the day generally. 4 and GSII never have to worry about leaving work etc and rushing to the car charger, 4S though gf always has to connect to the car charger, same non-jb app's as the 4 but there's a noticeable difference in battery life between the two, 4S is jailbroken but that doesn't affect battery life, it's the same whether running jailbreak or not.