Is iOS 6 Causing Battery Drainage Issues for Previous iPhones?

Maura · Oct 3, 2012

BGR has written about a new iOS 6 issue that was brought to light by MacObserver. According to the story, which is based on a massive string of messages on Apples support forums, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S users are complaining that since updating to iOS 6, their battery life has fallen dramatically, from 100% fully charged to less than 50% in a matter of hours when on standby even. Apparently some of the posters on the thread have suggested that the issue could be caused by Maps and Passbook, with the suggestion that turning off location services could halt the massive battery drain. BGR itself says that it reviewed iOS 6 on an iPhone 4 and didnt notice any battery drain issues, but clearly lots of other people have if the support forum posts are anything to go by. As BGR says, battery problems tend to occur with the launch of a new iOS, and are usually fixed by the first update.

Source: iOS 6: iPhone 4 & 4S Users Report Excessive Battery Drain - The Mac Observer via
iOS 6 battery drain: iPhone 4, 4S users report big battery loss

arobin · Oct 3, 2012

That is stran ge, I have experienced the opposite, I have iPhone 4 and after updating to iOS6 I have had better than ever battery life. Usually I have had 2 days of average use now I have 2 1/2 days.

Horsehaulin · Oct 3, 2012

arobin said:
That is stran ge, I have experienced the opposite, I have iPhone 4 and after updating to iOS6 I have had better than ever battery life. Usually I have had 2 days of average use now I have 2 1/2 days.

Not quite the life you have, but mine is heavily used and my battery lasts longer now than with iOS 5.1, and will always outlast my Androids!

wildcard6 · Oct 4, 2012

I just upgraded to the 4S from a BB S2. I thought the battery life was poor, comparatively speaking. But the S2 didn't make the demands on the battery thatthe iPhone does. Right now I'm conducting an experiment. I charged it fully last night. I've shut down the push notifications on the heavy apps, the WiFi, and I went ahead and modified the mail so it only pushes once an hour. So far, after 8 hours on standby, and some light use I've got over 90% left.

Granted the Storm battery life was better, but I'm figuring at this rate, I'll get two days of stand-by. I'm going to run it all the way down until it shuts itself off, and then recharge it and see what that does.

hollywood90 · Oct 6, 2012

You also have to realize that the majority of iPhone users have a 4 or 4S, versus iPhone 5 users, and are using the new features of iOS 6 for extended periods of time, and can therefor drain the battery quickly. That's for the account of about 85-90% of current iPhone users. The rest would have legitimate battery drain issues, and it's part of the nature of the beast with ANY major software update.

wildcard6 · Oct 7, 2012

Update: So I've determined that the battery life is actually average. The biggest power hogs seem to be games and GPS items like Maps and VZ Navigator. My test resulted in the phone not dropping below 20% until about 35 hours after its last charge, and that was with some moderate voice and text use. Bottom line: the battery on the 4S is more than adequate.

SJ2571 · Oct 8, 2012

I have my 4S with iOS6 on for 8 hours straight at work, with 3G enabled, and it drops from 100% at 9am to only 95% by 5pm. No background apps running (nothing in the task switcher). So, standby is great for me. YMMV.