iPhone 6 battery dies in cold weather

I just got a 7 and it works perfectly outside. I have no clue what was wrong with the 6s if its battery was just cheap or something, but the 7 does not have the same problem. Dont think its software related based on this.

No, it is age related, your 6 became older than your new 7, so the 6 has an older battery in it, battery power reserves decay over time which makes them far more sensitive to temperature vs power issues.

This public forum is de facto serving to document the issue of iPhone batteries dying at temperatures within Apple's stated operating range. Apple has partially admitted to a problem by replacing batteries that are just over a year old, that should not be failing -- albeit while refusing to acknowledge the scope of the problem. An iPhone that is more than a year old usually has an expired warranty, so the fact that Apple is replacing some batteries means they are aware they have sold substandard batteries. Apple can quantify what that "quite a few" number is exactly, but they won't. Yet, it's significant enough that they took notice. You can keep issuing suggestions and imperatives to take them back etc, but as we are seeing, some people are falling outside of Apple's battery replacement program due to expired warranties or not having the right model or serial number.

"I have no idea, ask Apple it is their product after all."

Well, since you wrote that they all used the same chemical setup I thought that you knew.

I suppose that this means that you are not sure.

Anyway, It would be really intresting to know it they did some Changes (chemical) since the iPhone5S battery.

Zack2016 wrote:

Coming from you??? Now that's rich.

Unlike you I don't tell people what Apple think or how they reach their decisions, because as one who does not work for Apple I do not speak for them.

So I assumed your apparent knowledge stemmed from working for Apple, but I see now that you don't and are just guessing.

They all use Li-on batteries, the exact make up of the chemistry they use is not available, I prefer not to guess no matter how common it is in this thread.

Why don't you ask Apple to give you the formulation that they use.

I currently own an iPhone 4, 4s, 6, 6s, 7, 7+ and an iPad mini (yeah I know I have a lot of them 😝 )
Apart from the 7 and 7+, they are all between 15 months and several years old. None of the batteries (all originals) are having trouble in cold weather (I've been out in -15°C temperatures for hours), except for the 6s -- not even the 4s, which is infamous as a power-hungry model, and which I use as an extra phone to make calls or take pictures in subzero temperatures.

Oh, but you certainly do speak very authoritatively on their behalf, and overbearingly so.

You seem to have trouble distinguishing between guesswork and deduction? It is easy enough to deduce they partially acknowledge a problem when they offer a partial fix to the problem. It is easy enough to deduce they will not admit to the full scope, when they do not wish to divulge specific numbers. Standard warranty periods are common knowledge. A company assuming responsibility beyond a warranty period is quite telling.

Elementary, my dear Watson!

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/discharging_at_high_and_low_temperatu res

Bear in mind that this to refers to new batteries, figures for older ones are hard to obtain but testing on older ones in low temperatures is being done by some of the people posting in this thread.

This is due to the Li ion battery that every iPhone is equipped with.

It doesn't matter what iPhone, case, iOS version, or carrier you have. As long as the phone is that cold, it will behave this way.

I do a lot of cold weather camping, and every morning I have to "thaw" out my phone. I either do this by playing RR3 and charging or holding it in my arm pit.

marktso wrote:

Ok, I can understand that. But after a year, say my battery is 90% of what it used to be. What would make that 90% more sensitive to the cold?

If it has less power at normal temps what do you think will happen when the temps are lowered? Did you read the article I linked to at your request?

Here is a relevant excerpt:

Cold temperature increases the internal resistance and lowers the capacity. A battery that provides 100 percent capacity at 27°C (80°F) will typically deliver only 50 percent at –18°C (0°F). The momentary capacity-decrease differs with battery chemistry.

After a year I would think that 90% is a high estimate.

But it can be replaced with a new one fairly cheaply, which should solve the age issue completely, until it gets older, again.

I did read it. It didn't address the effect of age and it's relation to cold susceptibility.

I also thought I read that 80% of original capacity was end-of-life, so I figured 90% at year 1, 80% at year 2.

Also note this part.

The performance of all batteries drops drastically at low temperatures; however, the elevated internal resistance will cause some warming effect because of efficiency loss during use. At –20°C (–4°F) most batteries stop functioning. Although NiCd can go down to –40°C (–40°F), the permissible discharge is only 0.2C (5-hour rate). Specialty Li-ion can operate to a temperature of –40°C but only at a reduced discharge rate; charging at this temperature is out of the question.

I have just done a little test with my cca 4.5 years old Nokia Lumia 920 (Windows 8.1 phone). I left it for 35 minutes at 0 C (on the outside window shelf), the battery felt from 25 % to 22 %.

That phone has been used for cca 2.5 years as the only phone, the last cca 2 years it was collecting dust without being charged or used. I have charged it this Sunday to check if it still works.

I just got myself a winter phone. 😁

We recently went sledding after having a little snow. I am in Georgia, so not too cold. I used my phone in the car on the way up to the sledding destination. After being outside for approximately 5 minutes, I took it out of my pocket to video and it shut off. It would not turn back on. Over the next 2 hours, I tried to use it several times. If it did cut on, it cut right back off. Not sure what the problem is with my iPhone 6 Plus that is less than a year old. What I do know, is that I was able to use my sons iPod to video without any problems and I borrowed someone else's older iPhone to call my husband periodically. They had no problem using their iPhone under the same outdoor elements. After getting back in my car, my phone worked again.

The Apple Genius Bar tech told me it was because I needed the latest update. He said that it was coincidental that it didn't work while being out in the cold and the diagnostics didn't show any temperature warnings. He said if it was related to temperature, it would have showed that in diagnostic test. I don't believe it was coincidental and after reading all this, I am pretty sure that it wasn't. This is my first iPhone in my family and I am afraid that I won't be converting the other 4 Android users anytime soon. Hope I am never stranded in the cold.