iPhone 6 battery dies in cold weather

Battery dies on my iPhone 6 in cold weather. Phone is about 15 months old, and dies from good battery 50% to 30% down to nothing and auto switch off. ON normal weather the battery is still very good and doesn't show sign of weakening on any normal day. But if it is cold outside, phone will dye in minutes if used outdoors. I first noticed when we went skiing around -5C (20-25F) and it was really bad there. But now it started doing it when it's around +5C (41F) shutting the phone down from 30% battery. When I plug it in, it immediately turns the phone back on and shows 25 or 35% remaining....

Anyone? Design issue? Specific app to kill? Running iOS 9.3, but it was already doing it on iOS 9.2 .... Thanks

Posted on Feb 13, 2016 7:49 AM

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Posted on Nov 16, 2017 5:39 PM

SUCCESS AT LAST!!!. Ok a little over a year ago when the problems started, post iOS9, cold weather and slowing down, I had my battery tested at the Apple Store. It checked out fine, so the tech said to wipe out the phone and reinstall from back up. That sped up the phone but no joy on the cold weather problem. Fast forward and the phone slowed more and more with each iOS update. Anyway, I reset the phone again and then made an appointment at the Apple Store to replace the battery. Well the battery failed and I have now replaced it. THE PHONE IS NOW FASTER AND I JUST TOOK MY DOG FOR A 1/2 HOUR WALK AT -11C OR 12 FAHRENHEIT STARTED WITH 97% MADE A COUPLE OF CALLS AND GOT BACK WITH 92%!! I EVEN HELD THE PHONE OUT AND NOT IN A POCKET FOR 15MIN. PROBLEM SOLVED EVERYONE.

340 replies

Jan 1, 2017 5:55 AM in response to Alx2011

I am experiencing the same issue with the iPhone 6 battery under cold temps. It is frustrating that this issue is acknowledged for iPhone 6s but Apple does not seem to acknowledge the existence of this issue for iPhone 6. I find this quite frustrating. I had an iPhone 5 earlier and that phone had the exact same problem. And I am in that exact same predicament with my iPhone 6. While I love Apple products, I find that my loyalty is being stretched thin!!!

Jan 2, 2017 6:15 AM in response to Alx2011

This is most likely the last iPhone I bought (I was loyal since 2007). I live in Switzerland and winter temperature in winter are around 0°C and my iPhone 6s dies after a few minutes. My sons have androids phones and they enjoy a full day in cold weather. So instead of design I need a working phone. Apple has decided to run on the wrong horse and include too many gadgets instead of making a strong and reliable product.

Jan 4, 2017 2:02 AM in response to Alx2011

Apple are smart.

There is a huge problem with the battery in iPhone6 (and 6S).

But how do you prove this technically?

Yes, we can provide some personal experiences here at the forum but that has no

"proof-value" for Apple.

To prove this you need to create an App that measure the battery temperature and capacity over time

and then send the information to a central server to compare it to other ppls measurements.

This way there would be enough proof to make Apple intrested.

(when 100 people complain here at forums Apple does not care, but if there are very detailed and compareable data from 1000+ users they cant ignore it)


The problem is that: If you want to create an App that do this, it will be rejected on Appstore since you

need to use Private API´s (which Apple does not allow).


Still, I see some apps at Appstore that the Apple crew must have missed, like Battery Life.

If the developer of Battery Life could rewrite the app and add a background measurement of the battery temperature and capacity (over time) then we would probably see Apple do something about the problem (or removing the App).

Jan 4, 2017 2:23 AM in response to Visualo

very interesting chart, thx. But the risk here is the warranty. If those are not OEM, and replaced by licensed Apple partners, Apple will clearly deny any warranty on overheating or other unexpected problems. On top of that I already paid 800$ for my iPhone, why should I even pay more if I can get an Android for 300$ with all top features. Wondering if I'm not riding the wrong horse here.

Jan 4, 2017 2:46 AM in response to gamesick

When did you buy your phone?

If its more than 1 year old the warranty is gone.


How many charge cycles does it have?

(Download Battery Life from Appstore and check)


If the battery have 200+ charge cycles you will most likely have alot of problem in cold weather.


And I agree with you, regardless if there is warranty or not, the phone should work just fine efter 1 or 2 years.

I have been testing iPhone5 batteries as well and they are ALOT better than iPhone 6 batteries.

Jan 4, 2017 6:18 AM in response to Visualo

After posting my problem on social media a few weeks ago, it seems EVERYONE I KNOW is having the same problem if their phone is in its second winter. I got my phone replaced as 'an exception' two days before my warranty ran out although they could find nothing wrong in the diagnostics. It seems the charts on battery life/ temp are quite accurate since I haven't had the problem since. Would be nice if Apple did their own tests before selling faulty batteries. (6s plus running 10.2)

Jan 4, 2017 8:34 AM in response to gamesick

Holy bleep, thanks for this, mine qualifies, taking in to Apple Store Monday.


FWIW my device is 14 months old, and tests at 82% (good range) in the battery testing app. I have seen it die, with the phone in my pocket in out temperatures of 45°F, mostly it dies when I use the camera app. But I was also outside when it was 33°F and it worked. Not very consistent, but it definitely fails within the stated operating temperatures for the battery.


And thanks Visualo for the testing graphs

Jan 4, 2017 1:43 PM in response to Ttran4497

Oh, it's a feature?!?


No, it's not.


The battery is unable to provide the current necessary at the cold temperature without the voltage sagging. It's a classic symptom of (low quality) lithium batteries. When the voltage sags/drops, the phone reads that as, "my battery is dead" and shuts off, telling you to plug in. We have the same issue in the RC hobby area - cold lithium batteries generally don't perform as well, but some are definitely better than others. (i.e., my Samsung is fine in the cold)

Jan 8, 2017 3:13 AM in response to Chris CA

My 13 month old 6S started to lose power very quickly just after christmas. This was indoors and out. Never had a problem with it before and have been in -12 degrees without any issues.


I Just got my battery changed under the free apple exchange program and it made no difference at all, so i dont think its a hardware issue.

Next on the list of things to do is a restore, which is always a pain to do and really shouldn't be needed.


The name Apple doesnt seem to stand for what it used to IMO.

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iPhone 6 battery dies in cold weather

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