iPhone 4S Battery Life: Best solutions and procedures for 1st time user: 1-Do you have a battery life issue (learn first what the usage time spec is about) 2-What can you try to remedy the situation without reading 500 pages of posts

1AppleADayNoWay wrote:

Listen to me. I don't take kindly to someone trying to defame me. I don't know if you are Sean OConnell or if you work for him, but nothing of what you've been doing here looks good for your business you refer to in your public profile, "magmatic". It's become clear to me why you have so much interest in people not discussing helpful tips and all. Well, when one's business charges 20$ for removing the Macdefender malware for instance, instead of freely giving a link to Apple's knowledge base article on how to remove it in a few minutes (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4650) it's not surprising he'd prefer users not being empowered by information. You are mistaken if you think you will win this... pal.

Some hypocrite you are drPork. Back then you knew very well that I had meant "what do you stand up for", and it's never been "information" in your case in my opinion. You also know very well that you had posted your rant here and that I had it removed the first time, which is why you see me complaining when you posted a modified version of it again. They decided not to act, and so be it. You see, when you post your junk in a multiuser thread, well, people can take it or leave it, but when you come to this thread I created, it's only me, and you're educated enough to know that the stuff in the thread is right and useful, but you come here to slander and post your libel. Since I wrote that paragraph I'm quoting yesterday, it seems you've changed your style and all of a sudden you speak English properly and post more useful stuff... how strange - to what extent you're been impersonating what here no one will ever be able to tell. But maybe you realized that associating your delusional rant with your business didn't look so good in the end. In the field of computer security, you don't want someone to look over your shoulder and rant about your content or someome who doesn't even remember what he did the day before or plays little sociel engineering games and hides behind a half baked bot instead of using some real knowledge to resolve issues.

Also, there's more in this life than security compliance. Such as regulatory. I don't operate in the state of NY so I don't have the time to go there and walk in some state office to look at records, but I reached out to someone I know there who's knowledgeable about this. If I were you I'd make sure my books are in order and that I've properly filed, as the law requires you to. Focus on your business instead of focusing on me. I've grown tired of your little games and if you harass me further with your posts I'll call Apple, and if I'm not satisfied with the answer I get I'll write a full fledged letter to Cupertino direct. My point if eff off.

I hope you get it, this time around.

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Comments

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3dmac's comments (yep, people should read that link and the others posted on the first post i.e. battery charge cycles etc.):

You really need to follow apple's recommended battery callibration TODO's they list. This goes for every Lipo based battery. Be it Macbook, ipod, iphone, iPad, OR any WIndows Laptop. These procedures have been req. for yrs.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/

PG# 35 in the manual Chapter 3

enx23's comments (fine tuning low power example and maintenance):

- WIFI is always on

- Bluettoth is off

- cellular-data (a.k.a 3g) is most of the time off (I turn it on only when I need it and immediately I turn off when I do not need it, e.g. browsing when commuting)

- in Notification Center are only Messages, Phone, and Remindes (no Calendar!!!)

- Location services are ON for most of my apps (Camera, Compass, Find Friends, Maps, RunKeeper, Safari, etc.)

- Location Services -> System Services are all off

- Vibrate is on

- Brightness is on 30% (auto-brigthness is off)

- iCloud is off (except Find My iPhone)

- Fetch New Data is Off (for Mail, Contacts, Calendars) and Fetch is set on Manually and both my email accounts are set on Manual

- kill all apps and reboot the phone after all these settings are done

- kill all apps and reboot the phone in the evenings

My best guess what really makes a difference here is:

- "Calendar" not being in the "Notification Center",

- keeping the 3G off when I do not use it

- Location Services -> System Services off

- kill all apps and reboot the phone in the evenings

drStrangeP0rk's comments (Apple's info about unlocked iPhone 4S, not cdma compliant etc. - other users discussed value of using new micro-SIM card and NOT a DIY one, variation with carriers in Europe):

About the Unlocked iPhone

The unlocked iPhone includes all the features of iPhone but without a contract commitment. You can activate and use it on the supported GSM wireless network of your choice, such as AT&T in the United States.* The unlocked iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S will not work with CDMA-based carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint.

If you don’t want a multiyear service contract or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone is the best choice. It arrives without a micro-SIM card, so you’ll need an active micro-SIM card from any supported GSM carrier worldwide. To start using it, simply insert the micro-SIM card into the slot on your iPhone and turn it on by pressing and holding the On/Off button for a few seconds. Then follow the onscreen instructions to set up your iPhone.

Check out more about it here (Note for US users.) https://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone/iphone4s and https://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone/iphone4/about_u nlocked

bleepingApple's comments (testing idle scenarios - wifi/3g/airplane mode):

[...]

• Email: 3 accounts 2x POP 1x Exchange [Google, for calendar]
• Push/Fetch: Fetch ON [15mins]; Push OFF

[...]

Airplane Mode: ALL OFF - -0.12%/HR - USAGE 00:19HR - STANDBY 07:59(1APPLE edit: other combinations of 3G data and wifi off yielded considerably higher usage and drain during idle/standby on a 8HR timeframe i.e. 3.4-4.4%/HR drain with 3:08-4:38HRS of usage)[...]

• Clearly the Airplane mode gives me the best stats and the kind of drain I would expect from this phone always, and is roughly as my 3Gs behaves when not in Airplane Mode.
• The control is behaving much as my phone does through my daytime use. It actually doesn't seem to matter if I use the phone a lot, for anything, or just keep in my pocket. I get the same average battery drain [4-7%hr]. It's interesting that this is pretty similar to when I leave it totally alone for 8 hours or so.

The one that surprised me was having Mobile Data AND WiFi off. I really expected that to be similar to Airplane mode, but as you can see it is far from it. What, then, does Airplane mode achieve beyond just preventing WiFi and Mobile Data? I guess it turns the phone into an iPod Touch.

It strikes me that the cause for me of heavy idle usage and therefore hefty battery drain has some root in the thing acting as, well, a phone. Data methods seem to make little enough difference in my case. [...]

Mobiledev's comments (archived discussion about the difference between "push" and "fetch" mail):

iPhone 3G, Fetch vs. Push - What are the differences?

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Infos

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CarrierIQ saga continues: http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/30/2601695/carrier-iq-controversy

Update 13, extract: "Apple is the latest company to distance itself from the Carrier IQ smartphone tracking software. Although references to Carrier IQ were found in iOS, Apple says "most" of its products don't support Carrier IQ as of iOS 5 and it'll completely remove it in a future update. Of course, that leaves us wondering which Apple products continue to support Carrier IQ — especially since the company just launched the iPhone 4 and 4S on Sprint, which called CIQ an "integral part of its service."..."

You're hopeless. You had posted a similar post 24hrs before the one you refer to... like this one https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3482379?answerId=16867185022#16867185022 in the 5.0.1 worse thread - I remember, because it had the OpenID comment in bold and no reference to the 2012budget web site. I also remember because I had noted how cowardly you acted since you removed the OpenID comment when you posted it in the "big thread" https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3391947?answerId=16866695022#16866695022 - simply because buxbuster was frequently posting in that thread and you were in fact talking about his website. I'm sure you fully grasp it all but somehow you insist on playing your little childish game throughout. I've seen through you a long time ago. You can drop the brainwash repeating format, your little procedure is basically one of the first thing documented on the thread. Think of what your alma mater would think of your behavior here. In any case, your posting of the privacy policy is fair enough, so thank you for that. I've disclosed a long time ago that I don't own the iPhone, and that bears no issue on the matter really - I've seen people owning the phone, the iPad, the Macbook Air, and the AppleTV all at the same time and yet be total losers. On the other hand your opinion of Apple's policy is that of a layman, and further you fail to take into account all the content i.e. http://www.apple.com/privacy/ which contains this:

"Service providers

Apple shares personal information with companies who provide services such as information processing, extending credit, fulfilling customer orders, delivering products to you, managing and enhancing customer data, providing customer service, assessing your interest in our products and services, and conducting customer research or satisfaction surveys. These companies are obligated to protect your information and may be located wherever Apple operates."

Best of luck to you too!

Just unrelated to the thread really. Simply because I referred to CarrierIQ and quoted theverge.com. But on the main thread, I've simply undone your argument entirely and you brought up the material for me to do it. Let me quote myself:

"[...]I acknowledge that no personal information is transmitted to Apple through the diagnostic tool as per their policy document you printed and that no keystroke or message content was ever logged for "diagnostic data" as per their statement. [...] You are not a masters of laws so you opinion is that of a layman at best in terms of policy. The wording is important. If they say that the personal information is removed from the diagnostics data before being sent to Apple, it may exist locally in its entirety. If so for how long and can it be extracted. You just don't know this so you cannot logically deny this possibility.

I quote your printscreen: "Personal data is either not logged at all OR is removed from any reports BEFORE they're sent to Apple." (my capitalization). Don't question my ability to read, question yours.

Finally, you failed to take into account all security considerations [for instance third party gaining access to the device through malware and such] and you can't provide an explanation for Apple wanting to remove that sound tool...

[I quote Apple's press release:

"We stopped supporting CarrierIQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so."]

What's clear is your unflinching bias towards all of this.

I mean, I could go on... for instance why in the last paragraph of your printed policy would Apple need to say that they may provide a subset of the diagnostic information for an app to partners and third-party devs only if the data is aggregated or in a form that doesn't personaly identify you... but I thought a moment ago that NO data/information that would identify you could ever reach Apple? So why the need to aggregate it or reformat it further? Why not include the partners and third-party devs mention to the second paragraph? Are we talking about the data Apple collected and that has reached them, or the data that sits on the phone? And I'm not even asking the question whether that means that a partner or 3rd party dev can have access to a subset of the personal information (pertaining to an app) about you as long as it's in aggregated form. Looking forward to a real pro giving meaning to this...

Thanks and best of luck!"

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Don't use the thread for PR. When you read policies, don't do selective reading, you have to read the whole thing. It's an important issue that has to be analyzed by real professionals... I may not qualify but neither do you, obviously.

Thanks and best of luck!

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Comments

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Scarface's [thread creator] comment (charging phone while OFF):

Some maybe useless info but I recently charged my iPhone turned off and it managed to carry on the usage and standby of the previous charge, I managed to get to 10 hours of usage and 2+ days of standby, LOL! if only it was like that off one charge!

FHLM's comments (disabling "push" which apps may use):

[...]

But it was when I turned "Push" to "manual" in all applications that the battery started to behave normally..

3dmac's comments (early adoption of new OS best practices etc.):

[...]As with every new major OS improvment, older APP's will be an issue. But MOST don't listen or acknowledge these issues. They just loaded all previous apps and then complained latter when things were not right.

Clean installs or AS new are a must with new OS. Then load an app to test OR wait to see for any update compatability. Alot of apps may be OK, at 1st. But time tells. And that is the case HERE.

[...]

I had 1 temp problem with an app's proccess not closing, deleted it/ restart phone then loaded it back, now all is well. Wife had a contacts sync loop. (this can be checked by turning off wifi and looking at 3g data usage increase, also see the busy pinwheel spinning when contacts or phone app open) Turned off iCloud contacts sync, choose not to keep contacts on phone( this will delete all contact on phone) Restart phone, then turn iCloud contacts sync back on and choose to Keep on phone. iCloud will load them back and the loop is killed.

IE: the sync was actually Downloading to the phone !! Not upload..

enx23's comments (4S on wifi switches to 3G automatically while in standby, reducing one's data usage i.e. plan limit oriented):

Indeed the iPhone 4S and/or iOS 5 is using 3G even when connected to WIFI when in standby!!! Immediately as the lock screen kicks in the iPhone switches to 3G and disconnects from WIFI even that is connected to WIFI!

[...]http://www.vancelucas.com/blog/excessive-data-usage-with-iphone-4s-ios5/

Matt Domenici's comments (curing location services for individual apps):

[...]The telltale symptom is seeing the white location services icon appear on the lock screen or home screen. If you see it persistently there, that's the cause of your problem. To address:

- Visit "Settings" then "Location Services" on your device

- Next, Scroll and look for the purple arrow next to the "on/off" next to the app name. Deselect the app showing purple.

- Go back to the home screen. Note if the white location services arrow still appears.

- If gone, reboot the phone. Swipe to unlock once rebooted. Look for the location services arrrow to see if reappears once you unlock the phone and arrive on the home screen.

- If it does reappear, repeat the process to look for the offending app.

In my testing, I had to go through this cycle twice. One you have found the bad apps, you can try reinstalling them to "fix them"[...]

Different user's comments in Europe (make sure to check micro-sim, try a new one, someone else's, test phantom usage without your sim, Vodaphone vs. O2 etc.)

zSkeptic's comments (fetch settings not working with Exchange, yahoo - etc.):

[...]

Conclusion: I have found that the fetch setting is not working for my MS Exchange account and possibly my Yahoo account. I have read that many people have had issues with various iterations of iPhone OS and MS Exchange so I believe this is a contributor to my battery issue. If you haven't already done so and are having battery issues, you should try changing your email option to manually fetch.

Finally, I have also seen some weird reminders created through what I believe is my Yahoo account. Not sure if this is tied to the battery drain but I deleted 3 of these reminders and am now going to turn off Yahoo reminders.

mojorisn45's comments (changed 3 things and something happened;) ):

I changed 3 things and one of them worked (no sure which). I switch the notification center to organize by time, not manual. I switched to push email and left the 1hr fetch setting alone--with gmail to fetch and iCloud to push. I know that the fetch timer doesn't matter with push, but since it doesn't matter i left the 1hr setting alone. Lastly, and somehow I think most importantly, I deleted Angry Birds. No joke.

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Procedures

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davidch (reset+full discharge recharge - slightly updated i.e. 2a-2b):

[...] 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 a. 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)

2 b. If you do get the complete new setup screen with language setup and setup as new phone or restore from iTune/iCloud backup, be sure to go back to #1 and reset all settings again (it should happen the second time)

3. Turn off system location services timezone and iAd (settings -> location services -> system services)

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

5. Fully recharge battery (overnight if possible)

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Procedures

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davidch (reset+full discharge recharge - slightly updated i.e. 2a-2b + missing word):

[...] 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 a. 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)

2 b. If you do NOT get the complete new setup screen with language setup and setup as new phone or restore from iTune/iCloud backup, be sure to go back to #1 and reset all settings again (it should happen the second time)

3. Turn off system location services timezone and iAd (settings -> location services -> system services)

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

5. Fully recharge battery (overnight if possible)

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Comments and sample of some issues discussed

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trygv348's comments (link to osxdaily tips):

http://osxdaily.com/2011/10/16/ios-5-battery-life-fix-tips/

3dmac's comments (remarks) - more issues on GSM phones than CDMA. For instance UK, and Europe.

DJ.Jan's comments (trying to isolate a problem - howto):

[...]

The best way to find out what is causing battery drain on your iPhone!

The only way to figure out what is causing fast battery drain on your device is to find the process/app/setting that is responsible for it. In my case it was a IMAP mail account synced with gmail.

Here is how you can figure it out:

1. Install a system monitoring tool on your device to have an overview of all running processes.

2. Deactivate ALL data sending/receiving apps and processe:

2.1: disable Location services

2.2: disable Siri

2.3: disable PUSH

2.3: set email fetch to MANUAL for ALL accounts

2.4: disable ALL mail accounts (switch off mail, contacts, calendar in each account!!)

3. Deactivate iCloud completely - including "find my iPhone" and "iCloud backup"

4. Be sure to have WIFI & Mobile Data still ENABLED!

5. Close ALL Apps from multitasking

5. Use system monitor to check that all app are realy closed (if mail was push or automatic fetch before it night still be running. in this case open email app and close it afterward again)

6. Restart you Phone

7. Note time and battery percentage to a piece of paper and leave iPhone in standby for at least one hour (2 hours will be better!)

8. If battery drainage is <1% go ahead and activate only ONE email account, set fetch to 30minutes or 1 hour and open your mail app. leave it on multitasking bar.

9. Write down time and battery percentage again and wait an other one/two hour(s), the go ahead with the next account, iCloud, Localisation service, siri,... until you find your battery draining problem.

As said before, in my case IMAP with goole mail account made my battery drain very fast. I disabled this account (account must be inactive not only set to manual!!) and used the google exchange server instead. Now everything works as normal, with battery going down less than 1% per hour.

The only thing about thet above procedure is that it takes a whole day minimum to find out what is going on but you can only find the bad process by switching on one function after an other and not several of them at the same time.

iVision's comments (network use maintenance):

1. Turn on the airplane mode before I go to sleep so that alarm can be on.

2. Turn off the cellular network and only turn it on when i use it.

[Sample of the some issues discussed in the "iPhone battery life" thread: install type, mail technology, network altogether(UK), 3G coverage(US), iCloud and apps]:

dreamstrider's comments (reinstall+restore to new, reset etc.):

I used to have a battery problem like many others. I restored AS NEW at 5.0.1 (at first updated OTA but was worse[so installed the full 800mb release]), reset network settings, NO wireless sync and everything (it seems) is ok. Also I use email in manual mode notifications and location on, siri raise to speak off, brightness VERY low.

bleepingApple(UK) vs. jameson's(US, east) (scenario comparisons) - in the first case, only airplane mode limits "phantom usage" and consequently, drain, and the choice of wifi or 3G has no significant impact whereas in the second case, drain is obvious during a 1 hour commuting under 3G and kept in spec under wifi usage.

DJ.Jan's comments (setting up an Exchange account for gmail as under his setup IMAP seems to generate for drain):

I believe both types are using IMAP as protocol and both were draining my battery. I tried with both setups. Unfortunately I can't tell if the problem is caused by an iOS bug or a change on googles IMAP servers...

Setting up an M$ Exchange Account for gmail is really easy and it supports multiple calendars for iOS.

-Simply go to "Add account..." and choose Microsoft Exchange.

-Type in name, email address and password.

-Leave "domain" free.

-As server use m.google.com.

When the account is tested succesfully switch all sliders to "on". If you want to use multiple calendars open Safari on your device and browse to "m.google.com/sync". Login with your google account data (in Germany you first have to change the language to English, otherwise it won't work). On the following page select your iPhone and activate as many calendars as you like.

bleepingApple's comments (mail technology bears no impact on his setup):

[...]

Some here say MS Exchange makes battery drain worse, some say IMAP is worse. I've tried all three [POP, IMAP and Echange] and can report that none make my battery better or worse. My usage stats when idle are just as high under any type of email account for Gmail. I equally haven't seen any significant difference between using fetch or push, or the interval I elect to use for fetch [from 15mins to completely manual]. [...]

zSkeptic's comments (different configs):

[...]

Virgin phone with default setting - about 1% per hour battery drain in standy-by for both WiFi and 3G. Also the phone came loaded with 5.0.1

Phone set-up as new and loaded with apps, email (MS Exchange and Yahoo), 28GB of music with default settings - anywhere from 2% to 6% battery drain in stand-by

Turned off Siri Raise to Speak, location services, notification center, iCloud off, and fetch email every 30 minutes. I did not trigger any apps and all other settings to default. I also did one or two battery drains to zero. Battery drain reduced to 1% to 4% per hour in standy-by.

Changed fetch to manual, deleted iCloud, and turned off reminders in Yahoo account. Did one more battery drain to zero and now battery drain varies from .5% to 2% per hour. I believe it is averaging close to 1% per hour. This is workable for me.

I have 3 battery meter apps. All of them typicall show 1% to 2% lower than the iPhone meter on the top left corner.

As others have noted, when I am connected to WiFi and I first wake my phone up from stand-by, the 3G indicator will show for a couple of seconds and then the WiFi indicator.

Also, when I first wake up the phone from a long stand-by period, the battery will rapidly lose 1% to 3% in the first few minutes. I believe this is the indicator just normalizing and does not mean that phone is actually draining that amount.

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Comments

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jwdean's comments (in his case, despite a colleague not having his issue with the same server, his exchange account is the issue[found out by resetting from scratch and adding accounts one at a time], so he removes it and leaves the ones with which he has no issues):

[...]

Instead of doing a hard reset on my phone again and updating all of my settings, I just deleted my email accounts, restored my network settings, and added my two accounts that were not causing problems:

1 - Delete email account(s) in Setting > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Email Account > Delete Account

2 - Reset Network Settings in Settings > Reset (at the bottom) > Reset Network Settings

3 - Reboot your phone by holding the sleep/wake (top) button then sliding to off.

4 - Re-add the email accounts that were working in Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account...[...]

zSkeptic's comments (fetch is not responsive, so sets Exchange to manual fetch and limits components' sync):

Yes, I believe my company's Exchange account has been a major contributor to my accelerated battery drain. To improve performance, I changed the setting to Fetch Manually. I found that any of the other Fetch options (15 mins, 30 mins, 1 Hour) were not working correctly and the manual fetch did help significantly. I also do not sync contacts and reminders which I think also helped the battery. I anticipate turning off the calendar sync may even reduce battery drainage more but I need that functionality. [...]

AltorFire's comments (speculates as to the one setting that made a change for him):

[...]

I am wondering if the 'ask to join networks' setting is causing a problem when you are in an area of multiple wireless. I had tried most of the tweaks previously.

mmbos's comments (gmail folder sync is the culprit in his case - uses gmail through Exchange with fetch):

I seemed to have fixed mine by unsyncing most of my gmail folders. Getting much better battery life with standard use now. Might be something for others to try.

RossPhoto's comments (points for originality in triggering 2G access lolll):

I've figured out how to switch from 3G to 2G manually, without a UI toggle. I call 443 (voicemail) and put my phone in a metal case. When I take it out a few seconds later, it's reverted back to 2G. This gives me much better battery performance due to the poor 3G at my home area. [Editor: what about leaving the phone in a shielded metal box during the night to reduce drain???]

emil109's comments (achieved acceptability with backup then full erase/reset, restore - looks similar to miless's procedure page 1):

[...]

process: transfer purchases, back up on itunes/icloud, back up all your photos/videos and then erase all contents and settings off the phone. When it resets setup as new phone, resync your icloud account which should restore your contacts etc, and then resync your apps and music!! All done!!

faragondk's comments (not fully satisfied but improvements after doing a full reset):

I have battery trouble too, but the drainage became better after doing a DFU restore via iTunes, setting it up as a new phone, and not doing a restore from a previous backup. [...]

Thomasgrox's comments (after exchanging the phone (??)toned down brightness of the device to 50%):

[...]Then, I wondered what would happen if I turned my brightness down from full to 50%. After seeing the result, I think the change is here to stay[...]

mynet's comments (reminder about background app and specific reference to SimCity):

[...]Also, check your apps to see if they are working continuously in the background. Some of the SimCity type games seem to never stop updating and accessing the internet.

miless's comments (all around procedure):

Switch off the phone.

Restore iOS 5.0.1 via iTunes

Reset network settings

[...]

-Drain the battery till the phone switch off by itself

-Charge the phone up to 100%... keep it there for another 2-3 hours.

-monitor again, the life...

-next step if above fails .... change your SIM card to a new microSIM.

-disable auto send diagnostics to Apple.

-disable Facebook location services

-disable location services>system services> diagnostics & usage, location-based iAds, setting time zone.

-disable notifications>calendar>notification centre>off

-Reminders with location alert ... disable it if you dont use it.

i think thats all its needed to be done... and of course, all apps that do not need location services, disable them.

miless's comments (advice for wifi router configuration):

If above does not help, go to your wireless router, change wifi network channel, switch it to manual (default is auto, and normally set to channel 13 for 2.4 Ghz band, and channel 161 on 5 Ghz band) ... on 2.4Ghz try between channel 1 to 13 ... settle for the channel that gives you best signal/speed. And for 5Ghz band... between channel 40 to 48 and 149 to 161. Once you have set the channels (make sure you dont have any wireless access point repeater... if you do, you need to check the channel of your repeater and set it the same as the main router), reboot your wireless router.

Above 2 steps should help your wifi propagating problem.

ministermaniane's comments (reset his router/modem which improved wifi performance):

I actually reset the router and modem a little later this afternoon, and that has helped tremendously.

chazzmichaelmichael's comments (toned down config):

-Bluetooth off.

-Wifi off.

-ALL Push Notifications off.

-Location services on for all apps that I need, but in "System Services", only Cell Network Search and Compass Calibration are on.

-iCloud Back up off.

-iCloud syncs mail, contacts and calendar. Everything else is off, including "Find my iPhone".

-Mail set to fetch once an hour (Comcast, iCloud, and Yahoo).

sophos09's comments (got tired and did a full 800mb release reinstall, which helped in his case):

[...]

Two days ago I said **** it, downloaded the offical 5.0.1 IPSW, disabled iCloud Backup, backed up contents to my iMac and done a complete restore.Happy to say that everything restored perfectly - the only setting that I have thats different now I'm not doing automatic back ups to the iCloud.Battery life is now significantly extended to something far more reasonable[...]

guizotia's comments (similar to sophos09):

[...]Did an erase and reset. Restored from iCloud. Could see that the Set Time Zone was continuously polling the location. Turned only this location setting off. Left phone and measured the standby battery usage and this time noticeably better. Calculated a standby of 50 hours.[...]

bleepingApple's comments (replacement phone yields better battery life):

[...]So from initial use, the new handset has a drastic improvement over the old one. Battery is showing good results but more importantly for me, the usage is now a fraction of the standby time; previously it was doggedly half the standby time. This phone is much less 'busy' than the last one under the same circumstances and conditions. I am encouraged...[...]

enx23's comments (speculation about static noise issue and impacts):

Also the static bug which is the noise one can hear from his iPhone 4s when there is data connection thru 3g or wifi might explain the high battery drain when there is data connection. The chip which produces that static noise just draws more power than it was designed!!![...]

It would be great of those who post here or read this could check if they are affected by the static bug issue too! This could help to see if there the static bug and the battery drain issue are linked or not. It looks like 80% of iPhone 4S are affected by the static bug.

In order to test if you are affected by the static bug issue do these:

1) turn off the WIFI

2) turn on the Cellular Data (3G)

3) open Safari and go to a large web page which takes long time to load

4) put immediately your ear (while the webpage is loading) to the back of your iPhone 4S where is the apple sign and listen carefully

telim's comments (icloud and mail to manual [deleting iCloud or setting to manual is mentioned in quite a few posts throughout]):

I've gotten really good standby time by turning iCloud from push to Manual and all my email accounts (2) to Manual as well. You can access it by Settings>Mail, Contacts, Caldendars>Feth New Data>Advanced.

fenman59's comments (system location services - timezone):

[...]I also noticed that there was a location services arrow on the status bar. When I checked under Location Services in Settings I found that the Setting Time Zone service (it's under System Services at the bottom of the Location Services page) appeared to be using it constantly which presumeably meant GPS was permanently powered and therefore draining my battery.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Announcement

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iOS 5.1 beta 2 released to devs December 12:

http://www.bgr.com/2011/12/12/apple-ios-5-1-beta-2-now-available-for-developers- heres-the-change-log/

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Comments

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IOS 5.0**'s comments (iOS 5.0.x's handling of the yahoo mail account his issue):

[...]The problem for me was a Yahoo email account. For some reason the email account would never disconnect from the 3G antenna and was continually maintaining the link.

After I deleted the account everything worked. I can get 2 days standby and 5 hours of usage with a single charge.[...]

ronsIphone's comments (plug the phone in for heavy use - not bad loll):

[...]

Rule Of Thumb!

If You Are Going to use your phone as a computer or a video game system then I advise you to plug your phone into the wall!

1. If you are out and about , just use it as a phone!

2. Plug it up if u are playing games!

It...... Is........ That....... Simple!

jeremyfromwimbledon's comments (speculates about concurrency of wifi and 3G):

[...]The conclusion I have come to is that fast drain is caused when there is access to a wifi network, ie it does it when i am at home, or in the office, but is fine when i am out of the office and just using the 3G network.[...]

zSkeptic's comments (all around config and maintenance):

[...]The settings that I have turned off but am not sure how much they really impact things are:

No iCloud

No Siri Raise to Speak

No Time Zone Update under system services

No Notification Center

No WiFi Sync

The settings that I have turned off that I believe have helped are:

Emails are set to manual fetch. This was a significant battery drain reduction and as others have noted, I believe this is related to my MS Exchange account. Even with fetch hourly, my phone was was losing 3% ot 7% per hour in stand-by. Only manual fetch has had an impact.

Reminders are turned off on my email accounts. My Yahoo account was automatically creating some weird reminder lists. I still use reminders but they are not tied to my email accounts.

The other thing I am doing is looking for signs of rogue processes that are increasing battery usage. I still see periodic increases in battery usage and believe this is related to O/S bugs and runaway apps (apps that continue to run even after they are closed down). I have a couple of apps that monitor CPU usage, RAM usage and open background processes. If my battery drainage increases after I've closed everything and I see high CPU/RAM activity, I will do one of the following: Shut off the phone, hard reset or soft reset. I think these activities as well as battery drains to zero are different ways of killing uncontrolled processes. One of my traffic apps will continue to use the GPS even after I close out the app. Even turning off the phone does not shut it down. Only a hard reset will kill that particular process. [...]

simeon D W's comments (out of the box first use, updating, new phones shouldn't be benchmarked right out of the box + observations and fun math cutoff):

[...]

if you turn off

1}bluetooth

2}wifi

3}3g connection

4} reduce screen brightness to 40%

5} from new run it till it goes flat and turns off

ignore the 20% level alert

then fully charge the battery using any charger

then only use what you need in the way of features

----

if you intend to update the o/s

reset the phone to factory first

then load the new flash

then soft reset and treat phone as new

if you have updated and have issues

even after soft reset

then hard reset to factory then soft reset it to sync all blocks

then update and soft reset again

do a full cycle charge [...]

----

[...]

if you hard reset any apple product it will default to factory

so you need even i think to add the latest o/s again if you hard reset it

so soft reset after flash and i would if you have issues

hard reset and then soft reset

then add lastest o/s again

soft reset again

and as new phone begin

----

i notice looking at some peoples picture of there usage screen shot that you actualy have stats after just a few recharges this isnt right -my iphone after the inital charge got to 20% i plugged in the live phone to the charger and the usage reset to all ----- and a note below says that true stats will return on a full charge

i then just kept it on till it switched off

you need to fully discharge till your phone switches off

AND LEAVE IT OFF

then fully charge it when its off

let it settle for an hour and then power on

this will somewhat fix the cell

after this the display will return as fully charged and give the right stats and then follow advice to only enable what you need to use

----

out the box so i expect to cycle the cell before it became more stable anyway!!! this is normal of any product i have with li ion cells - turn off wifi and 3g when i dont need it - the siri thing that cant understand my scots accent anyway so is useless and bluetooth - push i didnt play with as i disabled the network use if you dont need it then and there TURN IT OFF or you should expect hungry horise at your bat - i feel 75% left to go and stats as is , is fine !!! - playing games i would defo stick a cable or bat back on !!! as i asume 3d will burn a few Watts per min atleast!!! - i also enabled auto lock and a pin - and if i put my phone down i always click the power button to suspend it dont wait for the time to expire to shut it off if you dont use it power it down to standby i have moved the brightness to 80% for the duration of this test charge...

http://www.leonaudio.com.au/pwheel.pdf <--- handy chart [1A - indeed will look nice on my refrigerator]

unshaven's comments (general observations, non problematic setup):

[...]Though a pain in the butt, most people have seemed to solve the battery drain issue by setting their phone up "as new". Sure they lost all their data and such by wiping their phone clean, but it only takes an hour or so to get everything back on it. In fact, most of the issues seem to be caused by people who setup their new 4s using a backup from an older iPhone.[...]

Are there defective phones out there....YES. Is there a software problem likely contributing to excessive battery drain, in combination with individual user settings...YES. Could the problems be a manifestation created by people with limited or no experience using smartphones, or what to expect from one?....YES.[...]

The only glitch I noticed was standby time and usage time being identifical. This went away after I rebooted the phone which cleared the internal RAM and iOS buffer.[...]

In all honestly, iPhones blow for integration with exchange server accounts. [...]

Current settings are:

Location services = ON (4 apps)

System services = OFF

WiFi = OFF at work, ON at home

Cellular Data = ON

Notifications = Six apps ON (calendar, mail, messages, viber, phone, weather); all others OFF

Bluetooth = OFF

Mail = One account set to fetch every hour

Facetime = ON

iMessage = ON

Apple Store = logged in all the time

Restrictions = Ping OFF

Siri = ON, raise-to-speak OFF

iCloud = Not setup/not used (i still sync the old fashion way)

ItsAmanda's comments (safari pages in the background):

[...]If any of you are having problems with the usage/standby showing the same time, see if you have any safari pages open and close them, that may solve the problem.

Light23M's comments (wireless router causing wifi drain - not for everyone though):

[...]If you use a [b/g] capable wireless device the battery gets drained alot, but when using a wireless device capable of [n] the battery gets normal behaviour back.[...]

Merlinthemog's comments (testing if router causes drain):

[...]The way to quickly test if it's your router causing the problem is to turn off wifi. If you're getting phantom usage and this fixes it, then I suspect your battery issues may be router related like mine.

Roman 1024's comments (unusual situation of user with NO data plan... and quite good usage specs):

[...]Right now I have 4% battery left after 13 hours usage (mostly listening to iPod plus about 2 hours of reading on Kindle and 2-3 hours on WiFi web browsing) and 2 Days and 17 hours standby.

Cellular phone is on and cellular data turned off all the time, because I don't have data plan. I turn WiFi on only when I am home. Location services are on - but disabled for most of apps. Siri is on, but raise to speak is disabled. Push is off. iCoud and iTunes sync off. Notifications are on, but not for everything.

If I don't touch the phone during day - I lose about 25% of battery per day on standby. On airplane mode I lose about 15% of battery per day on standby. If I turn wifi and cellular data I lose about 33% on standby per day.[...]

ilikebigguts's comments (Build 9A406)

[...]to get that, connect your phone with cable, open itunes, do a backup first! if you have icloud backup enabled, go to iphone configurations, in the icloud menue do a backup, and wait till it finished - after that go back to itunes, click on "restore" and do a factory resett! itunes will automatically load the new iOS 5.0.1 with build 9A406 - if it finished downloading the new iOS, it will do a restore. then you can restore your backup. thats it!

[1A - see http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4148]

drStrangePork's comments (link to understanding sim cards, iTunes version reminder):

[...]Understanding Sim cards

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4994

[...]

Oh, and make sure that you have the latest version of iTunes, that is important.

guizotia's comments (multitasking):

Apps that are in the background are suspended unless they are using audio, location services or VoIP AND have been specifically programmed to request doing this in the background. If they are using a background service they should be doing that and nothing else.

http://www.techotopia.com/index.php/An_Overview_of_iOS_5_iPhone_Multitasking

I can't imagine you have enough apps using background services to make it worth killing them.

miless's comments (automatic downloads):

One more thing to check.... did you enable Automatic Downloads in your App Store setting? I realize this is another potential power sucker when i read about the flaw in this setting in some article today.

RossPhoto's comments (detailing his type of use which yields long usage specs (10.5 hours usage, 2d8hrs standby) i.e. not social networking type, uses computer for intensive use):

I have to state, I'm not a phone addict. I don't sit there are play games, or search the web needlessly. I only use phones when I need to :¬)

I've been routinely checking mail manually about 5-6 times a day. The next test is to put the phone on a 15 minute fetch and see how it compares.

One exchange account, which I only use to synch Google Calendar. Two mail accounts; business (IMAP) and Gmail (native).

No cloud services/storage bar Find my iPhone and contact synch (handy). It's no hassle to synch with iTunes to manage music and photos.

Nope, no notifications set for social apps.

Using services when needed means 3G and Wi-Fi. Although in my latest test, Wi-Fi was left on all the time (in my home, strong signal). I have forced the use of the 2G network by putting the iPhone in a metal bin (hah!) while making a call to voicemail. I do this because my 3G signal at home is poor (1-2 bars), and drains the battery. Hence I'd like that 3G toggle :¬)

Out of the 7 hours, I'd say 2 was on safari, possibly less. As I said, I'm at my Mac all day, and I only use the browser for testing or when downstairs (I also opt for the iPad to browse the net when at home).[...]

miless's comments (commenting on x0x's - variation on restores from varying host machines using iTunes - [use latest iTunes, and try on different machines!]):

< I used an other PC, installed itunes and made an update with a downloaded ipsw.

My Battery is really ok since this.

I have actually an uptime more than 1 Day an 60% of battery.

Maybe theres some crap on our PC/Itunes?>

This opens up another mystery... mine had trouble when i was sync-ing with itunes on my windows notebook. I restored everything, and decided to sync it with itunes on my newer macbook instead... and the trouble went away.

Any stats here about possibility of corrupted iTunes on Windows machine vs Mac which causes the drain?

1AppleADayNoWay's comments (feeling safe and confident):

[...]

What makes people vulnerable is that they look at their phone as they pass strangers on the sidewalk so they could be knocked out at any time without ever realizing what hit them in the first place. Human beings are vulnerable - proper physical training helps counter that sensation. What helps further is being fully conscious of your surroundings at all time, half relaxed yet half tensed, ready for anything, and looking people in the eye to predict behavior and project strenght and assurance. The ability to run for a quarter mile may also help. Depending on your height, I would advise either tae-kwon-do or jujitsu training. Aim for the groin, throat, eyes and grab ears, hair, learn how to twist fingers and so forth...[1A - I would add, try to set off car alarms to attract attention]

E_hollaway's comments (notification streamlining):

[...]

When you have notifications on for everything it means your phone is constantly checking for email, Facebook, twitter, messages in every game or app you own etc. it takes a toll on battery life. The instant I changed all my notifications to only check every 2 hours for the few things I look at like email twitter and Facebook the change happened instantly.[...]

Tamarillo's comments (departed after returning his phone, but in memory of his famous joke):

Please also lower the volume and talk faster - this also saves energy :-)

jwdean's comments (hard reset, restore [to complement last post about him - unusual, as a colleague of his is having no issue with exchange using the same server... so is it data like contacts and such??]):

[...]

Do a Hard Reset (warning - this will reset your phone and all of your settings):

1 - Hold the sleep/wake (top) button and the Home button for 8 seconds until the Apple logo fades away

2 - Open iTunes an plug in the phone while holding the Home button down until iTunes "sees" your phone.

3 - Restore the phone in iTunes by clicking the Restore button (don't restore your phone from a back-up).

Once I completed this, I fully charged the phone before changing any settings and left it for an hour. It was still at 100%. I reconfigured my settings, then I added my email accounts one at a time and left it for about an hour or so after added each account. I added a personal (POP) account, then a gmail account and still after a few hours my battery life was at 99%. Then I added my Exchange account, and within minutes my phone started to heat up and the battery life started to plummet.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Announcement

---------------------------------------------------------------

-=iPhone 4S displays 'No Service' or 'No SIM Card Installed'=-

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4148 - 5.0.1 Build 9A406

---------------------------------------------------------------

This will be my last posting in the thread. Hope it was useful. I think it contains sufficient information and ideas for new users who still have battery performance issues to try out things and learn about the features and specifications and get more value out of the phone or finally identify that they have a problematic phone that needs servicing. You're most welcome if you want to maintain the thread as the issue is still ongoing for some users. I've mostly used the "big thread" identified on page 1 as source for all this. Thanks to all for their ideas and helpful contributions...

I wish you Happy Holidays,

And a good iPhone! 😉