Iphone 3GS 4.2.1 problem-battery

Jupik,

You're not alone. I have the same problem. The phone won't charge more than 96% and downloading email uses 8%.

What's the problem?

(and your English is fine.)

My 3GS is not responding well to the 4.2.1 update either. The main problem is stand by drain. There must be some runaway process running in the background. I am going to attempt to confirm this by restarting the phone and leaving it idle afterwards and checking drain...

Hi there - i am witnessing same thing.

I have got the iphone 3gs with os 4.2.1

I charged my phone overnight to 100%.

I only used 20% by the afternoon and after and an hour - the battery life went down to 0%.

I had to re-charge my iphone through the computer - now my battery is draining much quicker than the previous update. I have 3G turned off.

How do I resolve this?

I have this issue on an older 4.1 3GS that is now out of warranty. Since their update caused the problem, they should offer a replacement, even though my iPhone is out of warranty by a week! I am a proud supporter of Apple, having 4 ipod touch in my house, 3 iphones and 2 macbooks, but they cant fix this problem!!! Frustrated customer here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Same here... 3GS, never had a problem, today, on 4.2.1 the battery is draining very quickly and the phone gets physically hot. I have tried hard reboots and it keeps coming back. I have been on the phone a total of 10 minutes today, and maybe 10 min of map and I am on my third recharge.

I am having the same battery problem. Before the update, my 3G would last all without a charge. After the update, its dead after a few hours of standby time.

On iOS 4.0.1 I had no problems at all with the battery, after upgrading to 4.1 it has been a nightmare.

On 4.0.1 with my normal activity I will have a full day of battery.

Now with 4.1, I lost all my battery on 3 hours. And yes the phone gets warm. I already disabled push notifications, removed and added my email accounts, adjusted push settings, etc and nothing helps.

I have seen this happening even on the iPhone 4, and also saw it yesterday happening with iOS 4.2.

Why Apple is not recognizing this as a bug? there are way to many post and people being affected. This should be fixed by Apple soon, I had the hope that it was fixed on 4.2 but is not. I cannot work with a phone that does not last 3 hours. Apple should sign 4.0.1 or even 4.0 for the time being while they fix these problems.

I'll just chime in to add that since going from 4.2 to 4.2.1, battery life on my 3GS is also severely impacted.

There is some process that is using the battery when the phone is idle. It is not a problem specifically with 4.2.1, it can happen with any version, and at any time. It IS more common after an upgrade, however. you need to identify the process that is causing the problem. There are several things to try to resolve it. Be sure to reboot (hold HOME and SLEEP until an Apple logo appears, about 10 seconds) after each step. Test after each step and if the problem is resolved do not go further.

1. Go to Settings/General/Reset and Reset Network Settings.

2. Go to Settings/General/Reset and Reset ALL Settings.

3. If you have a Push email account or accounts, go to Settings/Mail,Contacts,Calendar, tap on the push account name and turn if off with the switch. (Turn off the ACCOUNT, not PUSH). Next open the email app so it "knows" the account is off. Quite email. After the reboot go back into Settings and turn the account(s) back on.

4. Close all Safari pages.

5. If you have used Game Center at any time in the past, go to Settings/Restrictions and enable the restriction on Multiplayer games. You will have to assign a lock code. DO NOT FORGET IT!

6. If none of these have helped Restore the phone in iTunes.

7. If that does not fix it Go to Settings/General/Reset and Erase All Contents and Settings. Restore again, but this time set up as a new phone.

If you have gotten this far the phone should be working normally. If it still is not you most likely have a hardware problem.

Lawrence, i did the reset for all network and general settings and my battery is holding its charge normally. Thank you very much for your advice!

I had the same problem after updating to iOS 4.2.1.

I fixed it with Lawrences' manual. I had to go to his Step 7 to solve my problem.
Thx
Marc

Hello all. Just wanted to comment....I haven't had any problems with 4.2.1 as of yet. I updated from 4.1. I have to say, the battery life will never be as good as 3.x, but I have never had an issue all the way from 3.1.3 to 4.2.1, with the exception of 4.0. I also have to say, I believe my battery charge is lasting longer since this 4.2.1 update. Can't figure out why, but I'm not complaining. I went 3 days 9 hrs standby with 5 hrs usage(not sure if I believe the usage...but...and I still was only down to 51% when I plugged it back in)Since 4.0, I have kept push off, and location services unless i needed them, and 3G off unless I was doing maps on the road. I just wish Apple would put WIFI-3G-Bluetooth toggles directly as an app. I don't like digging so far down for these items. I don't want to jailbreak for this. I'd like to keep Apple support...If you are having hot phone issues and are still under warranty, do those actions described in this discussion. If that doesn't work, and you are still under warranty, go to Apple Store if you have them(US). They are most helpfull. I had my first 3GS home button quit not long after 4.0 update(purchased the day you could order the iPhone 4). They replaced it straight off with a new one with 4.0 all ready loaded. Never had a real problem since. Like I said, I think this 4.2.1 update did something, and improved my battery usage...

I guess I have to take that back...I think I just had the same problem I experienced with 4.0 at one point. I was noticing quick battery drain last evening. I looked around in the phone for any clues. I found that annoying animated circle/clocking thing under the General-Network-Tethering item in Settings. Usually, that will clock briefly when you first go in there, and then come up with Set Up Internet Tethering. Well, last night it was stuck clocking for some reason. Like I said, I had this same issue in 4.0. It took a cold reboot to clear it. Battery drain gone now I think. I don't know what set that off again...If anyone has any ideas, post back here. I'll try to figure it out also and let you know. Thanks.

over 3 days standby???? I seldom manage more than a day - recently (since 4.0) about 7 hours is the maximum.

Do you have wi-fi and 3g turned on? I have these on as standard, so this might be part of the problem.

I'd love to know how to get the standby up to 24 hours!

There isn't an iPhone equivalent to Activity Monitor, is there? It'd be nice to see what processes are using all the battery...

Fustbariclation wrote:
over 3 days standby???? I seldom manage more than a day - recently (since 4.0) about 7 hours is the maximum.

You should do better than this. Read the thread for ideas on how to fix it; the problem is not 4.2.1, it is something that got corrupted during the update and it can be fixed.

Do you have wi-fi and 3g turned on? I have these on as standard, so this might be part of the problem.

I have always (for 3 years) had everything on - wifi, bluetooth, 3G, location services. What's the point of having features if you don't use them? I get through an average day with no problem, and charge every night. I see no point in leaving home with a phone that is not at 100%.

I'd love to know how to get the standby up to 24 hours!

There isn't an iPhone equivalent to Activity Monitor, is there? It'd be nice to see what processes are using all the battery...

there is, but it only shows what's running, not what is using the most power. It is rarely CPU usage; the real power hog is communications.