IOS 9.2 Rapid Battery Drain Issue

kgnash wrote:

My issue seems to be slightly different. My fully charged iPhone 6 running iOS 9.2 charges to 100%, but when the battery gets down to 82-85%, it shuts off and indicates a totally drained battery. If I plug it in, it starts recharging at the charge level (82-85%) at which it died.
I have successfully performed a "Restore To Factory Default" and "Restore From Backup" (un-encrypted), but the problem persists.
This is NOT a rapid battery drain problem. From 100% to 85% , the battery life seems normal and then it just dies.

That sounds like a failing battery. Make a genius bar appointment at an Apple store and they can test the battery.

You can also try re-calibrating the battery gauge. This was a problem with older versions of iOS, but I haven't seen it with 8 or 9. But it won't do any harm:

• Charge to 100%
• Run the battery down until the phone shuts off
• If it shuts off above 1% charge it for a minute only, then continue running the battery down. Repeat until it makes it to 1% before shutting off
• Charge it to 100% again

If the battery is not defective this should fix it.

Thanks Lawrence........I've done all of that and still massive battery drain. I know with each update there are reported glitches and I've experience that in the past, but never anything like this. It's not an update issue, I definitely think it's a software issue.

Hi Paul, I am also experiencing same problem of rapid battery drain after iOS 9,2 update. I am now following the method you have explained above and hopeful to see positive outcome.

however I have a small question, it may sound silly but after restoring from my latest backup (thru iTunes), phone restarted and i did some preliminary set-up like WiFi, touch id etc. but then it is re-downloading all the apps instead of installing from iTunes. Earlier, apps also used to get installed with restore from iTunes.

is there any change now in restore process? or am i making any mistake here?

please advise.

i am using ipad air 2 running ios 9.2, is this a normal battery consumption,, my brightness level is at 40 to 50% always ,i just bought this unit last week,thanks

is this normal on my ipad air 2,ios 9.2 ,i just bought it a week ago,my display is on 40 to 50% always, they say that the normal usage is up to 10hrs,is mine normal?thanks

Looks good to me. The first 3 apps are heavy users of energy. Just charge it overnight, every night and your battery should be good for your waking hours, even watching a lot of video.

thank you for the reply sir

HI guys, do you think this could be hardware or software. I left my phone with no apps being used for 2.5 hours and the battery dropped from 75% to 65%. Dropped to 63% then by the time I found this thread on safari. Seems a huge drop for that space of time unused. Here's my usage too, the times don't seem to add up. Any ideas?

Any advice?

Maybe it's because you're using geolocation services in the background? (geozone icon in the right corner)

The solution posted did not help me. I've had the iPhone 6s for almost 2 months. The first few weeks the battery life was spectacular, only matched by the spectacular draining in the last few weeks... it happens regardless of any settings (turning location services on or off, using it in airplane mode, shutting down background activity, deleting all the apps that have the most battery consumption percentage, etc). It does feel warm to the touch.

I went to the Apple Store yesterday, they said the battery is charging correctly and seems to be healthy according to their diagnostics; meaning it is not hardware. They told me to...

1) Delete and Reinstall the apps that had been using the most battery. if that didn't work:

2) Restore to a previous back-up (like your solution posted); if that didn't work:

3) Restore it as a new phone... saving all pictures to the computer so I wouldn't loose them. Supposedly this would fix any issues with the iOS, but it erases all text history in addition to all the settings and Data that the other type of restore also deletes.

I'm currently about to try the #3 since the first two didn't work. I'm not a happy camper, this is such a pain.

I Also have the same issue on my 6s abd mini 2 though not as drastic as some of you (1 % every 30 seconds,etc). I have BT off and LS for all ,but 2, set to only when using app. No issue with charging. No matter how much the battery is being used it should still charge. Will try backup, wipe, restore like mentioned or just wait for an update.

I've got an iPhone 5 and have experienced the battery drain only after a switch to flight modus for the night. I usually do this to safe battery during the night - instead the battery was empty in the morning. However, it does not occur every night.

But it makes me think that it could have something to do with a malfunction of the WLAN/bluetooth/phone software.

Most likely it is an app that is trying to update over the air, but it is coded badly and keeps retrying rather than recognizing that the radios are off. Airplane mode is not a good way to limit battery drain. The very best way (and a best practice) is to leave the phone plugged in overnight. And also enable automatic daily backup, which only works when the phone is asleep, plugged in, and connected to power.

Same problem since upgrading to IOS 9.2. I hadn't made any load changes on the battery other than the upgrade. In fact, I went through settings and minimized locations, notifications, etc. to the lowest degree possible, but it was still draining quickly. Finally, I went to the Genius Bar, since I thought that it had to be a hardware issue. My battery is still in good condition, though, so, clearly, it is a software problem. I did a full reset from scratch last night (hours of work!) and it seems better today. Time will tell.