Level 1

17 points

Apple Podcast is causing iPhone 12 Pro Max overheating in iOS 14.6

Hi there,

I updated my 12-Pro-Max to 14.6 and suffered the amazing battery drain and overheating "only" when using Apple Podcast. It was even too hot to operate normally and needed to cool down. As soon as I turn off Apple Podcast from the background. It becomes a perfect phone and system. Now it's complete removed to prevent my unconsciously opening Apple Podcast.

I am a heavy podcast listener with Apple Podcast, which always has a podcast sync problem among my MBP and iPad (those I have listened to months ago on iPhone remain unplayed in MBP and iPad). Thus, I have to use only my iPhone to listen. Now, I have no choice but to switch to Spotify, which is completely an unfamiliar environment. Hope there's a chance to fix it before I get used to Spotify and pass the point of no return.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

Posted on May 27, 2021 10:03 PM

Top-ranking reply

steffmueller

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Aug 11, 2021 12:02 AM

I could solve that issue and got my podcast app to run smooth and not overheating my phone again.

(using iPhone 11+iOS14.6)

I am following many podcast series.

the thing I noticed is, when starting podcast it instantly starts to download a ton of new episodes of my series. Which sets the phone under heavy load.

so I did the following:

“go to media library-> download “ and stop all current downloads
closed the app and did. that a second time, but unfortunate podcast will continue to download new episodes in the background.
So I went through my media library: “long tap” a series -> go to settings -> remove automatic downloads. I did that for every series. So like 80 times or something.
go to the iphone settings -> podcast app. And disable automatic downloads when following.
i also disabled “download saved episodes”
since I listen on iPhone only, I disabled “synchronize podcast”

Hope that helps 💪🤞

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34 replies

JBenProvence Author

Level 1

17 points

May 31, 2021 11:36 PM in response to JBenProvence

Just wanna add some more info.

The overheating and battery drain problem also happens to my MBP 2019 (with touch bar) and iPad Pro 2018. As soon as I open the Apple Podcast app on both machines, the fans roar, and machines become perfect warming pads.

JBenProvence Author

Level 1

17 points

Jun 5, 2021 5:16 PM in response to cyberbiker

Wow, I have same all sorrow in my heart with your descriptions on Apple Podcast.

Before 14.6, I was still using it with my muscle memory and marking those ghost episodes as played while watching Netflix. However, this overheating and battery drain problem is practically unbearable. Since it's been unsolvable for weeks, I am getting used to Spotify. Hope one day I can get back to Apple Podcast.

Thank you very much for sharing, cyberbiker. I just tried to submit this feedback to the link.

Well, ironically, when needing to specify the os versions, the problematic ones (14.6) do not appear in the list. hah.

Jun 11, 2021 12:22 PM in response to JBenProvence

Since I updated to iOS 14.6, I've been having the same issue with my iPhone 12. I typically play podcasts for my entire workday. Since the update, my phone has been super warm, not with charging but just when using this app and having very little if anything else running in the background. Very frustrating and I will likely also switch to Spotify even though I don’t like it for podcasts.

Jun 25, 2021 8:28 AM in response to solomon_kazza

Yeah, the battery life on my iPhone 2020 hit 86% on the day marking a year of having the device. The majority of iOS updates since 14 came out have been killing my battery. Definitely lost faith on Apple

Jun 27, 2021 4:37 PM in response to JBenProvence

Have Apple said anything about this? Seems like a pretty major issue. I’ve turned off every possible background refresh and auto download feature and still the podcast app rinses my battery and makes the phone crazy hot.

I've switched to Spotify too now but they have no option to add your own RSS feeds.

Brand new 12 pro max.

JBenProvence Author

Level 1

17 points

Jul 19, 2021 5:02 PM in response to JBenProvence

Folks, iOS 14.7 has been released. Here're the release notes:

MagSafe Battery Pack support for iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple Card Family adds the option to combine credit limits and share one co-owned account with an existing Apple Card user
Home app adds the ability to manage timers on HomePod
Air quality information is now available in Weather and Maps for Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, South Korea, and Spain
Podcasts library allows you to choose to see all shows or only followed shows
Share playlist menu option missing in Apple Music
Dolby Atmos and Apple Music lossless audio playback may unexpectedly stop
Battery service message that may have disappeared after reboot on some iPhone 11 models is restored
Braille displays could show invalid information while composing Mail messages

This version doesn't seem to address our problem. Honestly, I do not have the courage to try Apple Podcast again, with the great worry of damaging the battery.

Jun 14, 2021 10:23 AM in response to JBenProvence

Just to support this - I have the same problem with iPhone 12 mini. Causes the phone to get noticeably hot and often for the screen brightness to be limited.

jiggadhu

Level 1

4 points

Jun 15, 2021 7:25 PM in response to jiggadhu

What's worse is there I filled repeated bug reports to some during beta testing and it looks like they did nothing with it.

JBenProvence Author

Level 1

17 points

Jun 15, 2021 8:52 PM in response to jiggadhu

Let's pray that 14.7 or 15 will fix this issue. (Although I've been well-trained to get used to Spotify.)

Jun 23, 2021 3:19 PM in response to JBenProvence

I'm also having this issue. My iPhone 12 overheats when listening to the Podcast app. It drains the battery completely. I hope an update can fix this.

Jun 25, 2021 5:53 AM in response to solomon_kazza

Ah! Very frustrating. I’ll probably moved to Spotify too. It’s not worth the device damage.

JBenProvence Author

Level 1

17 points

Jun 27, 2021 6:52 PM in response to dannn1984

I think we are just a minority group in this case. I tried to search for this issue in my area and found no discussion over it.

Sad!!

Jul 1, 2021 2:59 AM in response to JBenProvence

i have the exact same problem with my iphone 12 pro max. what shall i do?

Jul 2, 2021 5:42 AM in response to JBenProvence

I’m having the exact same problem on my iPhone 11 Pro Max with the Apple Podcast app. I’ve been using this app for years, & the overheating just started in the past month or so.

Jul 18, 2021 12:10 PM in response to JBenProvence

Same issue on my XS Max running 14.6. Hopefully we see a fix in 14.7 otherwise I might start exploring third-party apps…

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Apple Podcast is causing iPhone 12 Pro Max overheating in iOS 14.6