Q: iPhone 4s Battery Life?

Duckgirl722 wrote:

 

Hi everyone! Just wanted to share my opinion...

 

I have an iPhone 4S and my boyfriend has an Android phone, so I couldn't help but compare.

 

Of course, I have this battery drain problem. My phone drains 10-15% battery per hour on standby. It became even more depressing when I saw the huge difference in battery life between the iPhone and the Android. The worst thing was, the Android had ALL its features on, the iPhone's features were all off.

 

The battery life problem on the iPhone has been dragging on for far too long and without any update from Apple. I thought I was willing to wait for the next software update that might fix it. But I realized... I paid huge bucks for a phone that barely makes it through the day, with awesome but expensive features that I can't use because it kills the battery, no 3G toggle, no file transfer through Bluetooth, very restrictive software, iTunes that frequently crashes my computer...

 

I have observed it myself - that Android phone was simply better, cheaper, more user-friendly and more efficient. I've learned the hard way not to give in to the iPhone hype, now I know better

 

So I am returning my iPhone and buying an Android phone tomorrow

 

Just my opinion

I can only conclude that you didn't do your homework before you bought a phone.  Hope you like the Android phone.  Cheaper, I will give you, but more user-friendly?  Not by most reviews I have read (and I read plenty before choosing the 4S).

Chris CA wrote:

 

J Soap wrote:

 

The more exercise the battery gets the stronger it will become. Take the battery to the limit, in charging and draining, when you can. Avoid top ups, where possible.

This is completely incorrect.

Litium ion batteries are not deep cycle and should not be regularly fully discharged and recharged. The will shorten the usable life of the battery.

 

Use them and top them up regularly.

There is a chip in the battery package that regulates the charging so that it won't let you discharge the battery below about 20%, and limits charge to about 80-90%.  Lithium-ion batteries get maximum life, and performance when used within those limits.  In order to give the user some indication of how long he can use the device, the chip will report those cutoff points as 0 and 100% respectively.  The iPhone won't let you deep discharge the battery, so you can freely use the battery.  Exercising it once a month or so across the whole range gives the best performance and use life, according to Apple's literature.  I am now in the process of trying to let mine run down.  So far, I am at 35 hours, and the meter says 70%.  I figure it is going to take me about 5 days for this cycle.  Needless to say, I don't feel I have a battery problem.

Leonard1818 wrote:

 

Thank you Chris CA... I read that post and facepalm'd.  You are correct, J Soap... try again.

 

Insane the amount of misinformation around about batteries.

 

FWIW, just got the following stats the other day on my 4S:

 

55% remaining

Usage 6hours 4minutes

Standby 1day 2hours

 

Still have yet to see ANYONE EVER get 200 hours standby (without airplane mode of course).  That's asinine.

I am absolutely certain I will never get 200 hours standby.  I USE my phone, and if I could just let it sit around for a week, I wouldn't have spent $200 on it!

Pavan Kulkarni wrote:

 

Yeah....I have around 220 to 235 hrs of standby...With everything turned off and without airplane mode....

 

But I have observed one peculiar problem...If I top up my battery before it drains out and shuts the phone off, I will not be getting 200 hrs standby....The standby falls down to 100 to 120 hrs....This will rectify if I do the soft reset (home and power button together) and when I top the battery up again, the same problem....I need to do the soft reset to start getting 200 above standby....

But if I drain the battery until the phone shuts off and recharge it fully, I get more than 200 hrs of standby...and the next time I top it up before it drains completely, the above problem starts again....

Usage generally ranges between 6 to 9 hrs no matter what the stanby time is....

It must have taken you a LOT of time to get these figures.  I don't think I could be without my phone that long.

At least not by choice.

Mintoff wrote:

 

When will you think apple is going to release IOS 5.1 to address the batterey issue?

 

Thanks

The general concensus seems to be around  9 March in conjunction with the release of the iPad 3.  What is NOT known is if it will have any positive effect on the battery woes of those who have such.  We shall see pretty soon now.

Duckgirl722, admittedly the iphone is a bit slow of the blocks in comparison to Android, but if you follow even some of the basic guidelines on saving energy on the iphone, you'll be looking pretty in no time.

There is no permanent battery drain issue with the iphone; it's a brain drain issue with some users.

Report back on your Android trip.

I did not leave the phone idle for 200 hrs....I just averaged it....And yeah, I did leave the phone without using for two days and used 3GS for two days during which 4S had lost about 23 percent in 49 hrs.....

And when I am going to bed at night, I usually look at the battery percentage and sleep and the average drain is around .5%....About 4% loss overnight....

So, the phone is great....

I see so much emotion and clueless guessing going on here, with sporadic posts by folks who actually have a little bit of knowledge - but unfortunately, the facts that get thrown in get lost in the hyperbole and frustration. After all, if someone pays $200-400 for a phone (with contract), they expect it to work, and work when they need it.  IF the battery won't give them a full day at work without having to be plugged in, there is something awry unless they are playing graphic-intensive games with the screen brightness turned all the way up (I personally am put off by my screen being turned up much past mid-way unless I am outdoors in the sun).

But what is at play in these "issues"?  I suspect there is a combination of several situations at play here - and most that post on this board have no way of really knowing for certain which unless they really go through some serious time (I'm still trying to figure out who has 200 hrs of standby time - because most phones, especially smart phones, are meant to be used.  Every Android user I know has to carry a charger with them - they plug it up in the car, in their office, and I have actually had someone ask where an outlet was to plug in their phone when they came to MY office - and it was mid-day (and they later told me the phone had been charged all night)!

So here is a list that I have garnered from here and elsewhere, with my personal comments by some (these are in no particular order):

1. Defective Battery - Foxconn/Apple may very well have received a bad lot of batteries that slipped through QC.  I would suspect that this knowledge, even if a limited # of batteries are actually to blame, is why many Apple Stores have been just swapping 4s units with little to no question when battery performace is at all questioned - and notice that some on here have swapped several times.  Problem is - the only REAL way to figure out of the battery is bad (independent of all other possible issues) is to pull the battery and do some serious testing.  Lots of tech labor that Apple really doesn't want to play around with - and nearly no consumers can perform these tests.  For Apple, a new iPhone returned for "battery issues" will likely just get refrubed with a fresh battery and put back out in the channel. 
2. Software Issues -these would fall into two (actually, almost three) areas:
   • iOS - there might e a bug in iOS that CAN, under certain specific circumstances, result in poor battery performance.  This could be triggered by anything from "just the right" combination apps, useage, and some other possible issues I will liste below.
   • Apps themselves - as has been posted - some apps heavily use location services (GPS chip- energy hog), and also use data (wifi and/or cellular data).  Add to it pushed data and you have constant use, even when in the background.  I know I had an app - don't recall now which one - that if you launched the app, even after you losed it (even from the switcher) - for some reason, the little GPS locator would remain on, and my phone would get pretty hot (this was my previous iPhone 4).  Obviously a bug either in the app itself, or in its interface with the iOS caused something to not turn loose of the GPS chip... thus SUPER fast battery drain (it would go through something like 30% per hour even when not used at all).  When I delted that app, and did a reset - the problem never came back.
   • Jailbreak/hacks - While some won't admit here on Apple's board - in fear of repurcussions, I do know from past experience that jailbreaking an iPhone, even if you don't install many hacks or non-Apple approved apps - ALWAYS reduced battery life.  Different versions of the iOS and the jailbreaking software would sometimes make a little difference - but patches to the OS, by their nature, will utilize more resources - just how much quite variable.  Add to that - many of those Cydia-served hacks can create some interesting issues that, while they work, are not always the most graceful or efficient.
3. Another often overlooked issue - spotty cellular coverage, even in what should be "strong" urban areas.  Just walking around the building here where my office is - I can see dramatically different signal strengths indicated - from what I would call great, to nearly no signal (metal building).  Driving around this city, while I haven't found where I literally am notified of "no service", I do hit areas that, while the phone indicates there is decent signal, the actual service is horrible - and this applies to all carriers.  Where AT&T is strong, Verizon, Sprint, and others may not be, and vice-versa.   This is one reason that shopping for cellular carriers should always involve actually researching beyond that generic and highly suspect "coverage map" they like to show you.  I have been in areas that Verizon claimed to have service - but Verizon-based phones were inoperable, yet my iPhone, on AT&T could make and receive calls and send text messages - although the service wasn't good - and this in an area that AT&T didn't even show (at the time) having coverage.  Another related factor - 3G - it has some limits that nobody wants to admit - including the fact that bandwidth can get gobbled up. Further - the signal can do funny things, even within walking distance of a tower.  I was told by an Altell tech (Just before the aquisition by Verizon) that 3G signals are far more "directional" - and the antennas on cell towers in most areas are "aimed" at certain coverage targets - such as maximizing coverage on an interestate highway, or a high-concentration business district. You can be just a few degrees off axis of the pattern, and signal will fall off.   I have asked around others, including my current carrier - AT&T, and after prodding was basically told the same thing.  All phones struggle when 3G signal is unstable - expecially if you are moving in and out of where the signal can reach you.  Smartphones are particularly vulnerable to data issues because of the relatively large amount of data they are constantly sending and receiving.
4. Battery Condition - As some have posted - all rechargable batteries have quirks.  Lithium Ion batteries are not like Alkaline batteries which are strongest when fresh, or the old NiCd rechargable batteries that are best when new and immediately and fairly dramatically lose capacity over time.  Lithium Ion batteries need to be "stretched" a bit before they are at their peak.  Apple's suggestion is to allow the phone to run down till it shuts off, then plug it up and allow it to charge fully - and to do this on a semi-regular basis.  Obstensively, this follows the instructions for MacBooks - to maximize battery life.  But it also has an effect on the material of the battery.  It takes a few cycles before the battery is the most efficient.  This is also related to what some have posted about after they finally did a "full" discharge and recharge - the battery life improved - this is both because of the on-battery chip being callibrated by this action, and by (assuming a new phone/battery) that "stretching" of the battery.
5. And finally - I would list User Error - I'm not pointing fingers, but some people's usage patterns, the treatment of the phone (physically), and the load of apps, music, videos, and other data they inflict on their iDevice just simply eats up resources.  Keep your phone in extreme heat - battery life will diminish.  same thing for cold - temperature extremes are bad for batteries, regardless of technology.  Also - what does Apple consider "usage"?  Is it actual "talk time", or is it anytime the phone is not in standby/sleep/locked state?  We don't grasp how much we "use" our iPhones.  I can believe that I talked on it for 1hr 40 minutes yesterday.  But how much time did I spend simply checking email, reading/writing text messages, doing a few google searches, tweeting, checking/posting on Facebook, etc.  If the screen is "active", the phone is "in use".  And this on top of the use that is going on all the time (how else do we get that ding sound of email coming in, even when we haven't picked up the phone in the last hour?)  I have my iPhone 4s set up with 6 email accounts (including that new iCloud account)  I have cut back how often it actually checks email (30 minute intervals now instead of 15 minutes).  I can see a bit of difference in my battery.  And I wonder how many of those complaining about battery life are the same folks with a PC laptop that, at its best, can run 4-5 hours - but they run it with all the settings set to the highest performance setting, even when unplugged, so that they can barely get an hour or two per charge...

And let me just state in closing one fact that I belive all of us are overlooking.  What are we asking our iPhones to do?  Really?  Other than screen size, lack of a real keyboard or media drive/external devices - my iPhone 4 is exponentially "more powerful" and more "capable" than my old iBook I replaced last year.  And the battery life is comparable to that iBook when it was far newer.  An the old iBook couldn't send and make calls (unless you consider the old kludge version of skype I attempted to run - obviously without video - on it), nor could it browse the internet without plugging in a cable or connecting to WiFi.

Apple has control over some of the items listed above - or at least some degree of control.  But notice one of the biggest complaints about Apple/iOS - Apple's lockdown and "big-brother" method of control.  If we think this is a problem, then go ahead and go with an Android (or Windows) based phone.  You will find, just as in the PC world, the less control the OS-maker exercises, the more troubles and issues arise.  As I posted above - Android phones, while often boasting of some pretty spectacular specifications on battery life - I don't know of a single one that comes close to stated claims. For that matter - my last non-smart phone was a Motorola Rzor flip phone.  Was a pretty good phone, but never came close to the talk/standby time Moto adversized...

Mike --- Do you actually own a 4s?

There are varying degrees of the battery drain problem.   I have seen my 4s drain at an amazingly fast rate, when on a marginal 3G signal and no wifi present.   Amazingly fast meaning full charge to dead in less than 8 hours with no more than light usage.  

Typically, I'm covered with wifi, so I have issues only on rare occasions.   I'm convinced that this is a problem with iOS5 and how it manages 3G data with the new dual antenna system.   Unfortunately, that same firmware follows iOS5 to other versions of the iPhone, causing simlar problems, but to lesser degrees.

To blow off the problem is totally unfair, IMO as it is real for many many users.   How many?   Nobody really knows and I will not hazard a guess.   Given the fact that this thread is the largest I can ever recall seeing in these forums, I'm cofortable in suggesting that it's the most serious problem APPLE has ever experienced though........

Apple should be embarrased.  I've had my 4s for only a couple of days.  I've had many blackberry devices and I could at least go they day on a charge - seems like the minimal amount to expect from a phone at moderate usage.

I have very few apps installed and running.  I'm always covered in wifi, and I don't do much more than the occasional call and text messages.  It's 1:27pm after taking my phone from the charger at 7am and its down to 34%.  I lost 4% taking 2 one minute calls.  I've turned off all the stuff the forums recommend and it stil drains quickly.  Rediclous.

I'm a tech guy, I know how to use my devices and have been using smartphones since the Treo.  I've never had a phone battery perform so poorly.

So disappointing.

@grinch420 -

You didn't postif you had allowed your phone to completely drain to the point of shutting itself down, then recharge all the way before using.  I was seeing AWFUL battery performance for the first week - that all changed after going through the above cycle.

My new iPhone 4 for the first several days - full charge would last until about 2PM with just a little use.  I would then plug it in to get through the day.  This didn't change much until just a few days ago, when I restrained myself from plugging it in when it got below 30% - and I allowed it to go until it shut down (in fact, I "helped" it along by turning screen brightness way up and launced a bunch of apps).  After it shut itself down, I plugged it up and didn't pick it back up until it had plenty of time to fully charge. 

Right now, as I type this - the phone has been unplugged now for a little over 8 hours, I have made about 10 phone calls (average about 2 minutes each), sent or received probably 2 dozen text messages and sent a large MMS (while on 3G).  I read for about 30 minutes on the Kindle app, read some Bible passages on YouVersion, have checked and responded to half a dozen emails, spent about 5 minutes for a quick Facebook check, sent out 3 tweets using TwitPal.    Right now, in the "dock" of apps loaded - Settings, Calculator, GasBuddy, Mail, Safari, Facebook, Kindle, Bible, Alarm Clock, Contacts.  Battery shows 65%.  I can't complain now.

Fair enough.  I've never had to do this with any of my LI batteries before, but I will do this today and report back.

I hope it works for you.  If not, and you have taken all the other steps you mentioned - then I would revisit the retail outlet you purchased the phone from. Something is wrong.

Well I'll be going on my third 4s soon. I've tried everything to alleviate the poor battery life with no success. Not to mention there has been major issues with connectivity whether it be web browser, apps, or streaming videos. Bought the first one on 1/5/12 and really tried to stick it out. Worst part is I used to work for AT&T and they were no help whatsoever. Tried to return the phone for an Android device with no luck because of a discrepancy a manager made at the time of purchase regarding the order date vs. actual date I received the phone. Ended up doing a warranty exchange with Apple and guess I'll just have to keep trying. FWIW I've been getting about 4-4.5 hrs of usage and about 8 hrs of standby. That is just unacceptable.

i just want to see she is back to normal of course i will chek my mails facebook and instant messaging apps but i will not use her for fun. i am completely aggree with you, i need a phne that did not die out under 16 hours heavy usage i do not care about second day, thats just for the test.