iOS 8.1.3 - Battery draining very quickly

I've logged out of iCloud on both my 5s and my MacBook Air. I'm staying logged out of iTunes and App Store as well just to be safe.

The symptom I'm seeing for battery drain is not during standby. Battery consumption is perfectly normal while on standby. While actually using the device, however, I'm dropping 1% to 2% per minute just doing basic, low-resource stuff like answering SMS messages and reading email.

I have noticed that the main culprit is under Settings > Cellular > Systems Services > Exchange Accounts. I'm frequently running several MB every day, even though I'm mostly on wi-fi at work, home, etc. I've tried erasing and setting up my iPhone as new, re-installing Exchange, etc. No change.

Serious aggro...

roscoe108 wrote:

I've logged out of iCloud on both my 5s and my MacBook Air. I'm staying logged out of iTunes and App Store as well just to be safe.

The symptom I'm seeing for battery drain is not during standby. Battery consumption is perfectly normal while on standby. While actually using the device, however, I'm dropping 1% to 2% per minute just doing basic, low-resource stuff like answering SMS messages and reading email.

I have noticed that the main culprit is under Settings > Cellular > Systems Services > Exchange Accounts. I'm frequently running several MB every day, even though I'm mostly on wi-fi at work, home, etc. I've tried erasing and setting up my iPhone as new, re-installing Exchange, etc. No change.

Serious aggro...

Exchange has always been a battery hog. Sometimes a bad data record in the Calendar or Contacts can cause excessive energy consumption as the phone keeps rejecting the bad record. And sometimes too many stale connections between the server and the phone. For the latter problem go to Settings/Mail,Contacts,Calendars, tap on the Exchange account and turn off all switches. Then back out of Settings and reboot the phone (very important step; without the reboot when you add the account back it will reuse the same settings).

When the reboot finishes check battery consumption for a couple of hours before adding the account back, just to confirm that it is the problem. Then add it back and check again. Usually this will fix the problem if it was Exchange.

Something to be aware of about WiFi - it gets turned off 30 seconds after the phone goes to sleep to save battery, unless the phone is connected to power. So you may not be on WiFi when you think you are. If you are using cellular data signal strength becomes very important; With 5 bars the phone transmits with only 50 mw; with 1 bar this goes up to 600 mw.

Hello Lawrence thanks for the quick answer!, but I forgot to mention that I've tried restoring and setting up my iPhone as new, without apps, airplane mode, wifi off, cell data off, and it didn't help. The only thing I did was logged in to iCloud, but I've never tried to logout from iCloud, so my next step will be that.

I have already tried dealing with the 'stale connections' issue by turning off/on all the switches, rebooting when appropriate, etc. Never helped.

I had an iPhone 5c with the same Exchange account on it and never ran into battery consumption issues like I have been lately with my 5s. While I agree that Exchange consumes more battery than a Gmail or Hotmail account, I firmly believe this is a new problem having never had this problem before on either my iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, or iPhone 5c that I've previously owned. The 5s supposedly has better processors and all that, so hardware can't be the issue.

The only thing that is different is iOS 8. Therein lies the problem, no matter what anyone says.

See if logging out of iCloud completely, as I described how to do above, helps you. It make a significant difference for me. Maybe it won't help you. For those it helps, I believe something associated with iCloud is using the phone in the background, even when the phone is asleep.

Let us know what happens, Amalokch.

roscoe108 wrote:

The only thing that is different is iOS 8. Therein lies the problem, no matter what anyone says.

I can find almost that exact statement in posts after every one of the several dozen releases that have come out in the past 7 1/2 years. Just changing the version number.

But that doesn't mean there isn't a problem now. I really wish you could see how much battery the phone uses while I am logged into iCloud. I know you think we are all just giving the normal ******** about battery life, but the drain I am experiencing is not normal. I have and all the phone and all the iOS versions since I had the 3GS. I never had this much drain this fast. But nothing we say will convince you that some of us are having issues over and above the standard battery complaints. Again, I wish you could use my phone for two days. While one logged into iCloud and one logged out of iCloud. I think you would be hard pressed to say there is not a problem over and above the usual battery complaints.

I know you think it is just this release. But all of the posters to all of these threads were absolutely certain it was the release also:

iPhone 4s Battery Life?

iPhone 4S 5.0.1 Update Improves Battery w/ Settings Reset

iOS 5.0.1 - Made my iPhone 4S battery performance worse!

What happened to the battery fix? I have been waiting for tech help since 5:33pm

Battery draining and phone warm

iPhone 4s Battery problem maybe found!!

Battery life/iOS 5.0.1

iPhone 4S battery issue detected (really)

Battery Draining much faster on 4S, what can I do?

Battery Meter/Life Problems with 4.0.2

4.0.2 guzzling my battery. Your's too?

4.0.1 battery life

Battery runs out very quicky in iOS 4.0.1

Battery nearly nonexistant after 4.0 upgrade

Dead battery after few hours on standby using 4.0 software

3.1.3 battery problem

OS 3.1.3 battery issues

3.1.3 upgrade - shortened battery life?

Battery life cut after 3.1.3 update on iPhone 3G

3.1.3 Firmware is a battery killer - how do I back out this upgrade?

Poor battery life with iPhone 3G running 3.1.2

3.1.2 EXTREME battery drain - what gives?

3.1 Battery nightmare

iPhone 3GS with fw 3.1 – battery life gets even worse

Battery Issues with 3.0.1

BATTERY drain with 3.0

upgrade to 3.0 drains my battery

Battery Drain after Update 2.2.1

Battery Life Radically Decreased after 2.2.1 Firmware Update

Some of these threads are so old that they have aged off the system. And I stopped updating the list after iOS 6.

Hello again Lawrence,

I know that for every new release the people start reclaiming they have problems with the battery draining. But is a FACT and I agree with Gator5000e that this draining is not normal, and it started with IOS 8.

Moreover, I'm from Chile and nowadays I'm working in the north of Norway, and a Danish partner has the same iphone than me (5s), and his usage of the iphone is more less similar to the mine and he has the SAME PROBLEM with the battery as me. How do you explain that two persons who live in opposite parts of the world have the same problems and same symptoms after upgrading to IOS 8? What is the probability of this happen? And I know we are not the only ones, I'm 100% sure that more people around the world are having the same problem after upgrading to iOS 8.

I appreciate you to try to help us Lawrence, but I'm sorry, this is a serious problem... and is not happening to a few ones.

In my opinion as customer I think Apple have to try to find out and fix this problem as soon as possible otherwise they will lose all the new customers they won.

I'm programmer and I can imagine how hard can be to try to fix this issue for the Apple's engineers and of course all the pressure on their shoulders, but 6 month (1/2 year) since iOS 8 was released and we still don't have a solution 😟

pd.: Another thing if I use my iphone for a couple of minutes and only seeing pictures, then the phone start to overheat. Does this happen to anyone else?

Amalokch wrote:

Hello again Lawrence,

I know that for every new release the people start reclaiming they have problems with the battery draining. But is a FACT and I agree with Gator5000e that this draining is not normal, and it started with IOS 8.

It is not normal. But it did not start with iOS 8. Perhaps it did for you, but it started with iOS 2.2 for me. And I fixed it. The problem was not iOS 2.2, despite the fact that hundreds of people said it was. I also experienced it with iOS 6.1, and I fixed it. The cause was different from the 2.2 problem, but it wasn't an iOS problem.

Unless you are saying for the first time in the history of the iPhone someone has said it was caused by the version, and they were right. And every other time, thousands of people who said it was the version they just installed were wrong. But somehow this time is different. If you want to believe that, there is nothing else I can do for you. But you will be very disappointed.

There are people who have hacked their phones to go back to 8.1.3. And for them it did not solve the problem. Which pretty much proves it isn't 8.2.

The other thing you need to think about is that this problem affects very few people. When a problem affects a lot of people there are thousands of posts about it. The record is currently 13,000 posts (and 2.5 million views) about a problem; it was a real problem that affected less than 1% of users. So you believe that it is a bug, but it doesn't affect 99.9% (or more) of iPhone users. That's either a very obscure bug, or it isn't a problem in 8.2.

The reason I'm repeating that it isn't 8.2 is if you believe that it is and just wait for Apple to fix it you are going to be very disappointed.

And yes, I'm a developer, too. I've been a developer for 50 years. I've released commercial software for Macs and Windows that I wrote myself as a hobby, I've designed and coded operating systems and compilers, and I've deployed enterprise level distributed systems that support tens of millions of users. Even though I'm retired a client called me back last year to consult on an update to a system that I had designed, so my consulting clients still think I know what I am doing.

Amalokch,

Ignore him...hopefully he will (eventually) go away...

It is not an Exchange problem as Larry suggests...I have deleted my Exchange account...running nothing but iCloud....and the battery drains!

It. Is. An. iCloud. Problem.

It may be iCloud interacting with something else, another app, etc. but the common denominator in all of these is...iCloud.

I would just like to use Apple Pay and Find My iPhone.

In my situation the steps I listed restored normal life back to my iPhone. With moderate use now for 14 hours I have 20% left. I have iCloud on but mainly for find my iPhone - same use settings as before it all went to crap. Clearly different root issues for different users at play here and Apple best to identify and correct.

Amalokch, did you ever try the logging out of iCloud completely? If so, any change?

Hello Gator5000e and everyone.

I was waiting to see how my phone runs to give to all of you an update.

Well as you know I've running my iPhone logged out of iCloud for two days and.......... drum roll............. I must to say that there is a clear difference!!! I mean now I'm getting almost the whole day with battery life without charging during the whole day. For instance now at this time the charge is in 40% and I used it to search some stuff on internet, phone calls, Skype and mail. At least the logout from iCloud works for me! 🙂 Before my phone looked like a desktop computer, all day charging. There were some days when I reloaded 3 times a day.

I'm a little afraid to turn on icloud again, so I'll leave it as it is, because this two days it has been running smoothly in my opinion. On the other hand is a shame to don't have available 'find my iphone', well this seems to be the price to have the iphone running again... in normal operation. As a customer I don't like it so much but is ok.

So thank you so much guys for your help, and especially to you Gator5000e!!!

I hope someday apple fix this issue, hopefully in some coming update.

HA! I had your same hesitation in signing back into iCloud for fear that I would lose the new battery life. However, i did so as a test - I logged in at night and docked the phone to let it charge and so allow iCloud back up the phone overnight. I then logged out in the morning and did not lose the battery benefit. As a matter of fact, after allowing the backup to run last night and logging back out this morning, my battery level is at 93% and the phone has not been charged since 8AM this morning. Granted I have done very little with the phone, but if I was still logged into iCloud, I would be well below 40% remaining with hardly using the phone.

I would suggest logging back in if you need to back up the phone to iCloud. If you do, try logging in over night in order to allow the iCloud back up to run and then log out again in the morning. Or just log in, run the backup, and log back out. I always reboot after logging out just to make sure. The battery still lasts even though I logged in and out.

Of course, if you back your phone up regularly to iTunes, the iCloud back up is redundant....but it's nice to have a current backup in iCloud for an on the fly restore or other issue.

I agree, I do miss the Find Your Phone option, but I also agree that the trade off for longer battery life is worth being logged out.

Anyway, I'm glad it's helped your phone last longer!!