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Wow iPhone 6 battery sucks - switch to 6+

patent10021

patent10021

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2004
3,581
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I've been using my 6 for about a couple of weeks and I'm shocked at how lame the battery life is. I guess it's the price you pay for a bigger display and faster processor?

I was using an iPhone 4 and had installed a new battery in it. I got at least twice the life out of that battery. That's why I still carry it around. Unfortunately I now have to use it as a backup for when my 6 dies. And I'm not even listening to music! I've basically had to turn off ALL iPhone 6 features since they suck battery life. App background refreshing, GPS etc.

This is my second iPhone 6 as well. I've decided to return the 6 and wait for a 6+ only for its battery. So much for having a one handed phone I can rely on for a day.
 
Seems odd that you're having such bad battery life. Makes me think there's something else draining it. I assume you have the brightness at a reasonably low level?
 
Sorry to hear that the battery life on your 6 wasn't that good for you. I can't say the same, though. As the battery life on my 6 has been fantastic so far. I'm hoping the battery life on my new 6 Plus will be the same if not better. :)

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As posted, which apps are chewing up your battery? Go to Settings->General->BatteryUsage.

lack of other complaints would suggest there's something going on with your particular phone whether it's hardware, some app, or signal where you are.
 
How did you get 12 hours of usage on iphone wow that's great this is mine
 

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Battery life has been awesome on my new iphone 6 plus. I had an iphone 5 earlier which had dismal battery life and it ended up being one of the units where apple changed the battery for free (2 years after it was launched). Even after the battery change the phone would still run out by the end of the day . I exchanged it for a 6 plus and the battery life has been stupendous. On 3G I had 83% battery left at the end of my working day , where my 5 on 2g would have 50% (Despite charging in the afternoon). In fact my battery has never gone below 60% charge on my 6 plus since I bought it because I usually charge it for an hour when I am getting ready for work
 
patent10021 said:
I've been using my 6 for about a couple of weeks and I'm shocked at how lame the battery life is. I guess it's the price you pay for a bigger display and faster processor?
Click to expand...
The 6 has the longest battery life of any iPhone that I've had.
 

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I couldn't get past 5-6 hours on my iPhone 6 and reluctantly I switched to 6 plus and now I can get to 9 or 10 hours. Mostly Safari, Podcasts, Messages, and EMail, with some productivity stuff sprinkled in.

The iPhone 6 Plus is the first iPhone I can use heavily all day and not have to top off during the day. It'll be a good jump for you, if battery is the top concern.

You also get used to the larger size and soon you'll be able to take advantage of apps written for the larger screen too. It's a good move.
 
I was charging my iphone 5 every day no matter the usage. With my 6 I go about half the time every day with more than normal usage, or charge every other day with normal usage so it's definitely improved.
 
eh iphone battery threads really need to take a cue from android.


There has to be some sort of standardization as to how you discuss battery life. Usage means nothing if you put it in airplane mode and rack up 36hours of usage but 30m of screen on time.
 
I was prepped for disappointment, but I'm actually pleasantly surprised that I can last at least a day on one charge (on my iPhone 6).

That said, I spent a lot of time tweaking notification settings, and am pretty good about manually switching wifi on/off depending on my location to keep as much juice as possible throughout the day.
 
Eileen89 said:
I use settings that are optimized to save my battery. I keep things that I don't need running in the background turned off till I need them.
Click to expand...

Same here. I'm somewhat of a battery optimizer freak :D. I get through a full day without problems on the 6 with about 30% brightness. The 5 used to last me a whole day until the battery started degrading and then it would be tough to make it last an entire day.
 
Had the 6 but the battery was not that great...changed to the plus and this thing is awesome on battery def happy I made the switch
 
I use my iPhone 6 just like I used my iPhone 5, and I can concur that at the end of the day, the iPhone 6 battery is much less than my iPhone 5 ever was.

Some talk, some text, music streaming over LTE and WiFi, some mixed general app usage. I'm not a social media nut, so I'm not tied to my iPhone all day.

At the end of the day, my iPhone 6 will be anywhere between 30-60%, whereas my 5 was never below 50% on average, unless it was a particularly busy day.

My iPhone 6, when idle (overnight) is pretty stable (losing only 5-6%), but it seems when I actually use it, the phone sucks power like a HEMI engine with the peddle to the metal.
 
I know this thread is about the 6 and not the 6+, but my 6+ (with my usage pattern and average signal strength) can easily get me through two days (48 hrs) of use before hitting red. Three days if my usage is light.

On many work days, I have between 65-70% battery remaining (off charger at 7am, work done by 5:30pm).

Everyone's usage is different, but I'm still most impressed by the 6+.
 
Wow iPhone 6 battery sucks - switch to 6+

Yeah I'm having tons of luck with my 6+ as well, when I was using my IP5s I would be dead by noon (I go to work at 0300) now I make it to 1800 or 1900 on a charge, haven't changed usage or anything. Honestly, after 2 or 3 days you'll grab the iPhone 5 and think; damn how did I ever use a screen this small? The size of the 6+ is amazing and you get used to using it very fast, yes even one handed!! Good luck!
 
I'm relatively disappointed with my 6's battery for a 2014 phone. I've been debating a switch to the 6+ because of it. 6 hours of my usage isn't that impressive.

Worlds better then my 4S on iOS 8.1 which gets 3-4 hours of my usage though.

I hate the idea of micromanaging settings. If it has a useful feature to me I want it on. Reminds me of the old days of Android.
 
12 hrs? Sure if you have it on the home screen getting pushed emails (so it counts as usage) dimmed down all the way doing nothing most of the time I'm sure you can get 12 hrs.

I'm talking regular usage. I've had to resort to restraint all to a single push email and maybe 30 minutes of FaceBook / Instagram, 3 GPS locations. I mostly use it for Notes app and Line now until I get the 6+

I have brightness on lowest until I check social then I put it on about 1/3. EVERYTHING is off except for when I need it i.e. GPS, brightness, app refreshing, even volume even though I don't think volume makes a diff I do it anyway! All sounds and alerts are off, zero notifications except mail from family. ZERO telephones use! I don't really need a phone but I have it just for when work needs to call which is never.

As I said this is my second iPhone 6. My friend got the same phone and she said she noticed it too. For her it wasn't a deal breaker cause she can only use her phone on breaks but on her days off she said it definitely isn't as good as her iP5.

I guarantee you that my iPhone 4 with it's brand new battery will outlast any of your 6's. It's frikkin' amazing.

As a side note. I'm shocked at the amount of iPhone Plus users here in Japan. Girls are leading the pack with silver/gold 6+'s. Guys mostly have silver with the odd black one in sight, usually older men. And the stock is still constrained here massively. Saw a lot in Shibuya today.

Can't wait to pick up the Plus.

EDIT: I suspect it's iOS8 combined with iP6 and not the phone itself. Why else would iOS7 on my iPhone 4 have such great life using the same apps/settings etc. I'm thinking for iOS8 the battery size of the Plus is a must for anyone who doesn't have a car + charger.

.
 
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I'm having the same experience as the OP. I got better battery life on my 5S then I do with my 6. I've tried a nuke and pave (fresh install instead of restoring from a backup) only adding apps as I need them. I also keep my screen to a low level at all times, but nothing seems to extend the battery. I have an Genius appointment tomorrow to try to get this resolved as well as the clicking screen issue I have. Honestly if I wasn't past my 14 days I would return the 6 and wait for a 6+.
 
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