IOS 4.2.1 battery drain

I have also noticed my battery drains much faster with the new iOS 4.2. Now I can hardly have the iPhone until the end of the day. The only improvement I have notice so far is the fixed alarm. But if you don't upgrade the iTunes will bother you each time you plug in the phone to the computer. Mybe it's time to think about iPhone 4. I was hoping to use my 3GS this year as well.

Anyone knows what's the average life of the iPhone battery. My my battery goes down, maybe it's not the latest software update responsible for foster draining.
So far I have more the 27days talk time and in average I use the iPhone about 4-5 hours per day (including wifi, applications, ect)?
Anyone can help with information?

Victor Mihajlov wrote:
Anyone knows what's the average life of the iPhone battery. My my battery goes down, maybe it's not the latest software update responsible for foster draining.
So far I have more the 27days talk time and in average I use the iPhone about 4-5 hours per day (including wifi, applications, ect)?
Anyone can help with information?

According to Apple it will be at half its capacity after 500 full charge cycles. LiIon batteries also have a shelf life of 3-4 years.

It is not the latest software that is responsible for the battery drain, but it could be one or more apps that you have installed, or a mail app that is trying to connect on stale connections.

Apps that use power when not in use (other than streaming apps, which are obvious) include Game Center, Yahoo, Skype, Fring, Facebook (and similar) and Dataman (a big battery hog, despite claims to the contrary by the developer).

To see if the problem is mail go into settings and turn off any Push mail accounts (Exchange, Yahoo, MobileMe, Google), then open the Mail app so it "knows" they have been turned off. Then quit mail and reboot the phone (hold HOME and SLEEP until an Apple logo appears). After it comes back up turn the mail accounts back on. BTW, it's the ACCOUNTS that you should turn off, NOT Push.

I have the same problem as well after 4.2.1 update 1 day back. The iphone 3GS did last me 2 days per charge with moderate usage. Now, after update, it last hardly an less that 6 hours under the same usage model.

And no, it is not because the battery is EOL. Battery gradually degrades, doesn't go from 48 hours to 6 hours in a day's time.

I hope apple can some out with some fix or at least an official work around for this issue. I have tried most of the suggestions found here (restarting, resetting, mail turn on/off, push on/off etc). No go for the issue. My phone is now plugged in to the wall, virtually whenever i can find a power plug!

yep, completely drained today morning.

try draining battery to 0% and do a full cycle recharge to 100%

that worked for my iphone4

Well, my 3GS ran out of battery unexpectedly anyway during the day. Didn't need to wait long for draining...

I recharged it to 100% and went out for an hour with it. Back with 42% battery power in 1 hour and i just made one 2 minute phone call! I have checked for multitasking apps (none) to see if anyone was using up the battery.

This is definitely an OS update issue, since i have my phone setup almost unchanged from 4.1 to iOS 4.2.1. I will try to restore the device later tonight again after charging up and see if it works out by fluke.

Ive seen no problem here with my battery usage. Although there still is a difference in battery life when I charge my phone on the computer vs the wall jack.

I love my Apple products, but I just wish they'd own up. It IS not a setting or an app that is causing this change. The ONLY difference between today and 3 days ago on my phone is the OS upgrade. Now it could be the way the OS is behaving with an app which could make it an OS issue OR an app issue. In either case, doesn't Apple pay people to triage this stuff when it is very clear the problem is fairly widespread?

I am a software technical manager that is responsible for some of the end-user products my company produces. If ONE complaint comes into the help desk that isn't a "known issue", we triage it almost immediately. In most cases, where there is smoke there is fire.

OWN UP APPLE. Dayum!!!

BTW, a similar discussion is happening over on the iPad forum. I just ordered an iPad a couple days ago. I do not plan to do the OS upgrade until I see some resolve from Apple.

Mitch Hewitt wrote:
I love my Apple products, but I just wish they'd own up. It IS not a setting or an app that is causing this change. The ONLY difference between today and 3 days ago on my phone is the OS upgrade.

Just like it was for every other version? (I know I posted this already, but few people actually read the thread they post to).


New iOS 4.1 is a battery KiLLER!
iOS 4.1 drains battery
Battery Meter/Life Problems with 4.0.2
4.0.2 guzzling my battery. Your's too?
4.0.1 battery life
Battery runs out very quicky in iOS 4.0.1
Battery nearly nonexistant after 4.0 upgrade
Dead battery after few hours on standby using 4.0 software
3.1.3 battery problem
OS 3.1.3 battery issues
3.1.3 upgrade - shortened battery life?
Battery life cut after 3.1.3 update on iPhone 3G
3.1.3 Firmware is a battery killer - how do I back out this upgrade?
Poor battery life with iPhone 3G running 3.1.2
3.1.2 EXTREME battery drain - what gives?
3.1 Battery nightmare
iPhone 3GS with fw 3.1 – battery life gets even worse
Battery Issues with 3.0.1
BATTERY drain with 3.0
upgrade to 3.0 drains my battery
Battery Drain after Update 2.2.1
Battery Life Radically Decreased after 2.2.1 Firmware Update

I'm having a similar problem as well. I did some testing and my iPhone loses about 1% every 3-5 minutes when being used, this has been happening since updating to 4.2.1.

And mileage certainly varies. Started by iPhone foray with the 3G a couples years back. Now on the 4, and this is THE FIRST time I've had battery drain issues EVER. And I'm always the one that upgrades before waiting for the fallout. I've learned my lesson.

I cannot find good detailed instructions on rolling back to 4.1. Anyone? Everything seems to be a convoluted description and never includes where to d/l the 4.1 firmware. I never thought I'd want to move backward, so I'm not savvy in this area.

Mitch Hewitt wrote:
And mileage certainly varies. Started by iPhone foray with the 3G a couples years back. Now on the 4, and this is THE FIRST time I've had battery drain issues EVER. And I'm always the one that upgrades before waiting for the fallout. I've learned my lesson.

I cannot find good detailed instructions on rolling back to 4.1. Anyone? Everything seems to be a convoluted description and never includes where to d/l the 4.1 firmware. I never thought I'd want to move backward, so I'm not savvy in this area.

You cannot roll back without jailbreaking your phone. And if you do it probably won't fix the problem, as it was caused by the upgrade process, not the version itself.

While in the ideal world Apple would address this, the only choices are to troubleshoot it yourself or take it to an Apple store and have the geniuses do it for you.

What is guaranteed to fix it is to do a Restore, and set up as a new phone, do not restore your backup. There are less drastic steps that will probably fix it, however:

1. Reset network settings, then reboot.

2. Go into settings/Mail..., open each of your Push accounts and turn them off, then go into the Mail app to force all connections to close. Reboot, and turn the accounts back on (turn off the accounts, not PUSH).

3. Find the app that is causing the drain. Likely suspects are streaming apps (e.g., Pandora), social networking apps (Facebook, Yahoo, Skype), Dataman, Game Center (to disable Game Center you must go to Settings/Restrictions and disable multiplayer games).

BTW, my phone's battery drain went up after the upgrade; it turned out to be Dataman.

Your phone SHOULD lose 1% every 3-5 minutes when being used. The battery life is specified as 7 hours (420 minutes) on 3G. 1% of 420 is 4.2 minutes. So your phone is performing to spec.