iPhone 3GS iOS 6 and poor battery life

I've been having similar difficulties with my iPhone 3gs battery as well. Ever since I installed iOS 6, I have been experiencing lots of problems. Here is a brief summary of the issues that I hope can be fixed with future iOS updates...

1. Rapid battery drain to 0% and crashing

- This is the worst of my problems. The phone's battery will drain completely from 100% down to zero when I run certain applications. It happens so frequently that I no longer use several apps. It won't crash when I have the phone PLUGGED IN at any time, however if I have it unplugged it becomes volatile and unstable. The apps I have noticed which cause the rapid power drain to zero are: any type of game app, music streaming apps, the camera, maps and any application that requires a constant wireless connection to function. I found turning on the Airplane Mode does help somewhat to prevent crashes but it is by no means fail safe.

2. Battery life

- Even when it doesn't crash completely, the battery also doesn't last as long as it did on the previous iOS. The phone also seems to crash more frequently after its power percentage drops bellow about 60%.

3. Unable to sync or backup

- When I attempt to back up my iPhone in iTunes (or with iCloud) it always shows an error message and I can no longer backup my phone.

4. Unable to revert back to a previous iOS

- I attempted to roll back iOS 6 to iOS 5 a few times but was unsuccessful. Apparently this is impossible to do.

Has anyone been able to find a quick fix to this problem recently since the original post? I guess one solution would be to buy one of those external battery packs and have it plugged in whenever you head out. Though it's obviously not the most convenient option.

How about replacing the old battery with a new one?

I too have been experiencing trouble with my IPhone 3GS. :(

1. When charging, it will skip sometimes from like 70% to 100%

2. My IPhone switches itself off (crashes) at around 67% of battery life when in use.

I too myself have tried to manually restore, TWICE and still nothing worked. At first I thought it was because of an App I could have downloaded but it can't be. For some strange reason I put it on charge and it was stuck at the screen where it tells you that it needs charging. (Red almost empty battery)

Hopefully an update comes out, quick!

Mine is not so brutal as some have decribed, but I have experienced a significantly faster battery drain on my 3GS. I'm currently using 6.0, and I do not dare to update to 6.0.2 because I'm not sure if the condition will be worsened. Hope that 6.1 can come out soon to resolve the problem.

After my 3GS upgraded to 6.0 I also noticed a quick battery drain, so I had my battery replaced. Apparently a waste of money.

Much to my dismay, the battery drain continued. After about 3 hours normal use (no games, movies, etc.) and even when on standby, the phone switches off at 70% charged battery (last week it started at 50%, but it worsened). Also, you can fry an egg on the back of the phone, that hot it is.

When I charge the phone, I see a vague picture of a battery with a red line. This lasts about 4 minutes, when suddenly my phone comes to life, restarts, and shows battery charge of 73%. Yes, the 5 times this happened: EXACTLY 73%. In about 30 minutes (!!!) it is fully charged, until.....the whole sequence starts all over again.

But not only the battery charge is a problem.

It is impossible to use my GPS apps, because 80% of the time my 3GS cannot locate the satellites. Often my route suddenly ends up next to the road, or instructs me to turn left, right, 180° around, right, left, all within a minute. I lost my way several times. This happens when plugged in, so WITH power. I have 2 GPS apps that worked fine pre-iOS 6, but both react the same, proving it's not the GPS apps.

I see absolutely ZERO reaction from Apple on this issue.

Don't they care, are they asleep, or are they stupid that they don't know how to respond to this?

APPLE, WAKE UP.....you are bound to lose loyal users to the 50+ other smart phone choices on the market!!!

I demand some customer service having been a loyal Apple user since 1983: the Lisa was my 1st.

Thanks Bathfun for initiating this discussion. I thought there is only issue with my handset, but looks like many people face this issue

My battery wont last more than 12 hrs.

Even at night, when phone idle, it gets drained by ~15 to 20%

Whenever I use the GPS the battery drains 1% per minute, and phone becomes excessively hot.

It has become impossible for me to use apps

Can apple suggest some soultions for this?

I have the very same problem and the back of the phone gets so hot, was about to ditch the phone all together and go to Samsung, but just maybe Apple will sortthis out ! one can hope

My phone has got even worse now.. even with 100% battery the phone goes off. I cannot use it at all without connecting it to the charger 😟 😟 😟 😟 😟

I'm really dissapointed with Apple that they are still not able to do anything about it..

Apple has really spoiled its brand image.. Steve Jobs would have been very unhappy to see this😠

What better way to phase out the 3GS and bolster flagging sales than to render the 3GS all but inoperable???

Well, I lost my patience with my failing and crashing 3GS. I have been a loyal Apple user since 1983, but Apple now infuriates me.

Not only their attempt to force 3GS users to buy an iPhone 5 by making the 3GS useless, the fact that they don't react to any of these serious complaints, and make an effort to resolve these serious 3GS problems, ****** me off.

No wonder Apple is going downhill. Not only their shares that are dropping in value, but their customer disservice is going to be their deathknell.

Anybody here can recommend a good smartphone that works well, has a battery life that is more than 1 hour, and can sync easily with a MacBookPro?

I have never ever had a good expieience with PC World - John Browett apparently got $56m to join Apple and things immediately start going down the toilet.

PC World generally sold **** equipment then tried to reem you on the extended warranty - sound familiar to anyone???

These pages have little to do with support and everything to do with the artiface of accountability

Love the shapre and feel of my 3GS. I recently upgraded to 6.1. My battery life is worse than ever, and it now works great in helping to keep my hand warm... I don't seem to have all the other issues that others have noted above. But as mentioned above it seems like Apple woiuld like to get rid of their 3GS consumers. Count me gone in the near future

My 3GS was steadily getting better and better battery performance up until I upgraded to 6.1. Now I can count on it going from 100% to 0% in ~3 hours. I am a battery-concious user and keep an eye on processes that drain power and do try to stay aware of how new features and bugs affect battery life. I've tried nearly everything I've found reasonable in my online research.

What was my most trusted and relied-upon tool is rapidly becoming an anachronistic paperweight.

I am disappointed to say the least.

Since upgrading to 6.1 I have experienced random crashes, often when the battery drops below 40% (but not always). I too see the screen fade to black over a few seconds. The device doesn't seem hot though. Prior to 6.1 my 3GS ran like a dream, not quite as quick as a 4S or 5 but perfectly acceptable. It is now quite unstable.

.......and Apple remains conspicuously quiet, pretending not to read these complaints. This issue now persists for almost FIVE months, and 2 updates on iOS 6 didn't help one iota.

What kind of idiots are running their customer service, if any?

Shareholders threatened with legal steps so Apple would finally share some of its profits with its shareholders.

Are the courts the only route to make Apple deliver some kind of support to its customers?