IOS 11.2.5 battery drain

I updated to IOS 11.2.5 a couple of days ago and the battery drain is immense. It went down 3% writing this!! Does anybody have any ideas on how to fix? I never had any problems with the previous software, only after updating. All settings have remained unchanged so it’s not them. I can use my phone and watch the % drain away within minutes. I have the iPhone 7. Any help would be appreciated

Posted on Jan 28, 2018 12:14 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 19, 2018 5:29 PM

Unusually high battery drain is a symptom, not a problem. There are many possible causes for this symptom. In theory, as many as there are apps installed on the phone.


Sudden change in battery drain is caused by an app or apps that are using more energy than they should. It can happen at any time, but is slightly more likely after an update, because the update process interrupts apps in the middle of some activity, either foreground or background, and some apps do not recover cleanly and get stuck attempting to repeat a failed data update, essentially forever. Killing the app doesn't always resolve it, because the real problem is data that was corrupted by the interruption, and the app will continue trying to recover the corrupted data after it restarts.


MS Exchange email accounts will do this frequently, due to a bug in the Microsoft ActiveSync process which, unfortunately can never be fixed, because it would break millions (billions) of older MS Exchange clients that cannot be updated. If you have an MS Exchange account the only fix is to delete the account, restart the phone, and add it back. Or have your administrator restart the MS Exchange server (which most admins don't really want to do). If you are interested I can provide technical details on this bug, but I don't want to distract from solving the problem.


Other IMAP email accounts can exhibit a similar problem; again, the easiest solution is to delete the account, then add it back. As the email server is always the master for IMAP accounts no messages will be lost.


Accounts that sync data from a server (and this includes iCloud) can get out of sync between the server and the iPhone. Given enough time this can resolve itself (at least for iCloud), but it's easier to shut down the sync service, restart the phone, and start it up again. Yes, even for iCloud syncing. And I had to do this over the weekend when my iCloud Contacts stopped syncing correctly. It took about 14 hours for my contacts to again sync.


As many 3rd party apps sync with a server all can be suspect. That's why checking to see which apps are using the most energy in Settings/Battery is a good diagnostic step.

256 replies

Feb 10, 2018 1:58 PM in response to bunrattyMKS

bunrattyMKS,

Out of all the options that I have tried yours is the one that I noticed had the biggest impact. [for everyone's reference, it was to turn off Siri) I can't say that the battery drain has been completely reversed to how it was prior to the upgrade, but it is lasting a little longer. So I really appreciate the advice. I've seen people comment here with iPhones 7, 8 and Xs having battery drain issues because of this upgrade, and some of the even changed out their battery to no avail. So I'm going to live with it until my phone until it breaks. Because my conclusion from reading this insanely long thread is that the final solution is to move to Android. It was a good journey.

Feb 18, 2018 2:31 AM in response to dianefromliverpool

I updated my iPhone 6 to 11.2.5 just a few days ago in early Feb 2018 (i prenviously had a new battery installed about 6 months ago)

I immediately noticed it was running HOT and the battery indicator was going down so fast I could almostuse it as an egg timer! Restarts and reloads made no difference. I was having to charge maybe 3 times a day between 8am and 10pm !


AS A LONG TERM APPLE USER, I am disgusted that this bug has been out there since the launch of this software update and all APPLE can do is recite the same old CRAP about battery management for something that is clearly an actual error/problem created by them and affecting many, many users.

Let me put this in to perspective, I have NEVER had a PC (never!) and have been using and owning Apple products since 1986

I have had 7 or 8 iPhones since the very first one, I have currently, with my wife, approximately 5 iPads. We have in the house over 6 Mac laptops, I have a 27” iMac as a home server, currently my 7th, 8th or 9th+ desktop (I lose track now) I can reload them, take them apart, upgrade them (although Apple are now building in obsolescence by making their products non-upgradeable, another nail in the coffin lid)

I know Macs/Apple products really well....... so please believe me when I say “I am really really getting ****** off with Apple now” Apple, if you are reading this, check my product history with you, if your records go back that far!!!


This update should never have been released if it affects iPhone 6 phones and later..... BUT having done so, WHY has APPLE not corrected the fault, acknowledged the fault or admitted the problem, instead of just giving the same old scripted info about how to extend battery life???


APPLE YOU ARE LETTING DOWN LIFE-LONG CUSTOMERS.

SHAME ON YOU


I read ALL of the comments on this thread/topic/forum.


I then did all of the things listed here by ‘dianefromliverpool’ and also went on to turn off iCloud Drive.

After which I restarted my phone. Luckily for me, something worked and my phone is back working as normal and my phone was at 100% this morning at 9am and it is now 5:15pm and my phone is at 41% (and I have been using it)

so although I cannot say for sure if just ONE thing solved the problem, something did, so I recommend any readers to try these things and see if it works for the you.

Good luck!


...... and Apple, get a grip and look after your customers not your share-holders!!!!!

Feb 20, 2018 8:33 AM in response to Ezz

You shouldn't let your battery go dead. First, it significantly shortens the life of the battery, and it also can corrupt data on the phone (sort of like turning off your computer without running Shutdown), which would explain why the problem appears randomly after startup. For a normal shutdown apps are given a chance to clean up before iOS actually shuts down. If you do a forced restart apps do not get that chance, which is why Apple strongly advises not to do it unless the phone is unresponsive. After any shutdown all processes that sync to outside services such as iCloud, IMAP mail accounts and many apps (such as News, Weather, Stocks, etc) must update their contents. So any time you restart a phone (any phone, not just iPhones) for any reason it will use more energy until these processes complete. So you should wait until the phone has been fully charged until you check battery performance. And if iOS crashed, was force restarted or the battery died it can take much longer to fix corrupted data.

Jan 29, 2018 2:57 AM in response to Jinxedd

Same here, since I updated to iOS 11.2.5 I can literally see the procentage indicator counting down. Usually the phone stayed on 100 percent up to 25-30 minutes of usage after the phone got fully charged and did so until I updated.


Background updates is turned off, as well as background gps location services on. Display background light is on a low level. Generally I didn’t change any settings either after updating, but I lost 11 percent battery capacity within 30 minutes after the device was fully charged.


My iPhone 7 device is 13 months old and that issue came over night.


Very annoying

Feb 2, 2018 2:53 AM in response to Jinxedd

Hi to all,


I just want to say that many of us who have purchased an iPhone, regardless of model types, have spent quite a lot of money. Shouldn't we be using and turning on functions that we want to use (location/background app refresh/etc) and still be able to experience the battery usage/consumption span that is realistically acceptable?


I think all the tips about maximising batteries and turning off this or that does NOT solve the problem of the unfortunate "premature battery drainage" which comes with the iOS update. This is unfair to all users and I suggest that somebody in Apple should address this problem as they would for the latest battery replacement scheme.


My iPhone 8 plus battery life was so good at iOS 11.2.2 until I have updated the software. I have updated the software as I have been experiencing call drops and cancellations. This is infuriating. I don't see the need for me to turn off this or that because I might as well buy a simple Nokia phone and forget about all the wonders of what Apple has to offer. Are we paying money for empty promises? Listen Apple, I am feeling it already.

Feb 4, 2018 2:40 AM in response to Jinxedd

I wonder why apple is pushing such updates with bugs. One side 11.2.5 is draining out battery and other side they are offering battery at discounted prices. Is this coincidence or any backdoor game/deal? My Case: 100428531746. There has been a lot of media about Apple and battery life recently. Here is a message from Apple in regards to this: A Message to Our Customers

To address our customers’ concerns, to recognize their loyalty and to regain the trust of anyone who may have doubted Apple’s intentions, we’ve decided to take the following steps:

  • Apple is reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement by $50 — from $79 to $29 — for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced, available worldwide through December 2018. Details will be provided soon on apple.com.
  • Early in 2018, we will issue an iOS software update with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.

Feb 4, 2018 3:58 AM in response to Ezz

Just bought my iPhone 8 last week. Firstly the battery was stuck at 80% on first charge for more than 7hrs. Then it got stuck at 88% too after a couple of reboots. Now it’s dying as fast as ****!!!! My iPhone 7 never did this. It could last a whole day too but this drains fast. Don’t blame the device, blame the iOS update. I had to update my phone too before this issue begun

Feb 4, 2018 8:52 AM in response to Jinxedd

I think we all have enough experience to know options for how to conserve battery, and I have tried everything I know to do. Since the update, the drainage is noticeably significant, even with cellular data turned off and no apps running. My iPhone 7 Plus was at 100% when I went to bed last night, with no apps running. It was at 30% when I woke up 10 hours later. I have NEVER experienced that amount of battery drainage until this 11.2.5 update. Something is wrong.

Feb 5, 2018 4:36 AM in response to Jinxedd

Same here big time! I used to go to sleep with my phone charged at 100% and wake up with my phone's battery at 98%. I have tried tonight my battery was at 100%, I woke up this morning and it was at 72%! I used to charge my phone once a day but since I update to 11.2.5 I have to charge it 3 times a day..

Is simply unmistakable that the 11.2.5 update created this battery mess..

I hope they do something about quick.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

IOS 11.2.5 battery drain

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.