isurusam

Q: 5S iOS 10 Messages Background Activity causes battery to drain

Hi,

After I updated to iOS 10.0.1 on my iPhone 5S I noticed that more than 45% of the battery usage is for "Messages Background Activity". Is this some kind of a bug? Is there a temporary solution for this? [image attached]

battery.jpg

Thanks.

iPhone 5s, iOS 10, Battery Usage

Posted on Sep 14, 2016 7:47 AM

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Q: 5S iOS 10 Messages Background Activity causes battery to drain

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  • by Allen A,

    Allen A Allen A Sep 14, 2016 7:59 PM in response to isurusam
    Community Specialists
    Sep 14, 2016 7:59 PM in response to isurusam

    Hello isurusam,
    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. 

    I understand from your post that your Messages are using up 44% of your battery usage time after updating to iOS 10.0.1. I recommend maximizing your battery life by following the tips in the article linked below: 

    Maximizing Battery Life and Lifespan

    Background Activity. This indicates that the battery was used by the app while it was in the background — that is, while you were using another app.

    • To improve battery life, you can turn off the feature that allows apps to refresh in the background. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and set the switch to Off.

    Best Regards

  • by JC Rio,

    JC Rio JC Rio Sep 15, 2016 2:41 AM in response to Allen A
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 15, 2016 2:41 AM in response to Allen A

    Hello Allen A and thanks for the reply. I experience the same problem as isurusam, in less than 4 hours, messages has drained 35% of the battery life of my iPhone (6s) in background activity. Messages is developed by Apple, why is it subobtimal in term of battery life consumption and why do we have to shut its background activity?

  • by Pagottera,

    Pagottera Pagottera Sep 15, 2016 7:55 AM in response to Allen A
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 15, 2016 7:55 AM in response to Allen A

    I am facing the sambe problem with 6S. In my case even worst. The main problem is that then I have to turn off background activity for all apps, since the message app is native and don't appear on the list of background apps and I am not sure this will solve the problem. Trying now. .

     

     

    IMG_3604.PNG

  • by Wazicop,

    Wazicop Wazicop Sep 15, 2016 8:54 AM in response to isurusam
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 15, 2016 8:54 AM in response to isurusam

    I Have exactly the same issue. iPhone 6S iOS 10.0.1

    Messages is eating up my battery. 31% by messages app. It is also showing 2.9 hours of background activity!IMG_2830.PNG

  • by Phoenix1972,

    Phoenix1972 Phoenix1972 Sep 15, 2016 10:38 AM in response to isurusam
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 15, 2016 10:38 AM in response to isurusam

    IMG_1521.PNGI Have noticed this issue too. I saw that my battery started draining very quickly after upgrading to iOS 10 and looked at the battery useage. My apple messaging app is showing over 40% battery useage which seems odd. I have only sent a handful of messages today. Turning off background refresh is not acceptable. The whole point of having a messaging app is that people can, well, message you.

  • by nothingbutchad,

    nothingbutchad nothingbutchad Sep 15, 2016 11:48 AM in response to isurusam
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 15, 2016 11:48 AM in response to isurusam

    Am experiencing the same problems with my iphone 6S running 10.0.1. On power saver mode and plugged in the battery is still draining if I'm using Messages.

     

    Seems like it is the animated messages that are killing my battery. If I do a hard reset (power button + home button) it seems to resolve until I get another animated message and then the energy bleed happens again.

     

    Just a theory at this point, but I thought I'd put it out there for others to test.

  • by najam999,

    najam999 najam999 Sep 15, 2016 3:03 PM in response to isurusam
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 15, 2016 3:03 PM in response to isurusam

    IMG_0005.PNGI am having the same issue on my iPhone 6S with iOS 10. Messages background activity is reading all the battery.

  • by MJ,

    MJ MJ Sep 15, 2016 4:05 PM in response to najam999
    Level 1 (132 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 15, 2016 4:05 PM in response to najam999

    71% for me.

    IMG_0332.jpg

  • by iCooperBoy,

    iCooperBoy iCooperBoy Sep 16, 2016 4:18 AM in response to nothingbutchad
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 16, 2016 4:18 AM in response to nothingbutchad

    It seems that hard reset helped.

  • by Zeuhlord,

    Zeuhlord Zeuhlord Sep 16, 2016 8:25 AM in response to iCooperBoy
    Level 1 (19 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 16, 2016 8:25 AM in response to iCooperBoy

    I am having the same issue on iPhone SE, Messages is using 63% of battery and that probably counts for a significant drop in battery life I noticed since I upgraded to iOS 10, rebooted the phone and connected it to a charger, will monitor the battery use after it is charged and see whether that helped or not.

  • by iCooperBoy,

    iCooperBoy iCooperBoy Sep 16, 2016 12:31 PM in response to Zeuhlord
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 16, 2016 12:31 PM in response to Zeuhlord

    I believe it is really the reindexing, especially if you have a lot of messages in the history it might take some time. At my phone it took several hours, now it is back to normal, no heavy background battery consumption by Messages.

  • by najam999,

    najam999 najam999 Sep 16, 2016 1:38 PM in response to iCooperBoy
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 16, 2016 1:38 PM in response to iCooperBoy

    I setup my iPhone 6S as new and there weren't any messages but still it's taking massive amount of battery. So must be a bug.

  • by JC Rio,

    JC Rio JC Rio Sep 17, 2016 1:38 AM in response to Allen A
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 17, 2016 1:38 AM in response to Allen A

    Quick update since last time. I've restarted my phone twice and now Messages consumes only 10% of the battery. Still quite a lot considering the few messages I've sent but better than before.

  • by mnalvan,

    mnalvan mnalvan Sep 17, 2016 8:09 AM in response to Allen A
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 17, 2016 8:09 AM in response to Allen A

    I'm having the same problem with my dad's iPhone 6S Plus... Messages drained 40% of the battery in background activity (more than 5 hours!!) and you can't even disable background activity for that App!

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