Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

iPhone 4s doesn't charge to 100%

I charge my new iPhone 4s over night through the wall charger. It only hits 92%, and won't charge fully. Anyone else having this issue?

iPhone 4, iOS 5

Posted on Oct 18, 2011 4:19 AM

Reply
117 replies

Nov 29, 2011 3:03 PM in response to Arinar

I've seen problems with the percentage meter being wrong at times since getting my iPhone 4S. I've had my phone since release day. I saw this problem after charging all night where the battery percentage was at 96%, but the battery status indicator showed the "plug" icon indicating that the phone was on a/c power, but not charging (see image at bottom). At this point I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it started charging. I did that again and it showed the plug again. Finally I just turned the phone off and on and it jumped to 98%. I then did a reset after that for good measure and it stayed at 98% so I charged it up to 100%.


Normally my phone charges to 100% without issue and is still at 100% in the morning. I've only seen this problem occasionally.

Currently I'm at 89% battery with 39 minutes of usage and 8 hours 29 minutes of standby. That seems about right.


I've also seen cases where the phone doesn't shut off when it gets to 1% battery life. It just sits there for about 20 minutes (even with active GPS) and then shuts off. I'm pretty sure there's a battery calibration/percentage bug in iOS 5.0.x



User uploaded file

Nov 5, 2011 1:35 PM in response to Arinar

Hey guys, I have the same exact problem. It's tough to pin point the problem (whether it is just a "show percentage glitch", or whether it stops charging after reaching 100% and starts using battery, or whether it's charging it to 100% then letting it drop then charging back to 100% making this a loop and damaging the battery). Let's hope that it's fixed in the next iOS update, so please provide Apple with this feedback by going here:


http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Oct 19, 2011 6:29 AM in response to Arinar

Noticing this issue well. I'll usually allow the phone to get down to about 10 percent or less before I recharge, plug it in overnite and when I wake in the morning the 4S battery indicator shows less than 100 percent. Usually 99 or 98. I've only had the iPhone 4S for less than 3 days so it's only had about 3 cycles or charges. Hoping it's just a calibrating thing.

Oct 21, 2011 5:50 AM in response to Arinar

I tested it some more. The next two days were fine. Fully charged and remained that way until I unplugged it. Today, however, it hit 100%, then stopped charging. The battery symbol was still there, and the small icon had a plug in it, which should mean its fully charged. It then started dropping, like it was no longer plugged in. But the fully charged icon remained.

I'm not sure if this is a flaw or feature. It may be healthier for the battery to not constantly fluctuate between 99% and 100%, hence why it stopped charging. But I would like to have it at least remain above 95%.

It's also an issue that in standby, the phone drops 5% or more every hour. The iPhone 4 used to only drop 5% all night.

Oct 21, 2011 6:05 AM in response to Arinar

I have this same issue with my 32 gig 4s. I know it will charge to 100% in a couple hours or less, I'm thinking that once it hits 100% it simply stops charging and switches to battery power for the remainder of the night. When I wake it is at 93% ish. So I undock it and dock it again and before you know it 100%. I think it is a either a safety thing to avoid battery damage by excessive charging or it is a software flaw whereby the device ends the charge cycle when full but fails to draw from power from the dock for the remainder of the time it is plugged it.

Oct 21, 2011 6:06 AM in response to Arinar

For me, it's pretty clear what's been happening so far. As other have said, once you get to 100% charge, it appears as if the phone starts discharging, even when it stays plugged in. Then, at some point, it starts charging again, goes up to 100%, and the cycle repeats.


So, if you've seen this problem, and subsequently see your phone at 100%, it's worth leaving it alone for awhile to see if it starts discharging.


Is this a calibration thing? Too soon to say. I'm letting my phone run down to see if that helps.


Is it a problem? Well, I've never seen another Apple battery operated device behave like this. It seems unusual.


(And to the gentleman who asked if I'd take my car to the shop if the speedometer was off a couple of percent? If I put my car into cruise control and then watched it waver by 5-6 MPH, from time to time, sure I'd take it in, especially if it was still under warranty. It really not supposed to do that. But I also wouldn't run around with my hair on fire exclaiming the end of the world. It's a minor, albeit annoying glitch, that will either clear itself up with calibration or with, I'd guess IOS 5.01.)

Oct 21, 2011 9:30 PM in response to Arinar

Same Problem here in the UK like everyone says it will chardge mega fast to 100 but if i do it over night the charge will drop to 93%


ive had it a week and have done 4 cycles charges. at first i thought it was one of the battery pro apps i was using now this morning arfter not using one i know it isnt.


im gonna have a word with apple cause its not right... ive never had any product where my batery takes a week+ to work properly.


i find the only solution like most of you is to unplug it when i wake up and pop it back in again to let it top up to 100


calibration issue? I think not.

Oct 23, 2011 9:49 AM in response to tonefox

I hope that's true, but given 1) the large number of people who are having the no-full-charge problem and 2) that this hasn't happened with previous iPhones or iPads, software calibration doesn't seem to be the issue. Do you have any technical documents or Apple references that confirm it's a software calibration problem, or that shed some light on this?


As far as I can determine, it's not possible to tell if this particular problem is hardware or software related. It would be great if the no-full-charge problem was software related and an iOS update fixed it. But for now the problem persists.


A fully charged phone is something that's both expected and actually useful.


<<Stop freting about it and let the phone bed itself into its new world. The software takes time to calibrate itself to the battery.>>

iPhone 4s doesn't charge to 100%

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.