It feels like the 16 pro drains battery like crazy. Mine has gone from 95% to 81% in 38 minutes of light use and some picture taking. Phone also gets really hot when using the camera!
Anyone else experiencing this?
iPhone 16 Pro, iOS 18
I got my phone on Monday 30th September (delivered at nearly 9pm) and it took me until the following day to transfer everything from my 14 Pro Max, so I didn't start using it properly until Tuesday 1st October. For 2 days, I experienced this issue (excessive battery drain) and I became particularly annoyed because my phone was seemingly permanently attached to a charger and the battery percentage wasn't going up. As of last night I was considering sending it back as other posts on here suggested that Apple support was reporting no issues with the phones even though almost everyone was experiencing the same fault.
I did notice that there is a software update available - and although it is just 18.0 by all accounts this update is just for new iPhone 16's (all variances). It says it's a security update but once installed, my battery life is significantly better - to the extent that at nearly 11.30am, it's at 91% and I've used it for work calls; listening to an audio book for 30 minutes and playing some games since 6.30am when I took it off a normal overnight charge.
Maybe it was the update or maybe something else (although I didn't do or change anything else in my normal phone usage/routine) but the battery drain issue seems to have been resolved.
I got my phone on Monday 30th September (delivered at nearly 9pm) and it took me until the following day to transfer everything from my 14 Pro Max, so I didn't start using it properly until Tuesday 1st October. For 2 days, I experienced this issue (excessive battery drain) and I became particularly annoyed because my phone was seemingly permanently attached to a charger and the battery percentage wasn't going up. As of last night I was considering sending it back as other posts on here suggested that Apple support was reporting no issues with the phones even though almost everyone was experiencing the same fault.
I did notice that there is a software update available - and although it is just 18.0 by all accounts this update is just for new iPhone 16's (all variances). It says it's a security update but once installed, my battery life is significantly better - to the extent that at nearly 11.30am, it's at 91% and I've used it for work calls; listening to an audio book for 30 minutes and playing some games since 6.30am when I took it off a normal overnight charge.
Maybe it was the update or maybe something else (although I didn't do or change anything else in my normal phone usage/routine) but the battery drain issue seems to have been resolved.
alwoods wrote:
Over the last few days my iPhone 16 Pro has started to heat up a lot and drain the battery, in a 15min drive I went from over 60% to less than 30%. I had to switch it off due to the heat coming of it, I have everything but my Spotify switched off so I have no idea what is going on.
To be clear "switching" off an app does not stop it from running in the background. Post your graph and apps consuming the battery at Settings > Battery, and scroll down.
I assume you have already done the Force Restart. This may take a couple of attempts to get the speed and sequence of the key presses correct:
Hi everyone,
I finally found the solution myself. No use visiting the service center, I have visited three times, which was quite disappointing. I didn’t expect such poor service from Apple and didn’t get any resolution. When a customer has a concern, the issue should be diagnosed properly, and the customer should be believed and given a resolution. But sadly such a bad service.
It turns out my phone has no issues. It works perfectly fine without a SIM card and with a SIM card from a different network. The only time I see a 10-20% battery drain when the phone is idle is when using a Vodafone SIM card (INDIA). After carrying this tension and making multiple trips for two months, I’m now free of the problem. The same phone works perfectly fine with my Airtel SIM card. It’s very strange, and I don’t know why this happens, but I’m sharing this update after multiple tests. You may try this too. Hope this helps, thanks!!
Mech2862 wrote:
Why is my IPhone 16 Pros battery draining so fast and the phone gets hot? It’s only 1 month old.
Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
Securikyle wrote:
Is this a bot reply because this is a thread on the iphone16pro battery. I am using the exact same apps as I was using in a 14 pro max and getting LESS battery time. It’s an abomination of a product and I shouldn’t have to stop using it the way it was designed for it to work within specs.
You may be using the exact same apps, but they certainly are not the same version of those apps. Take Meta for example, where they have updated their apps as much as 10 times in just the last month. Many of those updates have contained bugs and changed the way the apps are using your battery. There are been many articles posted on the internet about their excessive battery usage and Google has even called them out for the same problems seen on Android devices where Meta committed to changing the behavior, but we will see. That is just one example.
It is your choice if you want to use those apps that are consuming your battery and you can certainly identify them by going to Settings > Battery. Post the screenshot that includes your battery graph and the top battery consumers. The apps that are using Background Processes will also be identified there.
If you think it is your phone that is the problem, then Factory Reset the device or delete those apps, and compare the results. It really is that simple to determine the cause. Continuing to use a power hungry app, then complaining about your device having less battery life, is not a solution. The developer chooses how they want their app to run that may result in increased battery loss, and you choose whether to use the app or not. Apple gives you all the tools to help you make that decision.
ethan_iphone16proisTrash wrote:
i had a 13 and when it was new i could go all day and still have 70 percent. i've had that phone for almost 3 years and the battery degraded obviously. i just got the iphone 16 pro and the battery is literally no better than my iphone 13. makes no sense. apple please fix this. it is ridiculous.
[Edited by Moderator]
Take the device in to a Genius Bar for diagnostics. Perhaps it has a weak battery:
Deiyu wrote:
My iPhone 16 pro overheats too and drains too fast. Got it for less than a week. It’s seriously crazy
Let’s define “overheating”, which is always a hardware problem. If a device overheats it shuts down so it can’t be used, and displays a message saying it must cool down before it can be turned on, and it will probably be unusable for an hour or so. If you are seeing this it is a hardware problem and you should contact Apple support:
Note that both of the above have options to receive a callback or chat
If you are not seeing this your phone has not overheated. However, if you fast charge your iPhone it may get very warm, and may pause charging at 80% and display a message saying that charging has paused, and will resume when the phone cools down. This is NOT overheating, and is normal when fast charging. It also won’t prevent you from using any app you have on your phone.
If you have just updated allow a couple of days for iOS to complete its “housekeeping"
Some apps that use a lot of energy or that use cellular data rather than Wi-Fi can cause the phone to run warmer. Worst offenders are Meta products (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc), interactive games, watching streaming videos, and the Camera app. And having VPN installed, whether using it or not, can also consume a lot of energy.
All of these are manifestations of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.
omarou208 wrote:
And ofc if you go to Apple Store they will give you any excuse just to say that it’s not the phone it’s way you use the phone
Or you can test it for yourself. It really is not that difficult. Factory Reset the phone and do not restore from a backup. Compare your battery usage with a clean install and then you will know if it is the device or the apps installed on the phone. That is also what Apple would do.
16 pro here, I found that turning off the always on display lowered the battery usage a ton. Hopefully this gets fixed.
Schedule an appointment at apple to have diagnostics ran on it. There is no cost.
OK, the issue that seems to be frustrating you is the battery. Please show a screen of the last 10 days of battery usage by app. Here’s mine,
I usually average around 9+ hours of screen time. I charge my iPhone to 100% and start my day at around 6 AM at 100% using optimized charging. No charging during the day. I plug my iPhone 16 PM in around 8 PM and continue online activity on my iPad until 6 AM the next morning. This has been my experience with iOS 18 since day one. I update the day any update is released. Some updates have been better than others, but 18.4.1 has eliminated the vast majority of battery issues in my experience, viewing posts on Facebook, Reddit and to a lesser extent Instagram ( I don’t spend much time there).
So we can work together to resolve issues or you need to contact Apple. I really don’t expect a response because when we go down this path, it almost inevitably leads to social media apps being the issue and the posters either not responding or refusing to admit Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApple, YouTube and TikTok could possibly be the issue. After all, they can’t live without those apps, so it must be the hardwares fault. Prove me wrong.
My 16 pro battery was draining very fast but after disabling siri and search settings and removing whether app widget as suggested here 11 Proven Steps to fix iPhone 16 Pro Battery Drain Issue and following other recommendations too, there was noticeable improvement in battery draining. Note that I didn't turned off raise to wake and push notifications.
Many users faced this issue and many suggested to do some tweaks in the iPhone to increase battery life and reduces temperature rise like:- Limit Background App Refresh, Disable Location Service etc.
I tried these ways and yes found difference in battery life before and after following these steps.
[Edited by Moderator]
daniellefromcloster wrote:
i had a 13 and charged it once a day. I used it a ton. This is nuts the problem isn’t being addressed. Does anyone on here know when it will be???
I’m afraid we don’t. We can’t even confirm this is an issue that needs to be addressed, and not just an issue that affects your device only. We do not work for Apple, we’re just users like you.
You’re best off dealing directly with Apple:
Can you tell us the Maximum Capacity of your device’s battery? Settings > Battery > Battery Health.
HenryDickens wrote:
My iphone16 Pro Max had very good battery life when I got it, which is just a few months ago. Now it barely lasts my workday, much less the evening. What can I do other than cry “foul!”
Stuff that uses battery:
That’s it; go to Settings/Battery and see which apps are using the most energy if it isn’t the first two.
iPhone 16 pro battery draining fast
