Baffling battery problem - bought and tested several new batteries but battery life still woeful

bizzlejones · Aug 9, 2016

My iPhone 5s was just over a year old when suddenly one day the battery life started plummeting despite normal usage, probably through overcharging etc, it was not a gradual decline. Since then, I tried all sorts of battery-saving techniques, but nothing worked so I tried buying new batteries online to install myself. Over time I have tried at least 4/5 different batteries from different sources including iFixit, I even fully reset the phone too and put the brand new battery in, yet battery life drops just like before, only very slight improvements. Its still literally impossible to use without being permanently plugged into a portable charger. All apps closed, flight mode on, reset and sitting idle on standby, it might last for 3 hours max. Even turned off it will run out absurdly quickly.

I had thought I must have just kept getting dodgy batteries but I cannot believe that anymore. Must be some ridiculous software problem that somehow drains the batteries? Which is weird because its apart from being dropped an average number of times, its never had water damage or anything like that. It is actually in pretty good condition so I just want to sell it now, but can't do that unless I fix this problem...

scifan57 · Aug 9, 2016

Does the iPhone get quite hot while in use? Try resetting all settings to see if that helps. If not, have you tried a factory reset then set it up as a new iPhone, just in case something on the iphone is causing the excessive battery drain? Back up your iPhone before the restore so you won't permanently lose any data.
If that doesn't work there's the possibility of a hardware problem that could be causing the problem.

crf8 · Aug 9, 2016

Had similar issues, one of my 2 AC chargers was bad

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bizzlejones · Aug 11, 2016

Yeah I have factory reset it and then put a new battery in and its still as bad as before so I don't understand really. Never noticed it getting particularly hot. I think the difference sources of chargeing (wall plugs and portable chargers etc) may have been a reason for the decline of the batteries. If is was a hardware problem, would that even be repairable?

scifan57 · Aug 11, 2016

Whether or not a hardware problem is repairable depends on exactly what the hardware problem is. Board level repairs are generally not possible. You would need a diagnostic done to determine exactly what's causing your excessive battery drain. Normally I'd suggest you take it to the Genius Bar at an Apple Store but Apple will not look at your iPhone since you've already worked on it yourself. Maybe you can find an independent repair shop that can run the diagnostic,

Edit: since you tried several batteries and the problem persisted, the problem is almost certainly not the batteries.

bizzlejones · Aug 12, 2016

Ok thanks. Do you reckon random phone shops on the street might do this kind of thing? Guess I can only try. Yeah I heard it could easily be the U2 fuse on the board which can blow due to non-legit chargers, which is very possibly the case with mine. Just annoying that it took me the expensive route of 5 battery trials to find out... Thanks for your help

scifan57 · Aug 12, 2016

You should try to find something better than a random phone shop, if possible.

brixtonboy · Aug 12, 2016

I don't know if it's possible for you but l think you would be better off backing up your current phone.
And instead of throwing money at it start again. With a proven one.

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