Severe overheating after iOS 14.6 update on iPhone7

I have the identical iphone 7 without those problems

You may have a hardware problem

First try a forced restart

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/force-restart-iphone-iph8903c3ee6/ios

If that does not help the  next procedure would be to backup then restore your device to factory, and setup the device without restoring a backup, to see if the issue is replicated. 

Then restore the backup. 

If you need to send the phone in for repair then backing up and restoring to factory would be needed anyway.

Here is a guide for those steps

Backup and restore (I recommend the computer method if you have one)

(1)How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch – Apple Support

Remove SIM PIN if you have set one

(2) Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings – Apple Support

Set up as new from the Hello Screen without restoring backup. Test if the problem still exists

If the problem goes away in the newly set up phone then suspect settings or apps, and in particular VPNs and so-called security apps which should never go near an iphone.

If the problem remains then arrange a repair including details of these tests.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/iphone/repair/service

(3) When your phone comes back Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup

JDalbey1 wrote:

I really hope Apple fixes this issue soon. Thanks

Yes a number of people have reported this here but Apple will only take note of the problem with Podcasts app using battery if you Feedback to Apple with a Bug report

Product Feedback - Apple:

Include any other podcast apps that you think may be conflicting.

I can't report it because I don't have that problem.

Batteries drain due to apps, maybe ones that need an update, Settings like iCloud photos which may use a lot of processing, and sick batteries.

My advice is:-

• New Battery
• Reset to factory and build up only essential apps from scratch (Take care of your data, photos etc the best way you know)
• Follow the Apple advice when to charge (i.e. all night overnight to 100% and whenever necessary in the day)

TLDR: I have an iPhone 12 Pro Max (a very recent model), and I still have the same issues (which only appeared after the new update). Additionally, I don’t have any issues with a third party podcast app (called Overcast).

No settings changes seem to fix the problem for me for the native app, so I’m pretty sure that this is a bug that needs to be fixed, rather than an issue for old phones that will be permanent or something related to settings. In the meantime, I’ve switched to a different podcast app called Overcast, and it works wonderfully.

Long version:

I just want to point out that I think this is a bug introduced by the new update for all iPhones, not just old ones. I don’t know if it’s affecting everybody or if it’s random, but I have been experiencing extreme issues after this update and I have the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

I also followed all of the directions mentioned in the above post, about disabling all downloads (in fact I always had them disabled). Unfortunately, that did not help, and I’m still having the issue.

Before this update:

• I used the podcast app literally every single day, sometimes for several hours in a day, along with many other apps
• I never had my phone heat up or even be close to running out of batteries by the end of the night, ever, whether I was using the podcast app, or any other app

After this update:

• I have not changed my behavior on my phone at all
• Within five minutes of using the podcast app, my phone is noticeably warm
• After 15 or 30 minutes of using it, my phone is actually hot and I can feel it through my pants
• 60% of my battery life was used by the podcast app alone a few days ago. For comparison, I probably used the app for one hour, versus using Safari for four or five or six hours, and Safari only used 20% of my battery. And Safari uses the screen!
• Since then, after quitting the podcast app, my phone is back to normal
• Additionally, I use two podcast apps about equally: the native podcast app, and an app called Overcast. I’ve used both of them extensively before and after the update. The native podcast app went from having no issues to severe issues after the update, whereas Overcast had no change whatsoever. I use Overcast just as often now, and I never get any issues with battery drain or with my phone heating up.
• In the past, I always turned off downloads on both the native podcast app and on Overcast. But just to test if downloading episodes in the background was the culprit, I tried turning it on for overcast and for the native app. For the native app it did seem to make it worse (but it was definitely extremely bad either way), and for Overcast it made no difference: the phone did not have any issues whatsoever with either setting.

So, long story short, I definitely think this is a bug, not something caused by people using the wrong settings or old hardware. Not to say that some settings changes might not help, I just mean that I believe this app should work without having to make those changes (it did before the update, and it still does for other podcast apps).

I’m guessing that it will be fixed in the future update. Or at least I hope so. I definitely will be submitting my feedback to Apple.

In the meantime, I guess I will be switching to using Overcast 100% of the time.

I am having this issue also, you do t need to force a restart. Something is wrong and my Apple podcast player does the same thing. If I use the Patron app it does not do the same, I am concerned also. I drive so I listen to my podcasts all the time. I really hope Apple fixes this issue soon. Thanks

I found a solution to iOS 14.6 Podcast app draining my battery and overheating my phone.

Exit Podcasts.

Select Settings.

Scroll down to Podcasts and click on it.

Scroll down to Automatic Downloads.

Turn off "Enable When Following".

(You might also consider turning off Cellular Data" if you don't want Podcasts to use megabytes you pay for.)

(Consider turning on "Block Downloads Over Cellular").

Exit Settings.

Open the Podcast app.

Select Library.

Select Shows.

Choose the first Show.

Click on "..." (three dots at upper right).

Choose Settings.

Turn off "Automatic Downloads".

(Consider turning off "Notifications".)

Click Done at upper right.

Click the back arrow at upper left.

Choose the next show, click ..., turn off automatic downloads, click Done, click the back arrow.

Repeat for all your shows.

This will stop the automatic downloads of unwanted shows that are overheating your phone.

In addition to turning off automatic downloads, I also turned off notifications to avoid being notified about every new episode for every show.

If any Apple people are reading this, I suggest that you communicate to internal app developers that they should choose default settings that do not overheat the phone, or drain the battery, or overfill the memory, or overuse data.

1) Automatic Downloads should default to off.

2) Background Downloads should default to off.

3) Notifications should default to off.

4) When I go to Settings, Podcasts, and turn off Automatic Downloads, this should turn it off for all shows. I should not have to go to each show individually and turn off Automatic Downloads.

I am using Apple Podcasts. I was able to stop most of the battery drain by turning off Automatic Downloads using this procedure.

Exit Podcasts.

Select Settings.

Scroll down to Podcasts and click on it.

Scroll down to Automatic Downloads.

Turn off "Enable When Following".

(You might also consider turning off Cellular Data" if you don't want Podcasts to use megabytes you pay for.)

(Consider turning on "Block Downloads Over Cellular").

Exit Settings.

Open the Podcast app.

Select Library.

Select Shows.

Choose the first Show.

Click on "..." (three dots at upper right).

Choose Settings.

Turn off "Automatic Downloads".

(Consider turning off "Notifications".)

Click Done at upper right.

Click the back arrow at upper left.

Choose the next show, click ..., turn off automatic downloads, click Done, click the back arrow.

Repeat for all your shows.

This will stop the automatic downloads of unwanted shows that are overheating your phone.

In addition to turning off automatic downloads, I also turned off notifications to avoid being notified about every new episode for every show.

If any Apple people are reading this, I suggest that you communicate to internal app developers that they should choose default settings that do not overheat the phone, or drain the battery, or overfill the memory, or overuse data.

1) Automatic Downloads should default to off.

2) Background Downloads should default to off.

3) Notifications should default to off.

4) When I go to Settings, Podcasts, and turn off Automatic Downloads, this should turn it off for all shows. I should not have to go to each show individually and turn off Automatic Downloads.

5) Even after I did all this to turn off Automatic Downloads, my phone sometimes gets warm for a while when I open the Podcast app and it goes to Listen Now. I suspect that it is downloading unwanted episodes at this time.

Why is this STILL an issue? My iPhone 11 Pro Max burned my leg last week. I was having to charge it up to 3 times per day. It was fine prior to the iOS 14.6 update.

Verizon called it a battery issue and sent me a replacement, & the same thing is happening to the new phone- all while using the podcast app or streaming tv.

My dad passed away unexpectedly & we have to travel for the funeral. Worrying about my $1,000+ phone not holding a charge when we are traveling should NOT be an issue.

Thanks so much for this. I have seen some improvement after turning off automatic downloads.

Now I'm going to also block the notifications. As well, I turned off Siri / suggestions, as I could imagine that it is sending or analyzing info about what I'm listening to in an ongoing way to improve the AI...

I also blocked Background App Refresh. This shouldn't improve the issue - as the problem occurs when the app is NOT in the background - but it is more drain on the battery nonetheless...

Hi KatsPajamas - Agree - this is very frustrating!

Did you see "Engineer_and_hiker" 's notes above? I implemented some of his suggestions, and today am going to implement the rest. The short of it is - see if turning "automatic downloads" off in the general settings for podcasts, as well as for each app within the Podcasts helps you. They did make things better for me, but not as good as before the iOS update. Next I'm going to turn off notifications, and background app refreshes.

I'm sorry to hear about your Poppa. Take care.

My 6S was working well until the 14.6 update. Looks like Apple is doing it again - causing older phones to overheat and burn thru the battery charge. I can literally watch my batter level drop 1% ever 45 SECONDS.

This is apple's problem to fix and restoring my phone due to their attempt to force me to buy a new phone is insulting.

Come on APPLE - show some concern for your consumer.... wait... This is apple - just call me crazy.

Apple devs don’t read this forum.

Feedback to Apple with a feature request

Product Feedback - Apple: