A weird battery drain issue.

Question

Level 1

8 points

A weird battery drain issue.

First of all, yes, I have already contacted Apple Support via Twitter, but to them it's "perfectly normal" to lose up to 7% of battery overnight all of a sudden. My iPhone XR is 2 months old and its condition is perfect. This is definitely a software issue because the battery behaves normally, but it's just that something on iOS is causing a weird battery drain every now and then. My XR is currently running iOS 12.3, but this issue was present on the previous two versions.

I have gone through every single setting on my phone more than once and I am sure that there is nothing I'm doing wrong. This problem is not always present, but when it is, I can notice it not only when I leave my phone on standby overnight, but also while using it. A force restart sometimes does help, but it doesn't actually solve the issue. Turning off Screen Time and updating to iOS 12.3 have also temporarily fixed the issue, but it's back again.

Before I go to bed, I always turn off Wi-Fi from the Settings app (I never use Cellular Data at home), close all apps that are running in the background (if I haven't already), I turn brightness all way down, sometimes I turn on Airplane Mode (doesn't really help), I have disabled Auto Brightness, True Tone, Night Shift, Tap to Wake, Raise to Wake, Face ID and all Lock Screen notifications.

Aside from these options, I have also (completely) disabled the following:

-all sounds (including system sounds), vibration and haptic feedback, except for phone calls

-Bluetooth, Airdrop (receiving off), Handoff, Do Not Disturb, Screen Time, everything related to Siri that could be disabled

-all automatic updates (App Store, software updates), Background App Refresh (again, completely), Fetch New Data (applies to every app and simply everything that this feature covers) and analytics (iPhone and iCloud)

-all Location Services are completely disabled

-only 17 out of 64 GB used

-there is no way for me to ever consider turning off the animations (Reduce Motion), no matter what

There is probably something that I have forgotten about, but if I eventually remember something that I haven't mentioned, or if someone mentions it before me, I will make sure to reply or edit the post. Anyway, as I have already said, I have gone through all settings of everything that exists on my phone more than once, so I really don't know what could be wrong. Most people haven't even disabled half of these settings, yet they don't have any similar issues.

As about the actual draining issue (overnight), well, sometimes it's 1%, sometimes 2%, sometimes 5%, sometimes 7%, sometimes even 0%, but from my experience, it only comes down to luck.

The Battery category in settings reveals absolutely nothing about this issue because all it does is tell me which apps I have been using, and I already know that. I cannot see which apps were running in background and draining my battery while I was sleeping. However, there is one useful thing and it's Battery Health which says that my battery is at 100% capacity and that it supports peak performance which is true, but as I've already said, whatever is causing this drain is software-related.

Please, don't suggest me to perform a factory reset because that isn't even a real solution as it might likely not fix anything, and I can't be bothered with that right now. Not only that, but I don't have enough time either. It would take me at least 5 hours to set up the phone from scratch all over again because I like to adjust everything manually because of my own preference and the best performance, but sadly, this issue is preventing that from working as I imagined.

Worth mentioning, animations when opening and closing apps, swiping between pages on the Home Screen, and scrolling are sometimes choppy. When I mentioned scrolling, I know that it might sometimes take a bit to load up more content, but that's not the case. I'm talking about actual choppy scrolling, sometimes even in the Settings app. It's not that bad, but it's still there. Just like the battery draining issue, this also happens occasionally. Sometimes it just doesn't feel perfectly smooth and I find that a bit annoying. Don't get me wrong, it's almost normal, but it just doesn't feel like satisfying 60 FPS and it isn't so steady or constant.

Well, I guess that's it for now. I would really appreciate some help with this because I've been trying to find a solution for nearly 2 months (yes, that's how long I have this phone), but I can't find anything because most "solutions" online only work for people with no knowledge about technology.

Thanks in advance.

iPhone XR

Posted on May 22, 2019 3:01 PM

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Answer 1

unturorum Author

Level 1

8 points

May 22, 2019 3:50 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

It might not be harmful, but it's not really recommended either, so I just try to avoid it unless I have no other choice. Another reason why I refuse to do that because it's not a valid solution. It's just a way to avoid the problem, but it doesn't solve it. I want to solve it.

Normal battery drain is 0% (not overreacting, keep reading) and that's how it was with my previous Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and S7, even though their battery was much worse. My S7 would usually either last a day and a half or even less, but my XR lasts at least 3 days. It used to last even longer (up to 6 days, believe it or not) until this issue re-appeared for whatever reason. Of course, that mostly depends on how I use my phone, but this issue also has a huge impact on battery life.

Sure, I can live with it because my phone still lasts like 2-3 days, but it's still frustrating because as I said, it could last even longer and I just want to find out what's causing this because of curiosity (since it's been 2 months as of now). Also worth mentioning, my S7 would lose either 0% or 1%, even if Wi-Fi was left on overnight (by the way, I have never disabled automatic downloads and data fetching on that phone), while my XR managed to waste 7% of battery with airplane mode on and Wi-Fi off. That is far from normal and no one can convince me otherwise. Even a loss of 2% with airplane mode enabled would be concerning.

To make it more clear because I can't resist pointing out the huge difference:

S7:

-no airplane mode

-Wi-Fi, automatic downloads and data fetching on

-up to 2%, depending on the background processes

XR:

-airplane mode

-no Wi-Fi

-up to 7%

Sorry, but this really doesn't seem normal to me, not even one bit. This time I might be overreacting, but with these conditions, the XR should last at least a whole month if you don't touch it and just leave it on standby like that. I don't know, maybe a month is too much, maybe way too little, but I'm just trying to prove that this battery drain is abnormal, that's all.

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Answer 2

May 22, 2019 4:29 PM in response to unturorum

I forgive you, and there is nothing wrong. Wi-Fi does not use energy when not connected. It LISTENS for networks to connect to when the phone is unlocked, but iOS turns off Wi-Fi when it is asleep. So turning off Wi-Fi is redundant, and, unless actually connected to a network AND the phone is unlocked, W-Fi uses no measurable power. If you don't like Raise to Wake turn it off. But it doesn't use power when the phone is locked. So it does not "waste" battery. There are dozens of background processes running all the time, or at least suspended waiting for something to happen. That something may be a notification, an arriving email, updates to apps including both built in (news, weather, stocks, calendar, etc) or, if you have Background App Refresh enabled, scheduled updates from apps. If you have Location Services enabled it will use some power; not much, but some. So if you don't want the phone to use any power when asleep here is what you have to do:

Disable Background App Refresh
Set all email accounts to Manual
Tell all your friends not to text you
Disable Location Services
Kill all apps that get data from the Internet (weather, stocks, news, calendars, Home, and any 3rd party that update)
Disable Maps (and any 3rd party navigation apps)
Disable Cellular Data (or use Airplane Mode)
Disable Find my iPhone
Go to Settings/<your name>/iCloud and turn off all iCloud sync functions

Then, get rid of your phone and get a basic flip phone, because that is all the iPhone will be.

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Answer 3

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,369 points

May 22, 2019 3:12 PM in response to unturorum

My first question would be, why are you not connecting the phone to power to charge it overnight so you would have a fully charged phone in the morning. Also, if connected to wi-fi and power, it will do an automatic backup to iCloud, to protect your content.

Depending on the charge condition of your iPhone when you go to bed, variable discharge is normal.

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Answer 4

May 22, 2019 3:55 PM in response to unturorum

You are WRONG. It is recommended and a best practice to charge your phone overnight, every night. And to enable automatic backups. Your phone is absolutely never doing "nothing". No matter what you turn off (unless it is the phone itself) there will be things using energy. Putting it in Airplane mode may actually increase battery drain as apps attempt to update and fail, and keep retrying. 7% overnight is actually on the low side of overnight battery drain. It isn't an S7, and if battery life is more important to you than functionality go back to your S7.

See-->When to charge your iPhone or iPad - Apple Community

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Answer 5

unturorum Author

Level 1

8 points

May 22, 2019 4:07 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

You may be right about charging the phone overnight, and yes, I know that there are many background processes running, even when the phone is turned off. As about the airplane mode, I wasn't really sure about that, but it does help in a way because it prevents the phone from searching for signal, just like turning off Wi-Fi from the Settings app, rather than Control Center, because that way it stops scanning for networks. And how exactly is 7% fine if I haven't lost a single percent a few times? There's clearly some background process or something that is occasionally causing an abnormal battery drain. Also, battery life is a part of functionality and reliability, which is why I switched from Android. I prefer everything, including the battery life because it lasts a couple of days longer, but this battery drain is still weird. If it was always like 6% or 7% then I guess that could somehow be understandable, but it's not. One night it's 1%, another night it's 7% and so on, even though I never modify any settings that could affect this. I tried airplane mode just a few times to see if it would make a difference, but other than that, no, I don't use it.

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Answer 6

unturorum Author

Level 1

8 points

May 24, 2019 1:35 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Look, I just have my own preferences, and if I don't use something that usually drains battery in the background, disabling it is a win-win. I might even use my XR more often and for more things than you do, doesn't matter, but as I've already said, I have my own preferences. I bought the phone to use it and not to turn it off and see how long will the battery last, so there's no point in torturing myself and saving up battery just to charge it once I have to.

However, battery life is one of the most important things for me, and while it sure is absolutely mind-blowing on this phone, it could have been even better without this battery drain.

One night, my phone was at 78% after using it for around 10 minutes, then I went to sleep, woke up with 78% and used it for nearly 10 minutes before it dropped to 77%. If the phone could remain at the exact same percentage after 10 minutes of usage, 8 hours of standby and then another 10 minutes of usage, then how comes that it suddenly loses up to 7% only on standby, even in a bit less than 8 hours?

That is exactly why I'm asking this. If it had always been dropping by like 5-7% overnight, I wouldn't have made this post, but as you can see, that isn't the case. A difference of like 1% or something is minimal, but once again:

Case A:

-10 minutes of usage

-8 hours of standby

-10 minutes of usage

-0% lost

Case B:

-7 hours of standby

-around 7% lost

I may be wrong, maybe I was just extremely lucky or something really is wrong, but can you at least understand my point and the way I see it? Regardless of anyone's opinion, this reaIly is a drastic difference and that is why I find it a bit worrying. To some people who are used to worse, it might seem optimal, but not if you compare these two cases.

Even if it actually is normal, could you explain what exactly causes the battery drain to be so unstable, unpredictable and drastically different almost each night? That's all I want to know because it really doesn't make any sense to me and it's driving me crazy. Just look at the enormous difference once again. Can you at least see where I'm coming from?

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Answer 7

unturorum Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 9, 2019 3:42 AM in response to unturorum

It used to be up to 1% overnight for the last 2 weeks (approximately), but today I suddenly lost exactly 10% overnight, and everything on my phone was exactly the same as before. No new apps, no new iOS settings, nothing left running in the background while sleeping, and so on.

When this battery draining issue suddenly returns for some odd reason, it doesn't only happen overnight, but I also notice much faster battery drain while using the phone, no matter what I do on it.

This is definitely not normal. I always lose up to 1% overnight, then 10% all of a sudden? If you're trying to convince me that it's normal to lose 8-10% of battery overnight for 2 nights in a row, after it would be only 1% for nearly 2 weeks, then you're wrong. I assure you, no matter what you think, you're definitely wrong. A person with zero knowledge about technology could understand why this is abnormal.

I apologise for "bumping" this post, but please help me out because I desperately need some help. Once again, losing up to 1% overnight for 2 weeks straight, then suddenly losing 8% one night and 10% the night after is obviously not normal and something is terribly wrong, but I'm out of solutions because I have done literally everything except for a factory reset.

This is really weird, because it's not even a consistent problem. First the battery is working perfectly, then this issue suddenly returns for a short period of time, and finally just goes away on its own.

Also, if I end up doing a factory reset, should I do it through the DFU mode to make sure that I wipe absolutely everything from the phone?

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Answer 8

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,369 points

May 22, 2019 4:05 PM in response to unturorum

No need for me to respond, as Lawrence has provided you with all of the facts. After reading this last post though, I'm wondering when you actually charge the device, and what you are using a smartphone for if you turn off all of the things you use it for an let it set to see how long you can get the battery to last without using it. Use the phone as you need, charge it overnight, and believe me it will last all day. I do that with mine, and I'm constantly on it answering mail, texts, Twitter and other thing to communicate and support my students. I'm a college professor and I'm on that phone from 7am until after 10:30 pm, and have plenty of battery left. It is also connected to my Apple Watch and it is working hard too. You are reading too much into this, believe me.

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Answer 9

unturorum Author

Level 1

8 points

May 22, 2019 4:12 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

I use my phone very often for all kinds of things, from Internet browsing to watching films when I'm not at home. The battery does last very long and that's amazing. I only disable things that I really don't need because there's no point in keeping them enabled. For example, I find Raise to Wake to be annoying, and it also wastes battery. Sometimes it doesn't even lose 7% after watching a film for 45 minutes (with Wi-Fi on so that I can receive notifications), but sometimes it loses 7% when I leave it on standby overnight. It's just unbalanced and weird, and I really find it confusing.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I just can't see how could this possibly make sense. How is it possible that leaving it on standby without Wi-Fi wastes less battery than like 45 minutes of intense usage? And what causes it to waste 0-1% instead of like 7% while it's left on standby overnight?

The reason why I make these tests is only to find out what's wrong, otherwise I wouldn't care. Once again, other than this occasional drain, I'm more than happy with the battery life, but I'm just trying to find out what's going on.

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Answer 10

Mac_slide

Level 3

623 points

May 25, 2019 11:11 AM in response to unturorum

I use my battery all day. Charge at any opportunity.

I also allow to drain white low and occasionally in the red or lower than the warnings but rarely.

Battery works best for me believe it or not between 20-80%.

I usually have one mostly drained battery by 10-11 am, and another by 3pm and another by 7.

I would suggest you let your battery go down to about 20-30% before you get to bed, plug it in over night and start your day fresh.

When mine is fully charged I loose 2-8% over night... when I had all the back ground refresh settings on it was over 10-12%

Try turning off all back ground apps you don't absolutely need if it bothers you.

If you are out of good cellular connection it will also drain much faster could be half the battery - so on those areas place in airplane mode if you're sleeping.

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A weird battery drain issue.

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