Q: iPhone 4s Battery Life?

tsdevine wrote:

 

Well, I'm using it like I used my iPhone 4...and I think I'm in the same ballpark in terms of battery life.  Probably not quite as good, but it's hard to know without serious side by side testing.  But in terms of usage, it's a misture of talking on it, using some apps, checking email.  When I listen to music, I'm usually at my desk at work and I have my phone plugged in.  When I first got the phone, it did seem like there was an issue.  Along the way I upgraded firmware, ditched a couple of apps that weren't critical but used the GPS in the background.  I still use apps a lot, much more than talk on it as a phone.  I always have wifi on and a lot of the data traffic goes over wifi (either at home or at work.)  But it's still connecting to the cell network.

 

In any case I doubt my post is very helpful.  For those having problems, it doesn't rule out software issues or hardware issues. 

I have the same experience, but some will be happy to call you a liar, and say you faked it.  Most of them just don't want to admit that some people are fortunate enough to have a 4S that works properly and that just because they don't, doesn't mean all, or most, of them are broken.

When you buy a house, does the real estate agent deliver it with all lights on and the temperature set to 120F? When you buy a car, do they deliver it clutched in 5th with the wipers on and heating seats cranked to the max and cruise control on? When the plumber repairs your pipes, does he leave after he turned on all faucets all over the place to show off on the repair job he did??

Silly goes a long way. Ask Apple.

EdiMC wrote:

 

Well, I have to sadly report that I wasn't able to eliminate the phantom usage problem.

It seemed ok in the first hours, but out of thin air, the usage time started to raise and the battery starting to go down...

 

1day and 15hours of waiting time;

13hours and 5minutes of usage time (NOT REAL - more like 2hours MAX)

27% battery left...

 

 

You have almost 2 workdays of time on the battery, with enough to go at least another 1/2 day, and you are complaining?  Charge it every other day, and use, it.  Most people would be very happy with your battery life.

Let me know if it works for your phone!

It worked for my phone!

I see a huge difference in my phone now.

I keep my brightness just bright enough to see everything in the day.

J would say from 1 to 100 scale.. With 100 being the brightest... My phone

Brightness is set to about 40 percent.

My location services are off right now.

I spent lots of time with the notification center.

Remember that if you have an app in the notification center...

That is just one thing!  The Alert option is another.

If " Banner" or " Alert " is set... Then your phone will be using resources

For that app!

I selected " none " for most programs in the notification center and saw

A significany increase of speed, boot time, and my phone seemed even more snappy

Than it was when i got it out of the box.

I have 6 items in the notification center.

I have a few items set to alert me when i get a message from that app.

For example.. I turned off all text messaging on my phone and removed it from the notification center.

I use text free instead! It saves me 10 dollars per month!

In the notification center, i have textfree turned off!

Even though it is turned off ... When someone sends me a message , textfree pops up on my screen and shows me the message.  I have the alert setting selected for this app.

The apps that i do not need to alert me anything or put a banner across my screen , i select none!

This is important to know because when " None " is not selected... The app will become something like a service and use resources!

I actually went back and read all day aboit the notification center and how it worked.

So please ...

While u people are changing setting after setting after setting...

Consider turning off alerts and banners for apps in the notification center as well.

This helps a lot.

1AppleADayNoWay wrote:

 

When you buy a house, does the real estate agent deliver it with all lights on and the temperature set to 120F? When you buy a car, do they deliver it clutched in 5th with the wipers on and heating seats cranked to the max and cruise control on? When the plumber repairs your pipes, does he leave after he turned on all faucets all over the place to show off on the repair job he did??

 

Silly goes a long way. Ask Apple.

I suggest that if you plan to leave anything turned on on any phone you buy, you will have the same problem as you have with the 4S.

rphunte42 wrote:

[...]

I suggest that if you plan to leave anything turned on on any phone you buy, you will have the same problem as you have with the 4S[**].

** comparison applies to a phone with same little non serviceable battery showcasing more hardware and software technology than it can handle

Something else i want to add.

I do not use apple's Integraded email app at all!

I simply use the g mail official app from the app store.

I tested this app and emailed my g mail from other accounts

To see if i would instantly get them.

I do! Everytime someone sends me a email , it comes to my

G mail app and shows me that i have mail.

Lots of sites gave this app bad reviews, but they are wrong. The g mail app is

Great on the iphone as long as u have it set up correctly in the notification center.

The email app that comes with the iphone eats battery life

The fact that I now have a slightly better battery than I had, and a little beter than others, doesn't mean it's fine.

I do have phantom usage, which means something's wrong. It counts 12/13hours more than I really used the phone. I could use that battery time!

Besides, right now I don't have a "Smartphone"...90% of the phone capabilities are OFF.

AND, if you do what theory suggests, you should charge your battery when it reaches 20%, not when it reaches 0%. That will damage the battery. So, you can't say that I have battery to at least another 1/2 day. Technically, that is true...but in pratical terms, it isn't.

By the way, in the 2 hours after my post, it drained nothing less than 11%.

I now have 16% left. That's 5,5% each hour, always in standby...still think it's good?! Can't see how...

rphunte42 wrote:

 

Are you saying you turn on all the lights in your house, and LEAVE THEM ON?  Do you leave the TV on 24/7?  Do you drive your car as fast as it will go, regardless of speed limits?  Do you leave the water running in the kitchen when you aren't using it?

Your statements are just plain silly.  If I am not going to use Bluetooth, I would have to be a total idiot to have it turned on all the time.  Not many things are turned off on my phone, but I don't use Bluetooth, and I rarely need the GPS for anything.  It's not off, but I do control what can turn it on because it ***** battery power like crazy.

 

I know there are some who advocate turning 3G cellular data off, but I am not one of them.  I use it when I need it, but am on wi-fi at home.  I have find my iphone on, and photostream on.  I am a very light phone user, and use the 4S more as a handheld computer. 

Bizzarre.  Next you'll be saying you switch your iPhone off when you're not making calls.  I've had every model of iPhone, and always had bluetooth, wifi, etc on and never until the 4S have I had any issues with battery life.

I'm gettng about 2/3 of the published battery life. eg. 2 hours of internet use on wifi drains the battery by about 33%, as does playing games (though this isn't mentioned in battery life figures in the tech specs).  eg. I'm getting about 6 hours on wifi.  Standby seems fairly good though - it dropped about 5% on standby for 10 hours overnight. (this is after doing the reset all settings).

I let my battery go to zero because i wanted to calibrate it.

I suggested it to users.

Who cares if the battery goes bad. You will buy a iphone 5 later this year.

I see u are the type that jumps on the bandwagon.

U probably slept in a tent the night before eaiting for the doors to open.

Okay. Then you can run around charging your phone every 2 hours

If you refuse to follow the advice.

The 4s is my first iphone.

I refused to buy what everyone wanted because

They saw it on the news.

Android was great but the battery life was worse than the 4s

I like the iphone though

But honestly, everyone will buy the iphone 5

So it really does not matter about the battery draining to zero

Certainly it can be left just as is out of box. However each user needs to determine his/her individual needs. If you need/want all features and can plug in more often go for it. If your needs dictate than you need longer time between charges then turn off items you are not going to use. That is a users choice to make. All we are trying to do is to inform folks who ask about how to maximize their battery. Apple also has had this document available  to assist users get the most out their iPhone. http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

No one is saying "Oh turn off all the features and it will work great!" Never once have said that.

snif123 wrote:

 

Yes, I second you!

People posting here thier screenshots claiming to have fixed the battery problem by turning off everything are lying to themselves.

The 4S clearly has some problems with software and also the antenna setup for 3G.

 

PS. How di you get through to the forum, I posted a response similar to yours(about the myths people are going on about) and it was removed immediately by the mods.

There are people on this forum who are encouraging and forcing troubled users to turn off this or that e.g rpunte42.

The phone should be left as it when taken out of the box! Don't try to re engineer or complete the manufacturign process, Apple should have done that for you.

Just how do you KNOW there is no fix in sight? You keep stating that. Are you an Apple engineer? Work for Apple in the iOS dept? Just curious how you are so confident than Apple is doing nothing? And this iOS 5.1 that keeps going to developers, is that not real?

Vomgottsland wrote:

 

I still think Apple put the screws to us and now are hiding. No fix in site and how is another software fix going to fix a faulty battery, since most everyone on here agrees its a hardware problem not a software one.Apple has and is letting its followers down except for the few blind sheep who are willing to turn everything off and use it as a paperweight just so they can say they have a new 4s....It is hilarious

Wonder why they didnt just replace the battery? Takes 5 minutes.

Pavan Kulkarni wrote:

 

I previously posted my stats of 4S that showed 1 day standby and 7hrs 30mins usage....I hadnt used much of wifi or mobile network or made a single call....I carried it to the Apple care for the second time, first time when I took it to them, they threw some BS at me....I am an electronics engineer and they tried to throw some BS at me....I just took it back and came and after a few battery cycles and a couple of restores, I got the above stats....

I increased my web usage by a little bit and the stats dropped to 1day and 5hrs and 30mins....Went into to a different care today and they diagnosed the battery and said they sent in for a replacement....

 

Anyway, I just want to know the replacement phone that I am getting, will it be a brand new one or a refurbished one....Phone's black and 32GB.....I sure as **** dont want a refurb cos I am ready to accept a refurb after 3 months but not right away in the 3rd week.....

RonsIphone - My post wasn't an answer to what you wrote. I was answering rphunte42.

I didn't buy an iPhone because it's a fashion gadget.

I knew what I wanted when I decided to buy it. And that is why I'm not fully happy with it. It has flaws that, in my perspective, are unacceptable for the price it costs! I had to work hard to buy the phone and for it's price and reputation (IT IS APPLE'S PREMIUM PHONE), I should ask nothing but excellence.

Instead, I find myself worrying about it's most basic features...

I've had various iDevices and had great customer experiences with all of them (maybe that's the problem...not used to having many problems with Apple products!).

That is not happening with my 4S.

Maybe I had bad luck with this one...I'm wishing that's it...but given the number of bad experiences reported here and other forums, I think that there is in fact something wrong with the production of the 4S...

Hoping fot the 5.1 release to see if it solves anything.

I never liked Apple's "Secrecy Policy" about iOS releases, but I see the delay around the 5.1 as a good sign.

MAYBE they are really on to something and are trying hard to get it solved this time.

They know that competition is out there and it's fierce! They won't risk loosing customers without a fight! At least, I'm hoping that's what's happening!

Cheers!

Question, What do you want the phone for? Just to have sitting several days with no use and not having to charge it? I am not understanding why the big deal on several days of standby. I rather use the S**** out of it and plug in in every day.  Sorry but I am just not understanding why folks are so hung on the standby and usage meter and so against plugging in in daily or when ever you need to. In your case the low usage you state, you could turn on anythng you need and plug it in at night when you go to bed and it would always be good to go.

EdiMC wrote:

 

jameson! - I would be happy if I've used it for 13hours! BUT I didn't!

Do you think that that performance is any good?! Sorry...I don't!

15 minutes of calls, no text messages sent, only played with the camera for about 10minutes and took 3 or 4 photos, 5 minutes of web surfing to check the mail. Other than that, nothing else but standby time.

 

Must I remind you of the number of things I have turned off??

Here ya go:

 

"

- Auto-Screen brightness Off, with dimmed screen (20% maybe);

- Location Services/system services ALL off;

- Notifications set to Manual, only having "phone and text messages" on notifications centre;

- Wi-fi off (only turned it On for 5 minutes);

- Cellular Data off;

- Network Auto-detection set to off;

- iCloud off/erased account from the iPhone;

- Erased all e-mail acounts and set Push to off/Fetch set to Manual;

- Diagnosis set to "Don't Send";

- Bluetooth off;

- Restrictions on (disabled Ping, iTunes and Facetime);

- No SIM lockout;

- Auto lockout set to 1 minute;

- Closed ALL pages openned in Safari before exit;

- All apps mannualy closed in multi-task bar;

- Siri/"Speak to raise" off (after turning it off, turned the phone off and on because there was a known bug that kept the sensor working even after ticking it to OFF - checked with a camera - it's off);

- Vibration on only in Silent Mode...

- Local Weather turned OFF with no Cities in the list;

- I've done several restores (some in DFU Mode, some not in DFU, you name it...) and already let the phone drain the battery to 0% 4 ot 5 times (which is more than i wanted!!)"

 

 

I must also remind you that without the SIM Card, the battery lasted for 6 days!

Compraing what I did with the phone with the SIM card on and to what I did without the SIM Card, there isn't much difference. So why such different performances???