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So happy with iOS 8.2. Hope this isn't a fluke.

XTheLancerX

XTheLancerX

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 20, 2014
1,911
782
NY, USA
I have had my iPhone 6 since October, and when I first got it, it would struggle to get 5 hours of use before dying. Software updates helped a bit, as well as restoring, taking things to about 6 and a half hours. Before 8.2, the most I had ever seen on a charge was 8 and a half hours, but that was after taking extreme precautions.

8.2 has rolled along, and I have now gotten SIGNIFICANTLY better battery life on both my iPhone 6 and iPad mini 2 (my iPad never gave me issues though).

As I said, average for iPhone was 6 and a half hours. Average for iPad was about 8.5-10 hours. Look at these screenshots.





I hope this isn't just a fluke. I didn't change any settings or anything. Only thing that's different is that I have recently started talking to my friend again on FaceTime/Skype (Audio only). I only did FaceTime audio for about an hour and 15 minutes in my phone, and the rest of the time I used Skype on my iPad for about 6 hours over the two days my iPad was off the charger (we used Skype right before switching to FaceTime audio because it kept dropping :rolleyes:)

Anyone else see similar results because I am stoked right now. Again, hoping it's not like a one-time thing.
 
I'm very glad to hear of your good fortune.

8.2 on my iPhone 6 Plus has been erratic yet not as bad as 8.1.3.

With some luck I'm hoping Apple will focus on making 8.3 reliable.
 
Right now I'm at 83% with 1 1/2 hours of usage with 8 1/2 hours standby. This is the first discharge after I did a battery recalibration discharge/recharge cycle.

Last week, right after upgrading to 8.2, I was at 83% after only 1 hour just on standby. I assumed that the background activity was draining the battery (this is something that I've seen after every iOS update -- though keep in mind that I always update my phone using iTunes). Gradually, the battery life returned to normal for my phone, which is about 5-6 hours per charge.

After running the calibration cycle, I'll see if my current battery life is an anomaly or the new norm.
 
duffman9000 said:
Good for you. I've noticed improved battery life on 6+. I'm not entirely happy with iOS 8.2 (the last beta was less buggy for me), but 8.3 fixes these issues.
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Yeah I am excited for 8.3 but at the same time I am a little nervous it could bring back old issues last second, or if 8.2 did in fact make battery life this good (or close to this good) consistently, I will be scared of 8.3 undoing what good was done. Never have been too wary about updates but I will really watch out with 8.2.1, 8.2.2, etc in the future.

I've heard that with 8.3 quite a few things are smoother in general UI performance, even on A7 iPads which is a huge bonus. My mini 2 really struggles for being just one year old and it is kind of upsetting.
 
XTheLancerX said:
Yeah I am excited for 8.3 but at the same time I am a little nervous it could bring back old issues last second, or if 8.2 did in fact make battery life this good (or close to this good) consistently, I will be scared of 8.3 undoing what good was done. Never have been too wary about updates but I will really watch out with 8.2.1, 8.2.2, etc in the future.

I've heard that with 8.3 quite a few things are smoother in general UI performance, even on A7 iPads which is a huge bonus. My mini 2 really struggles for being just one year old and it is kind of upsetting.
Click to expand...

The trick is to update as soon as it comes out then you have a few days to go back if needed. Also get a backup of the older version put away since typically you cannot restore a backup from a later version to the older version if you do go back. That way you have a little time to see if all is well.
 
XTheLancerX said:
Yeah I am excited for 8.3 but at the same time I am a little nervous it could bring back old issues last second, or if 8.2 did in fact make battery life this good (or close to this good) consistently, I will be scared of 8.3 undoing what good was done. Never have been too wary about updates but I will really watch out with 8.2.1, 8.2.2, etc in the future.

I've heard that with 8.3 quite a few things are smoother in general UI performance, even on A7 iPads which is a huge bonus. My mini 2 really struggles for being just one year old and it is kind of upsetting.
Click to expand...

Did you do a fresh install or straight-up upgrade?
 
Same here, was starting to wonder how many of us there are. This on my 5S moves faster than 6 did on my 4S, whether it's startup, app switching, or almost anything. It feels mature and the little things added have made big differences, I would never go back. Thinking of 7 makes me shudder ever since the first release of 8 came out, honestly. The only thing that ever lags some is iTunes Store, but that has been that way since forever.
 
I wish I could celebrate on my iPhone 5. Battery life is less, plus I get frequent crashes. Did clean install too. Very disappointed.
 
rocat1997 said:
I wish I could celebrate on my iPhone 5. Battery life is less, plus I get frequent crashes. Did clean install too. Very disappointed.
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Pretty sure this is the best battery life I've ever seen. OTA upgrade here.
 

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It's possible something got borked on your OS and the re-install fixed it.
 
rocat1997 said:
Amazing how much better the batteries are on the 6 versus the iPhone 5. Wish I could afford a new phone.
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It's definitely an improvement but it's still really picky it feels like. I do a lot to get this battery life but it doesn't bother me. Background app refresh is off, location services are stripped down, I turn off cellular and turn on wifi when I am at home, then I turn on cellular and turn off wifi when I'm away. Bluetooth is off. Mail is set to fetch every hour, brightness is about 15-20%. However the update did do a lot. Before the update I only got 6 hours of battery doing the exact same things I do now. I think 8.2 cleared up a software issue specific to me because I haven't heard of anybody having such a ridiculously good improvement. I'm on my second day off the charger and I'm at 68% with 4 hours and 7 minutes of use.
 
XTheLancerX said:
It's definitely an improvement but it's still really picky it feels like. I do a lot to get this battery life but it doesn't bother me. Background app refresh is off, location services are stripped down, I turn off cellular and turn on wifi when I am at home, then I turn on cellular and turn off wifi when I'm away. Bluetooth is off. Mail is set to fetch every hour, brightness is about 15-20%. However the update did do a lot. Before the update I only got 6 hours of battery doing the exact same things I do now. I think 8.2 cleared up a software issue specific to me because I haven't heard of anybody having such a ridiculously good improvement. I'm on my second day off the charger and I'm at 68% with 4 hours and 7 minutes of use.
Click to expand...

What a waste of a smartphone by turning everything that makes it a smartphone off just to get an extra 1 hour of battery . What's the point? :confused:
 
crashoverride77 said:
What a waste of a smartphone by turning everything that makes it a smartphone off just to get an extra 1 hour of battery . What's the point? :confused:
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I don't use any of the features that I'm turning off so there's no point in leaving them on for a sacrifice in battery life. I turned off location for things I don't need, kept them on for other, more necessary things. I don't even know what background app refresh does, when its on nothing feels different to me. I don't ACTIVELY check my email, so I only let it do that for me every so often rather than nonstop. I don't use any Bluetooth devices, so there's no need to leave that on. I actually have my brightness at 40% or so right now and the battery still seems fine. It's not like I'm making my phone unenjoyable by trying to get good battery life, because the things I'm changing aren't altering my experience or usage at all.
 
crashoverride77 said:
What a waste of a smartphone by turning everything that makes it a smartphone off just to get an extra 1 hour of battery . What's the point? :confused:
Click to expand...

On the other hand, what's the point of having everything on that you do not use or have no need for? For example, while locations services are ok for some apps I see no need for every app to constantly fire off GPS to see where I am nor do I want them to (ie facebook). And if OP does not use Bluetooth, then why have that radio on? Doesn't mean its wasted because you don't use a headset or other Bluetooth device or don't need a certain app using your location. And as a side benefit, in your example, you get an extra hour to use the things that you DO use.
 
Rest easy. I've been running iOS 8.3 beta 3 on an iPhone and iPad for a few days and it's been fairly stable and capable. I haven't had any battery issues either.
 
Imory said:
Oh wow, please elaborate. The million dollar question, does the weather app still lag when you collapse and expand cities?
Click to expand...

Absolutely! I think Apple engineers are deliberately coding the Weather app to make the lag even more obvious, just so they can watch the Debbie Downers' heads explode :)
 
Woochifer said:
Absolutely! I think Apple engineers are deliberately coding the Weather app to make the lag even more obvious, just so they can watch the Debbie Downers' heads explode :)
Click to expand...

I constantly use the app and it severely lags. Was your post an attempt at being funny?
 
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