Q: iPhone 4s Battery Life?

DKay wrote:

 

[...] admit they have a problem they don't have a work around or solution to, and offer a free upgrade from this model to the 5 when it comes available.[...]

That's why I'm waiting for the thread to hit 1M hits as I'm pretty sure that they'll be making such an announcement right here - we may all get iTunes vouchers for free music!!! Just kidding lolll. I don't think this is happening anytime soon. The disconnect really comes from lower standby time specifications compared with the iP4 vs. marketing. Plus they solved in part the issue with 5.0.1 + 9A406, whereas other sub issues have been solved, sometimes only temporarily though, by manually syncing instead of restoring, updating apps, resetting and ultimately exchanging the device for a tweaked one - I agree with the theory that at this point, the exchange devices may be different... before some people would exchange the device up to 4 - 7 times and would consistently get bad results, yet now some people have exchanged the device and had much better results with their "new" handset. Who knows.

I agree some users have bad handsets and nothing will do. Jumping on the iP5 bandwagon when it arrives to the station might be just as foolish as waiting in line for the 4S. Consumers should make informed decisions, read reviews and peer comments before buying.

sbailey4 wrote:

 

Look further down in the message. I recalculated using just wi-fi spec. He said wi-fi was turned on all day and used 30 min of talk time. So 6 hr 51 min- the 30 min talk  (6.35) was all internet use, browse,imessage etc then divided by the wi-fi spec of 9hrs instead of 7.5. The first calculation was with the wi-fi /3g average but clearly that was not correct as it came out to 113%. The wi-fi assumption calculated almost perfect at 99.25% plus the 1% he had left.

 

And yes, I agree,  the 3g/wifi avg should be used when not known. (why i redid the calculatons)

1AppleADayNoWay wrote:

 

[maths]

Yes, I see that you recalculated, yet I have to stand by my numbers aka 71%, because he confirmed in a second post that there were 2.2 hours spent on the UI. You seem to calculate wifi use irrespective of active vs inactive usage. For me the fact of having wifi on in itself can't constitute usage even though I acknowledge that there is always background stuff happening - yet it is not the same as actively browsing the web or using a network centric app "live". Anyways, it's only about estimating and it's no rocket science and the fact the user is satisfied or not trumps it all.

Further I don't obsess about the maths as I know how the device behaves - on the shortest side of the spectrum, it's one day with more intense use (4-6/22) or on the longer side it's up to 2 days with 1-2 hours tops mixed usage per day. Non standard longer usage is possible with extreme trim down of features using a non phantom draining device as a non-feedback device (where the user decides that the phone doesn't tell him what's happening and the user decides to get feedback himself - manual fetch, "just in time" social network access and such) - but it defeats in my opinion the original purpose of these devices. But to each his own!

Take care!

I finally drained my battery last night, I think I got pretty good results. 2 days 5 hours standy by and 6 hours usage. Admittedly I'm not a heavy user, but I haven't changed my use of the phone while I was seeing how long it lasted.

Like someone else mentioned in an earlier post, my phone seemed to stay on 1% charge for well over an hour. I've no idea if this is normal or not??

Tim Cook is scoring points with me here: http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/2/2766403/tim-cook-apple-charity-project-red-stan ford

We need a more humane Apple. You guys may find comfort in knowing that some of your money is used for good deeds. Hints that he'll also be tackling working conditions in Asia. This is real good news!

Upgraded to 4S this week from 3GS and yes, for obvious reasons I have ended up here! Can't believe how bad the battery is. I am currently looking at 16% after 4 hrs usage and 11 hours standby. I was teaching for 6 hours of the day and in between I checked a few emails and did some surfing, no calls. Have seen some tips for work arounds but I fail to see how this is my problem. I don't want to have to get a new phone and go through the hassle of setting up again. It's clear that this has been a problem since release so why haven't Apple fixed this yet?

I just wanted to share my experience but it's turned into a bit of rant, sorry about that. I hope someone who can actually do something about this is reading this forum.

Everyone wants a troublefree experience, no doubt. Rant is ok, no need to apologize for that. On the other hand, if you don't make it your problem by doing a little of troubleshooting and don't want the hassle of setting up a new phone, I guess you're stuck waiting for 5.1 to be released, in the hope it can do something for you...

While waiting, you might enjoy a funny video (no, despite my past habit this is not a new Samsung video about their latest handset)... this time around it's the Gmail Man video... from our friends in Redmond. Doubly funny since the video itself is funny and furthermore because MS has become quite friendly with FB over time and most of FB's money comes from... ads lollll (they've even introduced tailored ads in the newsfeed based on user content if I'm not mistaken) - seems to me FB is at least an equal threat in terms of privacy... so maybe we'll get an MS video on the subject one of these days?? In the meantime, enjoy!

http://youtu.be/TDbrX5U75dk

And good luck!

Here are my phone usage statistics. Big improvement since letting the battery drain down to 0% and turn itself off. After a full charge this is what my phone has gave me in terms of use. I have everything off (location services, bluetooth, wifi, siri etc) all of which I am not too bothered about anyway. Does anyone think this is good or should I be getting more?

I guess I don't get it, what is the point in getting a smart phone if you have to turn every feature off just to make it through the day ( or nite ) ? Isn't the whole purpose of a smartphone that the features are there to use? I still think that a 40% decrease in battery life in 6 hours in standby or sleep mode or whatever you want to call it is outrageous.

Swede there is possibly something wrong with your handset. I've had over 2 days standby on my phone.

Brought my wife's 4S to Yorkdale mall (in Toronto) 3 weeks ago and told them about the battery problem(Usage time ALWAYS the same as standby time)...unlike the rep at fairview mall...about 5 mins in describing the problem..they already agreed to give me a new phone...and I asked if I will be getting the same problem with the new one and he said it won't....he said it with a lot of confidence and it seems to me that they know a certain batch of 4S have this issue. They gave me a piece of paper and told me they'll call me when the replacment phone arrives...3 days later they call me...I went to pick it up...charge it to 100% at night...unplug after I go to sleep..

Next morning...battery is at 99%...so only lost 1% battery overnight at standby...Finally issue is resolved.

So to those that are still having issue...book an appointment and get your phone replaced....

Interesting topic from a newsletter I get. No specific models mentioned. rphunte42 did you write this lol?   Here is an excerpt:

Speaking of smart-phones, though, one of the biggest issues with those devices is battery life. Now it's great that carriers have rolled out phones with super fast LTE networks, and download speeds up to 20 Mbps - but 4G eats up the power very quickly. The first thing I do when I get a new phone is tweak its settings to try to squeeze out a bit more battery longevity, and I've resorted to buying bulky extended batteries for some phones, that more than double the usage time but also destroy the phone's lightweight and slim profile.

At CES this year, power solutions were all over the place. None of them are ideal, but we seem to be making some progress on solving - or at least ameliorating - the battery problem. And if not, it's not for lack of trying.
 
The "traditional" solution is to buy and carry an extra battery or two for your phone or laptop. That can be expensive, depending on the model of your device. You can also get universal external batteries that will work on most any laptop, phone, digital camera, etc. but again, these can be pretty pricey. Another drawback when you're traveling is that extra batteries and external batteries add extra weight and bulk to your luggage.

If you travel by car, you can always use a DC power adapter that will let you charge your device(s) off your vehicle's battery, and they also make adapters designed to convert the power from your boat or private aircraft. There are also solar laptop battery chargers that you can use if you're hiking in the wilderness (as long as the sunlight shines through - maybe they would be better suited for hiking in the desert).

One of the interesting power-related products that I saw at CES was the Powerbag line of backpacks, briefcases and travel bags that have integrated on-board batteries and connectors built into the bag for added convenience. Duracell had a booth at CES too, and they have some innovative products such as wireless power charging technology that's built into desks, tables and other pieces of furniture.

CWiphone wrote:

 

Brought my wife's 4S to Yorkdale mall (in Toronto) 3 weeks ago and told them about the battery problem(Usage time ALWAYS the same as standby time)...unlike the rep at fairview mall...about 5 mins in describing the problem..they already agreed to give me a new phone...and I asked if I will be getting the same problem with the new one and he said it won't....he said it with a lot of confidence and it seems to me that they know a certain batch of 4S have this issue. They gave me a piece of paper and told me they'll call me when the replacment phone arrives...3 days later they call me...I went to pick it up...charge it to 100% at night...unplug after I go to sleep..

 

Next morning...battery is at 99%...so only lost 1% battery overnight at standby...Finally issue is resolved.

 

So to those that are still having issue...book an appointment and get your phone replaced....

Seems you are getting great battery, but how is losing 1% battery life overnight posible? iphone 4s is rated at 200 hr in standy mode, that's approximately 0.5% battery lost per hour. Assuming you sleep 8 hours "overnight", you should lose 4% battery life, and your battery should be at 96%...

Did you leave all settings at default? or did you turn off some of the notification or location service features? do you have your 3G and WIFI on?

Why would anyone be happy with buying a high dollar 4s and then turn all the features off. This is hard for me to grasp why anyone would be happy  doing this just to say they have the newest I phone. And for all the Apple trolls on here who continue to worship apauliingapple and continue to spout that apple is working on this HOW do you know? Apple has not came out and stated they are working on this huge malfunction of their phone. They ignore the tens of thousands of users who purchased these faulty phones. If they want to do the right thing stop selling them until its is all fixed and refund peoples money that they have paid for the faulty ones. Research on line the thousand and thousands with battery problems and much more, Apple has let their customer base down in a major way

"

Seems you are getting great battery, but how is losing 1% battery life overnight posible? iphone 4s is rated at 200 hr in standy mode, that's approximately 0.5% battery lost per hour. Assuming you sleep 8 hours "overnight", you should lose 4% battery life, and your battery should be at 96%...something's wrong?

BTW, did you leave all settings at default? or did you turn off some of the notification or location service features?"

Losing 1% is normal I think...I lose 1 to 3% on my 4 usually......for the 4s...I don't have icloud, location feature is on...everything else is default..

To counter that comment, I don't understand why you would keep features running that you don't use!

The only features I've turned off are those that I don't use. I have Siri, iCloud, WiFi etc. on all the time.

These are the only things I have switched off at present and I'm getting the best battery life I've had with a smart phone (I've had a couple of HTC's an Iphone 3GS and a Samsung on android).

Location Services-System Services - they don't offer any benerfit anyway as far as I can tell, just send data back to Apple.

Bluetooth - I've never used it on any handset, bluetooth used to affect battery life on old Nokia phones too if people remember that?

Stocks Widget - I just don't want it showing, I've never followed the stocks (I've no idea if this makes any difference though)

I can't complain at my phone and battery life at the minure, I'm perfectly happy.