Q: iPhone 4S 5.0.1 Update Improves Battery w/ Settings Reset

chaboogie wrote:

 

i have an iphone 4S. i thought the battery on that device was suppose to be better. this is my first iphone so i know nothing about battery or anything like that but if you say that its apple standard then i guess i shouldnt be complaining

 

Message was edited by: chaboogie

Apple's official technical specifications advertise 200 hours of standby time, up to 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of 3G Internet use, 10 hours of video playback, OR 40 hours of audio playback.  Remember these are OR scenarios not combined...

Thom_D wrote:

 

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!  I was getting better battery life losing about 3% an hour with no use and most everything turned off.  I saw a post where the poster mentioned getting much better battery life after his 3rd Reset All Settings reset.  So I thought I would give it a try and do one more Reset All Settings.  Once I got everything back to where is was, i.e. locations turned off, notifications other then messages turned off, Mail set to manual fetch, Siri Raise to Speak turned off etc.etc.  You know all the things we wanted our new iPhone to do but can't because in combination they suck the life out of the battery. 

 

Then I did a network reset and turned off the WiFi and Bluetooth.

 

Anyway, the battery is dropping at at least 8% an hour.  I will let it drain and recharge over night to see if that helps.  I really think that there is a problem with the battery meter algorithim on new phones that doesn't settle down until the phone has been run through at least two full recharge cycles.  That is just my oppinion.

yes... you need to not only "reset all settings" but also drain the battery completely and fully recharge for this process to work correctly.  read my recommendations carefully and follow step by step.  good luck

bongpow3r wrote:

 

Well, I've ordered an Iphone4s yesterday. I hoped the problem with the battery has been fixed...but my question is.....

 

is that only a software problem with the battery?

It definitely is a software problem in most cases.  I have personally seen the problem and corrected it on numerous models now including the 4S, 4, 3GS and iPad 2s.  Corrupt system level settings created by an iOS 5 bug in the original release that caused battery recalibration issues, etc.  Just installing the update does not fix the issue in most cases.  You need to clear out those settings and recalibate the battery.  For those still having the "standby battery drain" issue follow the procedure below in order.  It does fix the problem in most cases.

Go through these steps to address the battery after updating to iOS 5.0.1:

1. Reset all settings (settings app-> general-> reset)

2. Go through initial setup steps (lang, wifi, siri, enable location, etc) and choose setup as new phone (don't worry your apps, data, contacts, mail will still be there). Do NOT restore from iCloud or iTunes (It can copy back corrupt settings)

3. Turn off system location services timezone and iAd

4. Fully discharge battery  (tilll it shuts off with the spinning wheel)

5. Fully recharge battery (overnight if possible)

In my experience this improves the Standby battery drain issue significantly in most cases.  It reduces drain from 2-4% or more per hr to 0.5% or less. It has worked for many, many users now. If it does not work after a few try's you may have a real battery or hardware issue and should contact Apple.  Good Luck!

Waynejd wrote:

 

I never though my battery was too bad but a rest and a couple of drains has improved it quite a bit. Now getting pretty much what Apple specs state usage should be.

 

For the record, in notifications I have: weather, mail, calendar, reminders, phone, messages and Facebook.

Location services have maps, Siri, and weather on, with compass calibration and mobile network search in services.

I have iCloud and gmail accounts both set to fetch every 30 minutes.

 

Last and best results so far are, with 1% remaining:

Standby time - 1 day, 21 hours

Usage time - 9 hours, 55 minutes

 

I have achieved 2 days standby with about an hour less usage. I use mostly wifi but some 3G, mixed use, lots of emails, texts, some calls, music, game playing, browsing, twitter and Facebook.

 

Very happy with th 4s!

Wayne,

That looks very good in my opinion. In fact, i don't think i have seen one that good.  Enjoy your new SUPER iPhone!

DJ So Steve wrote:

 

I belive this fix worked for me.

I've been using wifi and bluetooth on and off only when I need it.

Location on just for maps

Email push set to manual

I just hit 2 days standby with 5 hours usage and I have 14% battery left.

 

I can live with that

DJ,

This looks very normal to me.  Enjoy your new iPhone

Brybaby59 wrote:

 

Hey davidch,

 

I'm on my second iPhone 4.(not s) I updated my new one as soon as I purchased it and knew nothing of the battery problems folks were having. My first 4 had fine battery life. This one is so horrendous that I cannot use it without being constantly nervous for fear of needing a charge. It actually drops a few percentage points per fifteen minutes, just with sending a few texts. I'm not making it twelve hours on a charge.

 

I've tried several things, and I have to admit, I'm not going to constantly be shutting everything down. If I have to worry about that, maybe I should dispense with having a Smart Phone altogether. This is my first Apple product that I'm completely disappointed with. Any suggestions out there? I think I'm due for a trip to the Apple Store. I will try a reset now. I just downloaded the latest update.

 

Thanks!

Brybaby,

You want to do the "reset all settings" again after installing the update, then discharge completely, the fully recharge.  Follow my my procedure step by step and in order (see next post).  Good Luck and don't give up on Apple (I have seen much worse through the years and they are working extremely to resolve this)

For anyone new to the thread be sure to go through these steps to address the battery after updating to iOS 5.0.1:

1. Reset all settings (settings app-> general-> reset)

2. Go through initial setup steps (lang, wifi, siri, enable location, etc) and choose setup as new phone (don't worry your apps, data, contacts, mail will still be there). Do NOT restore from iCloud or iTunes (It can copy back corrupt settings)

3. Turn off system location services timezone and iAd

4. Fully discharge battery (until you get the spinning wheel and it shuts off)

5. Fully recharge battery (overnight if possible)

In my experience this improves the Standby battery drain issue significantly in most cases.  It reduces drain from 2-4% or more per hr to 0.5% or less. It has worked for many, many users now. If it does not work after a few try's you may have a real battery or hardware issue and should contact Apple.  Good Luck!