Q: iPhone 5 battery life is way worse than iPhone 4

They may not be able to test every carrier, but here in the USA, 3carriers cover 200,000,000 people.   Are you suggesting that APPLE didn't do any testing with AT&T, Verizon or sprint?

Not likely.  

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57542297-37/apples-scott-forstall-ousted-over- maps-apology-wsj/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title

Seriously?! Apple made a phone. A phones job is to PROPERLY connect to the cell towers. The towers I'm dealing with are PERFECT. Full Bars all the time.

This is on Apple. Something they did is causing this problem. It didnt exist before this software. It didnt exist on 5.1.1 - apple messed up and I believe it has NOTHING to do with the carriers. So... I mean we are feeling the exact opposite. How are all the carriers to blame and not apple? I'm curious.

Jameson,

You are correct. I head an article posted here about 6.0.1 being tested with Apples carrier partners prior to release.

I have said on this topic many moons ago (when i was a young man.. lol) that the patterns of problems folks had on the Iphone 5 set in context to the overall sales numbers for the handset were localised for battery usage due to the majority of issues being low carrier signal. Is it the carriers fault? Technically yes but in the carriers defence, the vast majority of problems reported here stem from where folks are, and the change over to LTE on going by carrier in the background has clashed with the signal selection and power algorythms Apple are using in the initial release.

Is it Apples fault? Technically yes, they should not have assumed the power usage ratios to maintain a signal above 3 bars was viable in every jurisdication which leads me to the fix. I believe the vast majority of folks will see a magic bullet in the firmware update 6.0.1 on cellular signal usage. For those whom dont, other issues like battery degregation can be an issue. Dont forget, a big release like Iphone 5 (or any smartphone) will see the handsets in production many months before the release and batteries made and stored for many months prior to production. Its a litium ion battery and if you get a battery that has not being used for a long period of time and then ran through production tests based on minimal charging, etc it will not be performing to what it should be and maybe damaged if stored with too much or too little charge. I would refer all to my tips on getting the best out of your battery (which apples to Macs/Ipads/etc also) which will rehabilitate an underperforming battery or let you know for sure its a dud.

Finally, I would refer to Apples own material on this site for power saving tips and/or my own posts a few pages back on power saving tips. Chances are their will be some opportunity to save power on your Iphone even if its just limiting the 3rd party syncing on diagnistics and advertisements.

Hope this helps all...

John

I'm getting the same poor battery life with LTE off so I think you're jumping the gun in your "assessment" of what the problem is. It seems like that's the case for most people that have posted about battery problems.

Always,

I would agree to a point. IMHO, Apple did err in the software code that controls signal transmission and receipt in terms of it not being versatile enough. The overall architecture I think is sound in principle but they have to refine the algorythms in this area to deal with low signal and how its processed. 

You might see your signal at full bars, but signals are tricky and can vary when standing in the same place. Things like usage, relay usage, weather, interference are all factors in signal strength and cell towers are built in proximity to each other based on demographics. That said, this successul networking approach by carriers can be temporarily comprimised when they take down towers and replace them with 4G/LTE towers leaving 3G towers with wider signal dispersion areas thus weakening the strength leaving it open to dramatic drops and rises in signal strength. I would also say, that signal towers when you get to less densly populated areas is also an issue cos towers are further apart due to less signal traffic going through them (normally).

I would have great expectations for 6.0.1 which appears like it will have some hidden silver bullets for us all to enjoy.

Best Regards

John

No jumping the gun vrs626, its just me trying to help with an opinion based on whats posted. Poor battery can be a number of things but from what I can see from those posting here, its down to location V carrier signal and also dud batteries which can be confirmed by trouble shooting. I'm sure some issues stem from other areas like user set up, battery charging habits and/or handset duds but now Im only guessing..

John

I used to have blind faith in Apple and their iPhones. Ever since the first one I fell in love.

It saddens me to witness this decline. The way they are handling (or NOT handling) this situation is downright criminal. Apple justifies their selling price stating you purchase a premium device with the excellent service that comes with it. So where is it now? They just took my money and left me with a dud.

A year ago I would've never even considered a different brand, those days are over.

Apple lost a fanboy.

Amen! this is not a premium phone right now.hoping it will be with a battery fix,otherwise i'll sell it and buy another phone.

even phones like lg and others have great connectivity with available networks.yet my 700€ iphone does not...

my two year old iphone 4 that i gave to my girlfriend beats the **** out of my iphone 5 when it comes to battery life!!!

who cares about faster opening apps??? i want my battery to last me at least one day.i remember my samsung d500 lasted about a week!!!

<Edited By Host>

I just wanted to add my two cents to this story. I had the same issue which was driving me mad. Using the phone for 2.5 hrs and down to 50%.

Luckily I was in Sydney at the time and the friendly Apple Genius agreed that this was pretty useless (my words, not his). His diagnostics didn't show anything unusual but he did offer to replace it and I took the offer.

This unit seems to hold its charge quite a lot better - still not epic but after 15 hrs of low use I have still 40% charge left.

A few things to note from my research / experience prior and after the replacement:

1) Turn off useless notifications, push if not required and give location permissions sparsely

2) There seems to be a lot of noise on the spotify forums around battery drain - not sure if the battery drains because of spotify or vice versa but people seem to get much better milage without Spotify

3) Do set up the phone as a new one and not restore from backup. Helps to keep the clutter down as well.

My personal take on this is that there is either there is a massive bug in iOS 6 ( which I think it might as I had a similar issue on my iPhone4 after upgrading - at that time I thought its age though)

or there are faulty batches of batteries since some people have the issue and other don't.

Felt that there's slight improvement after 3 consecutive days of full cycle charging from total empty to full 100%.

Results

Day4

At 52%

Usage : 3hrs

Standby : 17 hrs

Day3

At 1%

Usage : 5 hrs

Standby 17 hrs

I might be wrong anyway.

What you guys think?

Well until Apple addresses the issue, there's no sure way for us to know what to do.

Going to genius bars and whatnot is all fine and dandy for those who live in countries that actually have Apple Centers.

And turning services off is no acceptable solution for a 800 € phone.

Until Apple addresses the issue, we are left in the dark with a crippled phone. And that's unacceptable. People are more lenient to accepting this coming from Apple because we are so used to the high quality of their products and the excellent service they provide us with.  But this made us be less critical which in turn is baffling considering the premium price tag that comes with their premium products.

But for what it's worth: jay for your replacement with better battery!

They have now had well over a month since learning about these battery issues, to do something about it.  WHERE IS THE FIX?!! If ios 6.0.1 even fixes/helps this situation out...Where is it!? I'm sure they have been working hard but to be honest with you - It's not good enough!! This shouldn't have been a problem in the first place... and it CERTAINLY should be fixed by now.  We just had a hurricane and my phone died and I couldn't call my family.  THANK YOU SO MUCH APPLE.  Never. Again!!!!!!!  I'm D O N E.  It's 2012, our phones aren't just a fun way to stay in touch with family and friends.  It's absolutely ridiculous.  RELEASE IOS 6.0.1!!!!

LET's KEEP DEMANDING IOS 6.0.1!!!!!

WE MUST BE HEARD!!!! IOS 6.0.1

IOS 6.0.1

IOS 6.0.1

BLOW UP THIS THREAD PEOPLE IF THATS WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO BE HEARD KEEP THIS GOING

                        IOS FREAKIN 6.0.1 NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          IPHONE 5 IS TASTING LIKE A BAD APPLE....

why is nothing being said about this in the media??they reported about a stupid purple glare as if it were a major scandal,yet about this,a problem that would embarras apple beyond belief,nothing is said....