Q: iOS 6 iPhone 4s battery drain

at this rate i should know in an hour or 2.  LOL  will post again later.

Kelly Moller, I would probably do a restore on it. Then see. If it's still that bad after bring it to an apple store. (note the 1st 20% on these batteries always drops faster, then the drain will slow) 

So far no battery improvement in 6.0.1 for me.  Any use of Safari still results in rapid battery drain.

Just got hit with 10GB, 10GB Extra cell data usage and not happy, though AT&T will waive past and no more, after telling me to turn off cell data and background apps.

Not happy though.

Excess data usage I did not authorize and out of control background apps was why I rejected android years ago, that and stuff not working right.

Android is lots better now, though I still don't like google's liberties collecting any data not locked down on everyone and thing, especially their android users I am thinking, but I am really hoping Apple finds some way to make this right.

If its going to have all androids issues now it needs to give the tools to monitor and deal with them, like letting you see what's using all your data and battery life and restrict EVERYTHING appropriately.

I turned off cell data on iTunes, and the per app options, but not every app had that option.

I want to say "DONT EAT MY DATA AND POWER IN THE BACKGROUND" to every single app and find out what's sending and using what and get back to the fantastic backgrounding iOS 5 had.

I don't need everything to "multitask" because for most mobile apps, if I'm not using it, it has no business using my phone.  It has no business "multitasking" with my data and power unless its actually doing something FOR me.

If I'm streaming music that's one thing but do I have to close all apps all the time or can I get some real control over my phone again here?  Trust me, if I'm not using it, a calculator or whatever the ****'s doing it is not helping me by eating my data and power up in the background, chances are.  If I'm not using Safari than loading pages in the background is ridiculous.  I'd like the option but I chose iOS over Wild West "multitasking" because I don't have the time to mess with this so much and I don't need anyone rifling through my phone in the background using the data and power I need for my own use.

The third party data monitor didn't work apparently and if its an OS issue, Apple should provide an OS level fix I hope.

Please?

Not only is 6.0.1 out for consumers but 6.1 beta is available now for developers...

Was very excited about the new update (6.0.1) only because there was a small part of me that thought they would fix the battery issues. Boy was I wrong. My 4S still drains at same rate and my phone still says I'm constantly using it (right now it is at 93% after a FULL CHARGE and all I did was play some poker for ten minutes, Usage: 56 min, Standby: 57 min). Stupid. Going down to Apple Store on Sunday and demanding a new phone. My 4S isn't even 5 months old. I can't take it anymore. My Uncle, with a two year old iPhone 4, is getting amazing battery on iOS 6: Usage: 8 hrs 48 min, Standby: 2 days, 18 hrs. I just want the same;or at the very least not have to literally worry about my phone dying throughout the entire day of school (and have it last just as long).

Sweet.

I'll check it out!  I'm only hard on Apple because I want iOS to be the best, in a weird sort of way.

I'll see if if they give the APIs but really, they should just provide "close all background apps".  The third party app AT and T said install seemed not to see Apple system data, which may be why it couldn't see the 10GB I got side blinded by...

Apple, if you're listening, a simple "close all background apps" button would be hugely appreciated too.

If iOS 6.1 gives the APIs, I'd take that too but it seems like a system or trusted privilege.

A good friend suggested it could be a spyware virus on selected people or devices.  I'm not past ruling that out right now.

People have been waiting for Apple to "do something" about battery life for over a year now. I don't see anything coming in the near future. I suspect that most of us have simply learned to plug our phones in as much as possible and stop griping about it.

I do believe this is a hardware problem. Look at it this way -- the 4S comes with a 1,430mAh battery and that's barely a step up from the 1,420mAh one in the 4. Both iOS 6 and iOS 5 "work" the phone harder than under previous operating systems, yet the battery size hasn't changed that much. It makes sense, then, that a battery that would have been sufficient in 2010 drains faster under newer versions of iOS.

It's proven many times that this is a software issue (Exchange Calender, iCloud Safari Bookmarks/Contacts clashes, LTE/3G cell reception switching issue, Rogue Apps etc). With the exception of a small group a majority of what people are experiencing is software related battery drain.

Yes each newer generation of iOS pushes for more functions but the hardware efficiency of each new iPhone has also gone up! If this was purely a hardware issue everyone would have terrible battery life, which is not the case.

Not sure about that, particularly since a lot of advice seems to center on turning off location services, bluetooth, using airplane mode, etc. -- all things that reduce battery life. Sure, you'll have a rougue app or two and some reception switching issues as you mentioned, but the point remains that battery drain will be an issue unless one charges frequently, refuses to upgrade to a newer version of iOS, etc.

So, yes, we're looking at software issues inasumch as each iOS update requires more of phones. If, for example, you've got an iPhone 4 that was designed along with iOS 4, it stands to reason that the battery life will be worse under iOS 6. There's not much that one can do about it other than turning off a bunch of services or charging frequently.

I've had the "battery life" problem since downloading iOS 5 on my iPhone 4. My 4S wasn't much better and has gotten worse since iOS 6. Either I've gotten two defective phones, have some funky apps running or both phones have been underpowered. The last scenario seems most likely.

Just wanted to add my voice to this thread. I have an iphone4. About a week ago the battery suddenly started depleting badly and its got steadily worse. I've tried many of the tips here, up to and including restoring from DFU state ( though from a backup rather than as a new phone - I really can't bear the thought of having to go through all of my custom settings). Bottom line, nothing has cured it. Diagnostics points to webbookmarks being the problem, in fact I suspsect its isolated to the reading list. I have only two entries in the list but they are both constantly in "waiting" mode and I cannot delete either. The solution so far for me is to disable safari and install chrome instead. Not ideal as I rather liked the bookmark syncing function. If I try to use safari the battery immediately starts to discharge faster, the only answer being reset power management holding the two buttons down. Hopefully this isn't a permanent solution! Installed 6.01 last night. Not noticed any difference as yet.

I too updated last night with no good results.  At this point, I am opting out of my contract with Verizon just to get a different phone.  (Obviously it wont be an iPhone!).  I am truely disapointed with Apple and their disregard for this problem. When people start equating your product with Blackberry, you know there is a problem.

@JezzaG Which diagnostics app are you using?

Well my i4 is actually worse after this 'update'. What on earth has happened here? It seems that Apple have fixed a few bugs I didn't even have and have left the ones I'm experiencing! My battery drain is even worse now than it was on iOS6 so I'm going to have to wipe my phone again and start from scratch. Again. Why oh why couldn't they just give the owners of i4s the older iOS5.1 which was working PERFECTLY???