OT: iPhone 4S battery life

[RocketDawg]

I think my battery is getting weaker. This morning I had it charged to 100% and now it's down to 30% and I haven't used it much at all. I was on the golf course for 5 hours and didn't use it at all, and there's a strong signal there so it wasn't wasting battery searching for a signal.

Up until the past few days I could get two days from a charge with moderate usage.

I've had it about 11 months. Think I should take it in to Verizon to be checked?

 

[coach66]

Most likely your email client constantly

Polling for new email. I have to delete exchange and reinstall it on a sporadic schedule as this problems occurs for me and it solves the issue.

 

[RocketDawg]

Yes it does and I hadn't thought of that. But it's always done that as far as i can tell. I suppose you're saying there's a problem with the email program (I assume that's the Exchange you mentioned).

 

[eckie1]

I've had mine a couple months longer than you...

I think my battery is getting weaker. This morning I had it charged to 100% and now it's down to 30% and I haven't used it much at all. I was on the golf course for 5 hours and didn't use it at all, and there's a strong signal there so it wasn't wasting battery searching for a signal.

Up until the past few days I could get two days from a charge with moderate usage.

I've had it about 11 months. Think I should take it in to Verizon to be checked?

And, I have had a lot of luck, considering my 3GS will barely even hold a charge anymore.

Let it run all the way down (it will shut itself off)then charge it back. That should help. I try to do that at least once a month.

And, I seem to remember having a day or two where it would seemingly drain too quickly. I believe I powered it off and back on and that seemed to help.

 

[coach66]

Delete your email client and reinstall it.

Should fix your problem.

 

[Center Z]

Try the email thing as others have said...

But if that does not work, it could be an issue with iOS. Did you get the recent iOS update? Some have had battery issues on the 4s in particular from that. Don't know if there is a fix yet but you might google it.

 

[JacksonDevilDog]

6.1 update has some battery issues. 6.1.1 was released for the 4 and I believe 4s to help with these issues. Might want to check your current software installed.

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

Or you could just set it to not check for email until you open the email ap.

 

[RocketDawg]

I just installed 6.1.1 3 or 4 days ago, and that seems to coincide with my problem. Maybe it had an effect opposite of what was intended.

 

[RocketDawg]

Thanks. I'll try the reboot. And the drain/recharge. It's been a while since I've done that.

 

[notthisshitagain]

I think my battery is getting weaker. This morning I had it charged to 100% and now it's down to 30% and I haven't used it much at all. I was on the golf course for 5 hours and didn't use it at all, and there's a strong signal there so it wasn't wasting battery searching for a signal.

Up until the past few days I could get two days from a charge with moderate usage.

I've had it about 11 months. Think I should take it in to Verizon to be checked?

Make sure that Find My iPhone is turned off. It drains my battery at a rate of ~15% - %20 per hour when it is turned on...even when I'm not even using my iPhone. Also, go into Location Services and Notifications and turn off anything you don't want to use your GPS location or you don't want to receive push notifications. These drain my iPhone 4s battery very quickly as well. The Find My iPhone battery drainage is a well documented problem.

 

[rabiddawg]

Mine used to do that and I found one day that the maps app was running in the background. I never keeps apps running in the background as this is a sure fire way to drain it quickly. Of course always be sure your Bluetooth is off also. For all the faults Apple has with battery life it pales in comparison to anything running android. I had a tablet that ran the ice cream sammich version of android and it kept so many programs running in the background that all I use it for now is a coaster.

 

[dawgoneyall]

Make sure your apps are turned off.

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

That's what I think

But I suspect he has about everything availabe, operational...
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Otherwise, double punch your home key, hold your finger on one of the apps at the botton, when the( -) mark come up, touch it and it will close the app.
close all of e'm

Then change settings on all of those find me apps...etc.

 

[sleepy dawg]

I just installed 6.1.1 3 or 4 days ago, and that seems to coincide with my problem. Maybe it had an effect opposite of what was intended.

Mine did this after I installed the update too, but it fixed it after deleted my exchange email client like others have said.

If the difference in battery life is as bad as you describe, it's probably more than just having too many apps open. You most likely have some process that's stuck running. If you can't find out which process is stuck running, you may have to reset your phone to factory defaults and start over new without restoring anything from backups.

 

[JacksonDevilDog]

Well, in theory, the apps should automatically close themselves when you close the app. You shouldn't have to force quit an app. That's the way that apple designed it, but people still do it.

 

[kired]

But they don't - or at least they keep doing something to drain your battery. Like rabiddawg said, that map app will drain your battery in half a day.

If I keep my apps off after using them, I'm normally around 50-70% at the end of the day. If I keep them open in the background, it'll be 40% or less.

 

[dogfan96]

Screen brightness is a HUGE battery drainer too

 

[mjh94]

Location services and apps running are probably the 2 biggest drainers

I have location services turned off for everything but maps, redbox, and weather.

Also, some apps run constantly when they are "open" and you can turn them "off" by tapping the home button twice to bring up your recently used apps... then tap and hold down on one them (as if you were going to rearrange your apps, then turn them "off" by tapping the red delete symbol.

i only do it to things like weather apps, dropbox, etc that may be constantly updating.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

Multitasking (leaving apps open) was a big upgrade. Bluetooth is my biggest

Battery drain. Also, location. San Antonio? Two days no problem. San Fran or NYC? A few hours.

 

[FlabLoser]

I find that my batter life improves if that now and then I let it stay on the charger all day instead of a little here and there...regardless of what the batter % says.

 

[patdog]

Apple must have designed my phone differently then. Because the apps definitely stay running in the background when I close them and I have to shut them down manually. Android does this too but they have an app-killer app the can shut them down all at once but you still have to run that one manually. Ridiculous that either system wouldn't shut apps down completely upon exit instead of letting them drain your battery all day.

 

[vhdawg]

If you determine the battery is bad, you can get a replacement from www.ifixit.com. Just replaced a bad battery on my wife's old 3GS that my daughter uses to play with for only $20 shipped. They send the tools you need to do the job also. Highly recommend.

 

[RocketDawg]

I think my problem may be solved

Earlier this morning, I turned it off for a couple minutes, then turned it back on and charged it. It's still at 100% and I've used it a couple of times to talk, and several times to check email. It's been off the charger for about 4 hours. Hopefully that's all it needed.

Thanks for all the information. Some I'd heard before (like disabling apps), and some I had not heard. But I think I'm good to go now.

 

[Xenomorph]

6.1.2 just dropped. Claims to address battery life. *

*