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iOS 10.1 Battery drain

Hello.


Updated my iPhone 5 to iOS10.1 and have been having battery problems.


1 - It jumps from 30% charge to 1% in a few seconds then shuts down.


Now here is the stranger part.


As soon as it reboots after connecting to a charger it show 30% charge. When I unplug it right away it still shows 30% and runs like nothing happened for a good few hours.


So it goes from zero charge to 30% in the time it takes to reboot? Strange.


2 - Shutting the phone down at night with a good 80% charge, it won't reboot in the morning due to no battery charge. I plug it in and its back to 30% in a few seconds.



Thanks for any suggestion in advance.

iPhone 5, iOS 10.1

Posted on Oct 25, 2016 6:38 AM

Reply
1,950 replies

Jan 13, 2017 4:44 PM in response to FallingStar

All those whom replaced it here had their issue resolved. Also helped someone in my city with the same issue, 3d party replacement fixed it. One member had the same symptoms as yourself and new battery did it. Catch: due to improper factory storage of the Li Ion elements his was on the 6S recall for shorter life and poor performance, shutdowns. Same solution has been found in several languages. You may have a poor/old/tired/marginal battery (regretfully) which needs replacement. once you fix it, you may still have coverage down the road should there be a recall. Also, i do not believe normal wear or anything you did damaged your battery (unlike the user testing his with aggressive gaming) but rather that it was a poor one to begin with.

Jan 13, 2017 6:14 PM in response to _Belisarius___

Thank you for your sustained participation on this one, trying to keep us focused on facts & useful fixes to date. The fast battery drain on my 6 started immediately after iOS 10 upgrade. No sudden shutoff or weird % issue, just a steady drop within 6 hours or so on idle phone. I tried all the suggested settings to reduce battery drain and did a restore, no change. 1st visit to Genius bar Jan 5: Diagnostics: battery is healthy. Was told it was a "software issue" but genius could not see the app causing it due to my restore <24 hours prior. Did another Restore instore, no backup from the cloud or PC to avoid reinstalling a corrupt app or other. Did not install anything on phone since, leaving it standby 99% of the time. 2nd visit to another Genius bar today: Diagnostics: battery is healthy, but graph clearly shows charge going down from 100% to 0% in a straight line over 6 hours. The battery usage bar on the graph shows a steady 15% per hour, always. The genius said they can sometimes replace the phone for the price of a battery and went to see his manager. He came back saying it wouldn't be fair to those who have Apple Care, so my only option was to REPLACE THE PHONE for $389 CDN. I asked what was behind the drain and he said that according to his manager, it's mechanical, perhaps the mother board. I have no clue how they can reach this conclusion as it's not in the diagnostics. I asked for a battery replacement but he couldn't do it because the "system" wouldn't allow it on a healthy battery. I argued that the test was not catching defective batteries (e.g. 6s recalls defective despite appearing healthy on diagnostics) but nope. I asked him to just go do it without logging it in the system but again, nope. He said I could try an authorized service provider but warned that they may get blocked by the "system" also. So if that doesn't work, I'll need to get a 3rd party battery, which I'm not sure I want to do. Oh and the genius said maybe I should wait, maybe Apple would do something about this, but was clearly uncomfortable talking about it. As another user said, they killed my phone with iOS 10 and I'm friggen annoyed.

Jan 13, 2017 6:30 PM in response to Mjolcresure

I have an iPhone 6 that has been rock solid for over 2 years. While iOS 10.1.1 was installed I had the phone shut off out of the blue although battery % was well beyond 50%. Crashed my Pebble watch too (watch said "You have a new Pebble Watch"). When I tried to turn phone on it showed the phone image with lightning cord to indicate charging required. So I connected the phone to charge, it showed over 50% charge.


Odd, so I fully charged and then experienced (and still do mostly every day) that the battery % sticks at 100% but of course, it is all the time draining. So I never have any idea when it will lose the charge.


Moving to iOS 10.2 did nothing to resolve.


If I take to Apple Store and don't have Apple Care I imagine they won't do a thing for me...right?


Any ideas on solving this one?

Jan 13, 2017 8:50 PM in response to isa-jfr

"I argued that the test was not catching defective batteries (e.g. 6s recalls defective despite appearing healthy on diagnostics" Fortunately, I am not constrained by any company's policy. The runaround you are describing is increasingly common to this issue, even paying customers not being accepted for a 'fine' battery swap- even if they pay! Iti s good to see that you are one of the very few to realize the logical connection between the recalls and the reality of the diagnostic test. Have received quite a few unflattering comments for questioning the 'fine' diagnostic. It only measures capacity resistance not battery functionality, which is a recent proprietary to another company (Cadex 30second battery-removed test) that no smartphone manufacturer has access to.


Your battery is done, and what caused it (iOS amperage, apps, factory conditions, quality or wear and tear) is not as important as you resolving it. Above, you can find the solution given to FallingStar. Am not repeating it as even that one, surprisingly, was not deleted. Credit goes to Mjolescure whom discovered that 20$ solution and it works for him. Authorized centers, e.g. Best Buy or a few other in any Canadian city, will have access to the more expensive OEM batteries.


A while ago I built a logic board in a Montreal science college class, no one would ever guess a faulty one unless it was taken apart and measured pole to pole, part by part. Anyways, the cheapest, most economical trial is the one that worked for the eleven others, the battery swap. Your perceptions of the staff are very accurate, this issue is exceeding base Genius Store resolution ability.

Jan 14, 2017 9:37 AM in response to DbSafety

Users reported that Genius Bars now turn them down for a battery replacement unless it reports 'unhealthy.' Even if they offer to pay. That is confusing as you can have a battery reading 100% healthy capacity but be fully defective. The solution that has worked 100% to date turned out to be battery replacement. Authorized repair center (Best Buy, google per city) can do it. I recommend OEM as likely to offer further warranty if Apple issues a recall, and that is a big IF. So even a Best Buy OEM battery may be a more long term reliable option that a 3d party swap.


<Edited by Host>

Jan 14, 2017 1:15 AM in response to _Belisarius___

Absolutely correct Belisarius, the Apple reseller here in Gibraltar refused to change the battery as it showed as good.


Yet I was having at least 3 shutdowns a day.


Only when Apple released the faulty serial numbers was it replaced.


I guess one of the reasons why I am now hammering my new battery is because I want it to fail.


The question is, how long can we expect a smartphone battery, using any available apps which have been published in the App Store, to last?


I think it is not unreasonable if the phone is sealed to get at least 2 years out of it.


If not, the manufacturer should make it clear how long your battery is going to last and offer a replacement service.


I disagree with your points on apps which are battery killers.


These are valid, approved apps and part of the testing process (I would have thought) should be to ensure it does not prematurely wear your battery down.


I would have no problems Apple pulling an app if it protects my battery.


Have a great weekend everyone!


Adrian.

Jan 14, 2017 7:30 AM in response to losdelrock

"I think it is not unreasonable if the phone is sealed to get at least 2 years out of it." +1 Fully agree- and as more tech articles on the issue come out, you will find that a corporation will be asked very hard questions by the industry. Was there ever a move to low grade 12 months-400 cycles batteries? Are owners now seeing as upgrading yearly or having to pay?


If not, the manufacturer should make it clear how long your battery is going to last and offer a replacement service. +1 again. In some places, stated, countries or provinces, consumers are protected by charters and laws requiring reliability disclosure. It is not uniform though.


I disagree with your points on apps which are battery killers. I am not sure we disagree or if you fully see my argument. Any time I troubleshot any device, or Apple one, they last resort to clean no app install (iPads Macs Macbooks iPhones) and do an in store 24-72 hr extended testing. Geniuses will clearly tell you so. The reason why they do that is because all their parameters are based on a clean OS/iOS. No Apps. Apple does not guarantee- and Geniuses will tell you that again- that Apps can keep your device working as intended, and why they do app-less testing. It is just a fact the Gibralatar store will reaffirm when you go in next 22nd. So PG huge drain is normal wear according to PG and Apple, even if bad for any batteries. Our 9X processor (and since 7x) are, for example, video and gaming optimized. I can play 12 hrs of TV news on my iPhone, I doubt I could play games or PG for 4-5 hours. 300-400% drain. So this high drain, which science tells us kills batteries, is not Apple endorsed even if a normal App related high drain. Battery University never argued that PG is improperly coded (no one did), but that it is a heat and amperage demand hog- as if GPS Chip optimized Nav, for example. If you disagree that Applications can be battery killers, or games GPU killers, you are only arguing with basic science, not me.

Jan 14, 2017 7:47 AM in response to Wafflepiezz

Wafflepiezz, there dozens of people here that initially argued the exact same thing. Eleven then gave replacement a try and it resolved a hundred percent. May I ask, how do you know it to be the iOS, and why are also people out there completely unaffected? For example I have been asking, casually, anyone I know if their iPhone has issues. GF's iPhone 5 has 800+ cycles, no issues. 10.2. None. Finally a gf's coworker had it on his 14 months iPhone 6, was turned down by Apple for a battery replacement ('healthy at 86%) and listened to arguments, and went at an authorized repair center. 0 issues since, and he gets even better battery life than last he could remember under iOS 9. Then you have Adrian, whom wrote that they were having no issues, their battery was fine, and once their iPhone was on the recall list and battery replaced, issue was gone. Plsvn same exact story. So what can we make of users being told that their batteries are fine yet recalled for a defect knowing to reduce performance and to cause shutdowns? What can we conclude of the diagnostic tool used on them?- it is the same across all 488 Apple stores or via phone.


Battery measurement Apps do not work. It is a fact. Tried 4 of them for this forum, each one reported different numbers, with a variation of 10%. Enormuous. One even misidentified my max Battery mAh erroneously. All these diagnostics do is to measure the capacity resistance of the battery (how many mAh can it still hold?) and use that percentile as reference. It is not a health diagnostic. Period. http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/testing_lithium_based_batteries This is why Adrian went at the store and was told multiple times his battery is healthy until the recall happened. So you can have a battery showing 100% 'health' and be factory defective. An unfortunate fact. There is no smartphone industrial means of measuring battery frequency response, or operating ability, how the ions move within the electrolyte. Cadex just patented a first such 30 second industrial testing machine.


For all users whom resolved the issue, it all commenced suddenly, some with iOS install (which is a new amperage demand) etc. 70 forum pages ago I worked on the hypothesis that the battery may be an issue. After eleven local confirmation, multi-language similar reports, it is now a theory - working theory of how things are- until something else invalidates it. I hope that replacing your battery resolves your issue, I will be glad for you.


Also unfortunate but the batteries that failed on the 6 users posted about, average was 12-14 months.... I think it should be 24 months but that is over 900 cycles if people do 1.5 cycles per day or 1200 if doing two charges. The industry accepts 300-500 cycles as standard life.

Jan 14, 2017 7:49 AM in response to Mjolcresure

After experiencing unexpected shutdowns for a while now (IOS 10.1-2 release), I've finally given up on waiting for a fix from Apple. It kept getting worse and my phone was shutting down at 98% even. Becuase of my great dependence on the phone, i've had to resort to spending 70 pounds on replacing the battery from an official store. PS- I did get it checked before and my battery was at 75% health. Its been 10 hours since i've gotten the new battery and its functioning normally. Once again, the fault must be due the an error in coding which the older batteries couldn't handle but there's certainly a possibility that the new iOS should fix it.


To everyone else, I wouldn't reccommend you to pay and get a new battery right now and instead wait and see if a new ios update fixes the issue. However, If its an urgency (like my case) then go for it.

Jan 14, 2017 8:02 AM in response to manzarpro

yes: let's not forget that, even though having the battery replaced (as per Apple recall) fixed the issue on my 6s... it all started for (almost?) everyone here with a 10.x update 😐


When I installed 10.0 my battery started lasting barely 1 day and 1/2 instead of 2 full days (this happens, sometimes, after a major OS update, but it's usually fixed by recalibrating the battery), then the unexpected shutdowns at 30% (another common symptom) begun after 10.1 update

Jan 14, 2017 8:31 AM in response to manzarpro

You are user number twelve reporting success, and I do find it unfortunate that you had to spend nearly 120 CAD /100/USD to fix it. The coding error you are referring to is just different amperage, and each iOS since 1 has a different amperage. Some batteries appear unable to handle the transition, burnt it balance equilibrium upset by the new iOS. On my iPad the life is the same as with iOS 8 (15 hrs) GF's 5 the life at 800 cycles is better than with 9. I can go on with people that have zero issue so it is not the code. As for the shutdown parameters that is a different issue, it can be programmed and un-programmed. But even without the shutdowns, lots of batteries out there will be performing marginally before and worse after a major iOS update. 150,000+ weekly Apple iPhones or more are factory defective, some of these have random battery failures, but still a fraction of 300+ million shipped manually. The industry is popping up to 2 million batteries daily, and of these 40,000 could be expected as factory poor even if they pass health tests.


As it stands, your new battery will marry itself to iOS 10 and should work fine for one year. next iOS ? Anybody's guess. If I were a project manager and had the means, I would introduce a power management chip- so a mini processors and capacitor that regulates fixed amperage parameters, so just an OS should not alter the circuitry numbers.

Jan 14, 2017 8:46 AM in response to plsvn

I know plsvn but in your specific case your battery was defective long before the iOS was released. Issues in China were reported while still in iOS 9 and they was a major push-back by Chinese regulatory authorities - threatening to stop the sale! Apple did its diligence to seek the issue, isolate it, release diagnostics tools, and issued the recall which covered you. But in the PRC thousands rapidly were shutting down while in iOS 9. So there is an organic link between the factory defect (Lithium stored in the open), programming, tools, coding and shutdown parameters. Do you remember when we used to modify motherboard multiplex parameters to get more voltage and increase CPU frequency = higher CPU processor speed for gaming? All we were doing is alter the BIOS coding parameters, made easy by motherboard manufacturer. And we were told to raise the mHz frequency 5% no more per shot until the system became unstable, which told us our max ranges..


So any iOS comes with different amperage parameters- I think it intuitive with anyone. unfortunately, the most unstable element of these devices is that electrolyte Li Ion gel, LiFePO4 or LFP, (in your case, factory defective). Every other component in an iPhone is like a tank- solid and years worth of usage. As soon as a new amperage is demanded, this gel can just fail. Electrons can go haywire while traveling back and fourth between the cathode and the anode. It can happen with an install, or 5 cycles into a new install. Think of it as a battery neurological disease, always progressive and worse.


the real issue here, which tech journalists are exploring aggressively, is why were there those 6S batteries recall an issue, and why some 12+ months old batteries really dislike the upgrade the same way as the recalls. The industry tells us that these batteries have a 300-500 cycle range. At 1.5 cycles per day, it is 550 cycles in 12 months. After that, the electrolyte is one surge away from going bad. I wish this was not the case, wish they were better (my employer's satellites use 8000 cycle-rated Li plates and electrolytes). Unfortunately, may very well be a reality we do not want, but here for the moment until consumers make their discontent known.


A good analogy is a good GT car daily driven, take it at a track and redline it 200 kms, there is a good chance the engine will blow. yet the car works perfectly, daily driven. But the stress margin of failure is high under load. To prevent that, FIA allows 9 engines a year and teams rebuilt them before every such stress, and tests the components one by one. We do not do that with phones, we just load a new iOS, which is a new racing circuit. As a rule, BTW, I now wait 3-6 months before deciding on any OS upgrade, mac or mobile device.


the future is here though:


http://www.computerworld.com/article/3060005/mobile-wireless/scientists-can-now- make-lithium-ion-batteries-last-a-lifeti…

Jan 14, 2017 9:05 AM in response to _Belisarius___

Certainly this is a very frustrating issue for everyone.

My daughters iPhone 5 started misbehaving just after the update to 10.1.1.

Rapid Battery Drain with Spontaneous shutdown.

10.2 made the problem worse.


I did a Recovery Mode Factory Restore and it seemed to fix the problem for about a week.

A clean install with zero backup re-install.


Then I made the mistake of putting my daughters backup on.

Instant Rapid battery Drain and spontaneous shutdowns.


I installed the Apple Support App on the phone.

Got on Chat with Apple Tech Support.

They ran a diagnostic and found the Battery below 20% utility. Below 30% the battery loses its stability.

The Apple Tech told me that the update revealed the underlying battery issue.

When I did the restore, the phone was able to get itself back to a stable situation, but that putting the backup on once more destabilized things. For us it was easy to justify a new battery on an old phone with a used up Battery. Our local Apple authorized shop replaced the battery $80 for the Apple Battery kit plus $30 for their service and Tax. Certainly a heavy hit, but the phone is functioning optimally and has a 90-day warranty on the new Battery.

iOS 10.1 Battery drain

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