iPhone 3GS Battery Issue (iOS 5)

UPDATE

I recently said I fixed my iPhone 3Gs issues by upgrading iTunes - scratch that. It fixed the battery draining/shutting off issue for about 2 weeks, but 2 days ago it started doing it again. I can get maybe 20 minutes out of my phone without it shutting off. Then I plug it in, it turns back on with an almost full battery. I just bought a new MacBook Pro, synced my phone with that hoping it would fix it, but it didn't. I'm going to try to try to downgrade today, hopefully that will work.

UPDATE:

I called Apple Support, started at 9:03AM Friday the 6th and finished talking with them around 3:38PM, yes it was a hellish day!

Anyway, I finally made it to "Tier THREE" as in "someone from technical is supposed to get back to me about this issue." In the mean time I have literally, after restoring my iPhone 3Gs to NEW via iTunes had to remove ALL of my APPS, music, photos and basically everything to have any battery life.

In short, my $450.00 amazingly fun, cool, convenient, and sometimes life saving iPhone is now just a land line. My father joked that his TRACK Phone has more features than my Cadillac of Phones.

By the way, if any of you guys do call Apple Support, if you get one of them on the phone and they are giving you the run around that your phone is old or your battery is old or some other crap...hang up and call back to get another person. I discovered that the hard way. The first person I spoke with was very very sweet, the second was a total knob, the third was OK, the fourth was an out right DICK HEAD, and the last one I spoke with was the one who moved me up to the "THIRD TIER".

My phone was working great until the update...MY PHONE WAS WORKING GREAT UNTIL THE UPDATE!!!

Old or not, I still paid a lot of money for this phone and I still supported Apple Employees wages, health care, and whatever other benefits these guys have. the very least these guys can do is own up to the problem and...FIX THIS NOW!!!

amy1985, any luck with your downgrade attempt?

I am having the same problem as everyone here. I do not get a warning when my phone dies it just turns off and wont turn on until I plug it in. It is lasting about 1/2 a day after fully charging all night. I have called Apple several times and after 4-5 restores (including deleting all of my info and not putting it back on) my phone is no different. I have decided to buy a new phone but since my contract with Fido isn't up for another yr and a half I have to wait until then to get the phone at a cost I can actually afford. I'm not sure what I am going to do at the moment, I guess carry a charger with me at all times and hope I have access to a plug when I really need my phone. 😟

I am having the same issue and after putting up with it through Christmas I went over to the Apple store to see if they had an answer. The "Genius" hooked my phone up to a MacBook with some sort of diagnostic program on it and checked everything. Battery came back as good...very good...even though my phone is a couple of years old. The problem it found was with the Springboard and locationd components of iOS5. There were multiple crashes indicated with both components. The "Genius" told me that the Springboard crashes were more significant and that were probably due to corruption in the system. He went on to reccomend that the phone be wiped and reloaded as a new phone - do not use the backup - then install the apps and other things. I have done this twice and after a couple of days the problem reoccurs.

What I have noticed about this issue:

It almost always seems to happen when the power ticks down from 80 to 79% and it usually will not restart until plugged in. Oddly, I do not have to press the power button as it will restart shortly after being plugged in. The times it is able to restart on its own the battery indication is low - under 30% and usually in the red zone. Once plugged in the power level jumps up to 60-70% after a few minutes. The phone also seems to shut off more when indoors especially in places with a lot of metal racks like Home Depot or Sam's. The shut off issue did not start until after I upgraded to iOS5 and it was better after 5.0.1 but still happens frequently.

Thus it appears that there is indeed a problem with iOS5 and Apple seems to know what it is but cannot/will not fix it. I am currently eliglible for a new phone but since the 4S appear to be having a similar problem it might be time to try an android phone...

That is spot on. I just don't understand how they can say it is ios 5 is compatible with the 3S and then not fix the issue. Who do we talk to about this without getting a run around? This should be reported to consumer affairs.

It happened to me again yesterday after a long time, this time it died at 30%, plugged my phone in to charge and it still had 30% juice. Just **** me off. I know it is 2 generation old but I paid €520 for it.

Please Apple fix it, I am a big fan and still love my Apple products.

This is my third attempt to post today. Apple has pulled my other two posts telling me I am ranting.

I have gotten nowhere with Apple Support. I've spoken to at least 6 people, 3 senior advisors.

The last one told me that I should purchase a new iPhone because my old one is 2.5 years old. Even though they ran 4 diagnostics and told me my 3Gs is working just fine.

What choice do we have guys. They clearly don't care.

I'm haveing the same exact issue as Tyrelius.

This will be my last post. I doubt if it even makes it on here.

Update:

I have disabled Location Services on my phone and was able to run the power down to 78% without a shut off. My phone also seems to be running a bit quicker than before.

Update:

Around 62% I turned on Location Services but turned off all usage. Ran a few apps including Maps and wasn't having an issue until the power ticked down from 60 to 59% and the phone promptly shut off. So until needed I will leave Location Services off...

I am so disgusted with the lack of support concerning this major issue for all iPhone 3Gs users. I have been frustrated since iOS5 came out which is the date this issue started for all of us.

From the 4 others that I know who own iPhone 3Gs's these are their outcomes.

First of all, All of them had this very same problem with varying degree of occurence.

Person A - Had their phone replaced by the Genius Bar

Person B - Was told their battery was totally spent and sent in the phone to be replaced via the Genius Bar. Obviously with a new phone, no issues since.

Person C - Same story as B. Was told their battery was totally spent and sent in the phone to be replaced via the Genius Bar. Obviously with a new phone, no issues since.

Person D - Ended up upgrading to the 4s

I have been to the Genius Bar twice. First time was just a drop in to get answers several days after iOS5 came out. I was told to wait for a patch which would be released shortly. The patch was released but was for the iPhone 4. Did not solve anything of course.

Just today I ended up going there again as this problem is still just as horrible as it was several months ago.

After 20 minutes I was still being told that the 30-60% battery life where my iPhone quit,s is a representation of the battery at fault. I began to realize that regardless of what I say, its just going in one ear and out the other and I wasn't getting anywhere.

Rather than trying to argue with a "better programmed" Genius Bar employee then my poorly coded iPhone software, I left for the last time.

I still do not have a working phone. As most people, I too was excited about the next generation of iPhone coming out most likely well before my upgrade date. Unfortuneately for Apple, I will be forced to withdrawl from that option.

As a very frequent forum user and multiple website owner, I will make certain to express my opinion on the lack of product value, and customer service I have received.

Company Cellular phones and Sales Tools will be swapped out immediately.

My name is Emily and I have had my 3GS phone since about july of 2010. I am a teenager so I am always on my phone. My phone would last me about 2 days even though I was on it all the time. Ever since I updated my phone to iOS 5.0.1, my battery life has been terrible. It JUST recently died at 67% as I was telling my dad about all the posts I have been reading. I don't think it is the right choice to go to apple about the issues as everyone says they just say to get a new phone. I have a warrenty on my phone through best buy that can replace the phone for equal or lesser value, so I was thinking about just doing that. Whenever I am not home, I always use my phone to keep in touch with my parents. Now it dies all the time and my parents think I die along with my phone becuase they are unable to reach me haha. I know there isn't a way to put back 4 software on your phone so I am quite sad about the situation. I'm not sure either if getting a new battery will help or doing a reset. Some days, I can get my phone down to about 10% at the lowest, but I have seen it die at about 94% and then I would turn it back on after about 10 minutes and it would have 57% left. It will die many times, and I would turn it on after each time it dies. Sometimes, I think that the phone doesn't know what to do, like get overwhelmed and it just shuts off like its unable to handle itself. Also, if I would plug my phone in after it has an episode, it would go from dying at 60% to being charged at 18% then it will go from 18% to 40% in about 10 minutes. I always leave my phone on the charger for about 2 hours even after it says 100% or leave it on overnight. I do believe the solution is to get a new phone, however, I am not sure if I will go back to the iphone.

You can try getting a newer iPhone, like the 4 or 4S. Most of the battery complaints I see here are for the 3GS. You could also try restoring your 3GS iPhone to a backup that was done before you got iOS 5.

I think I will eventually get the iPhone 4 or 4S. It is just sad because there was nothing wrong with my phone before I got the new software. I was actually planning on keeping my phone for a while, but if it gets worse, I will get a new phone.

Your other option, like I said, is to restore your iPhone from a backup that you did before you upgraded it to iOS 5.