iPhone 6 battery dies in cold weather

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.

My iPhone 6 was 26 months old and starting to shut down if I took just 2-3 pictures outside. Even when not that cold at all. When I got the phone I went skiing without problems!

I was recommended on this post to replace the battery, so I got it replaced on friday and did use it outside for pictures etc. this weekend.

All good now! I will no longer follow this thread.

Replace battery = Resolved

The reply i got was: it's not Apple's policy to contact you in this matter, so you have to check the Apple website on a regular base, so you can see if the problem is solved.

I mean: what an attitude!!! Can you believe it? I have a problem that is caused by Apple, and when I ask if they can send me an email when there is a solution for the problem, they say that I have to do it!

Cheap solution, but I guess it will cost them a lot of dear friends...

I'm experiencing this as well, although I hadn't considered the impact of cold weather until today. I am using an iPhone 6 (not 6s, not plus) that I've had for about 18 months. My wife and daughter have the same exact phone, though, and are not experiencing this issue at all.

With my phone, I've noticed during colder (below 30 degrees F) weather that the reported charge on the phone will very quickly drop off from 100% to the 60% range then to the 30% range and then cut off altogether with little or no warning. Last night, in particular, I had the phone plugged in and charging on my night stand. Before I went to sleep, I checked it and saw that it had charged to 90%, so I went to sleep expecting to find it at 100% the following morning. I awoke at around 3am to go to the restroom and checked the phone on my way back to bed, just to see what time it was. Instead, I found the empty battery with a red line. I was not expecting to find this. Sometime later in the morning, the phone came on and played the "awakening" sound and illuminated the ceiling in my bedroom with bright white light. At that point, the battery was reported to be 36% charged. It has remained at 36% charged throughout the day, in spite of nearly constant usage on my part.

There appears to be a recall on batteries for the iPhone 6s, but not the iPhone 6. I checked my phone's serial number and it is not covered by this recall. I feel that it should be. This is not proper behavior for a lithium ion battery in any weather.

For now, I've made an appointment to go to the Apple Store tomorrow and have them look at it. I suspect it'll need to be replaced, so I'll be out $79 + tax for that.

I also have an iPhone 6 which I recently started using on my bike (before I always had it in an inside pocket). I see precisely the same behavior at temperatures around 5 degree C. Moreover, if I put it into my pocket at 5% just before it shuts down and return to a warm place, it will stay at the 5% from that point on. So this

I have had the same issue and honestly, I got so mad this weekend that I am looking into dropping Apple all together and I have been with them since their first iPhone. It was about 25 degree f outside and I wanted to take pictures. Every time the camera is selected, you have a matter of seconds to take a photo before the phone turns off. Give it 1 min and it will turn back on and show its actual battery percentage (85%). Try to do it before that min is up, it will give you the dead battery sign and not turn on. Everyone out with us who had an iPhone had the issue. Everyone you had a Samsung or HTC had no issue. Also, my old 5s never had issues - even is much colder weather. So, the articles about it being a lithium ion issue is false as no other phone, all of which have a lithium ion battery, had issues. I was so upset as I have missed out on pictures of my daughter playing on the snow etc and now I missed a huge fishing tournament. At this point, Apple products need to step up their game or they will lose many apple customer such as myself. I am at the point of selling my iwatch to get a Samsung phone and Samsung watch. A phone is no longer just a phone anymore and it needs to hold up to better standards.

YES!!! Finally someone who understands it and getting the problem!

Apple has to come forward! It's not (only) cold weather! It's not only a defect battery issue, it's deeper. It's firmware or something that Apple can't just fix by software-update or something like that. I'm at the same point as You are. And I think a lot of people with us...

It was about 25. But either way, why would only starting the camera cause the issue? When not being touched it's fine. Also, lithium ion batteries can output down to -2 F so why are apples operating temps so high? Charging temps make sense at 23 but operating does not. Also, why was there no issue with the previous versions? Doesn't seem there is an issue with the 7 either (totally guessing as I cannot find a complaint anywhere for the 7).