Anyone else getting massive battery drain since 10.3?

[cswifx]

Do you guys think the problem is worse on the iPhone 7 due to the architecture of the A10 chips? It has 2 power cores, and 2 low-power cores. Maybe Apple's code is bad and the 2 power cores never really shut off in sleep mode?


Food for thought

Isn't that one of the issues on some Android phones too? Personally I don't really have any bad standby battery drain unless WhatsApp Web is on. The screen-on drain is relative though. Usually I get by one whole day just fine, sometimes about 3/4 of the day, but never really any major issues. The only exception is when I'm gaming.

 

[C DM]

Google iphone U2 IC chip failure and you will find a very possible cause for those many of us with rapid battery drain issues, and several other symptoms.

Why this hardware failure is not more well known is a different issue.

The cause is reported to be the use of cheap chargers, especially cheap car chargers.

You can certainly come across all kinds of things Googling.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I'm on 10.3.2 and after over 3 hours today my iPhone 6 battery is at 98%. I've done very little on it but it's definitely not draining by itself.

 

[Galacticos]

Background app refresh is not the same thing as apps running in the background. If you don't manually quit Snapchat, it will continue to run in the background. Most apps will continue to run in the background unless you close them, even with BAR off. Background refresh isn't exactly what you think it is.

http://solutionowl.com/background-app-refresh-explained-in-laymans-terms/

I thought apps were suspended in the background..

I don't like the idea of nearly any apps gathering info in the background without me knowing about it. I didn't think much of closing apps in the multitasker but apparently I should be?

 

[Mlrollin91]

I thought apps were suspended in the background..

I don't like the idea of nearly any apps gathering info in the background without me knowing about it. I didn't think much of closing apps in the multitasker but apparently I should be?

It depends on the app. If it uses location services, music or a few other types of services, it won't fully suspend. You can tell what apps these are by going into your battery usage and see what shows background activity.

 

[Galacticos]

It depends on the app. If it uses location services, music or a few other types of services, it won't fully suspend. You can tell what apps these are by going into your battery usage and see what shows background activity.

I rarely ever close apps (I believed Craig's announcement about it not improving device speed.. although my air runs smoother when heavy apps get closed!) .. i suppose I'll be doing it a bit more on my phone too

 

[Mlrollin91]

I rarely ever close apps (I believed Craig's announcement about it not improving device speed.. although my air runs smoother when heavy apps get closed!) .. i suppose I'll be doing it a bit more on my phone too

I only close out the apps that I know use background resources through the day. Snapchat, Pokemon Go and stuff like that. If it doesn't use resources, I typically just close them out at night.

Apple always states that closing out and reopening uses more power because it has to launch it, but I have always seen differently. I have always noticed that apps that run in background because of certain services drain the battery a lot more than closing and reopening it.

 

[twinlight]

I had a dramatic battery reduction the first days on my iPad. Felt like the battery had given up after 4 years usage. Had to charge it twice per day. Back to a normal mid day charge now.

 

[itsmilo]

my iPhone 7 Plus lasts about the same as my iPhone 6 did which is disappointing cuz that was one of the reasons i bought a Plus.

for example by the time i even make it into work it is usually around 81% already from streaming Spotify and checking social media for about 90 mins

 

[Mlrollin91]

my iPhone 7 Plus lasts about the same as my iPhone 6 did which is disappointing cuz that was one of the reasons i bought a Plus.

for example by the time i even make it into work it is usually around 81% already from streaming Spotify and checking social media for about 90 mins

90 minutes of streaming and social media for 20% isn't really that terrible. Social media apps are horrendous on battery life. Streaming doesn't help either.

But there are way too many variables to compare your iPhone 6 to 7Plus. One setting could be off that could be draining the battery, there could be a difference in signal strength, something could be stuck, it could be a bad install of an app that is draining your battery. The only way to truly compare battery life is two freshly restore phones with nothing on them.

 

[RobinInOR]

Ye! I have a massive drain as well since upgrading to 10.3.2. I currently have a iPhone 6 and the battery life has been TERRIBLE especially with the 10.2.x and 10.3.x releases! Apple FIX this!

I've had trouble with my 6+ as well. In my case, the culprit was iMessages. I don't use it a lot, and rarely use stickers, but if I use it my phone will drain by the next morning. I always have to go in and close it completely down. It never showed on the usage stats so not sure what's up with it.

 

[cswifx]

I thought apps were suspended in the background..

I don't like the idea of nearly any apps gathering info in the background without me knowing about it. I didn't think much of closing apps in the multitasker but apparently I should be?

They are. The App Switcher closing should only be used when an app is misbehaving, or when you don't intend to use an app for a long time. In fact, I'd say 95% of the time, you don't even need to swipe anything up.

Apps cannot explicitly collect information in the background because

1. Apps are very limited to what information can be collected
2. Apps cannot remain open in the background, they are suspended after a time frame is up (the time frame given to an app that has just been put into the background is only used for finishing up any remaining operations and to speed up switching between apps)
3. Apps are restricted to iOS limitations (i.e. To collect information such as location services, it would be extremely obvious to the user that they are doing so)

I don't know why people keep saying apps stay in the background. Apps on iOS do not stay in the background unless they've violated Apple's ToS or a bug(s) has occurred with the operating system. If there's any drain, it would be caused by screen-on time or push notifications. Some apps use a lot more battery when opened with the screen on (Facebook), and since push notifications work by maintaining an open connection to the APNS, more push notifications means more drain. These are of course, just theories, because there is no real method to check detailed battery usage on iOS.

 

[C DM]

They are. The App Switcher closing should only be used when an app is misbehaving, or when you don't intend to use an app for a long time. In fact, I'd say 95% of the time, you don't even need to swipe anything up.

Apps cannot explicitly collect information in the background because

1. Apps are very limited to what information can be collected
2. Apps cannot remain open in the background, they are suspended after a time frame is up (the time frame given to an app that has just been put into the background is only used for finishing up any remaining operations and to speed up switching between apps)
3. Apps are restricted to iOS limitations (i.e. To collect information such as location services, it would be extremely obvious to the user that they are doing so)

I don't know why people keep saying apps stay in the background. Apps on iOS do not stay in the background unless they've violated Apple's ToS or a bug(s) has occurred with the operating system. If there's any drain, it would be caused by screen-on time or push notifications. Some apps use a lot more battery when opened with the screen on (Facebook), and since push notifications work by maintaining an open connection to the APNS, more push notifications means more drain. These are of course, just theories, because there is no real method to check detailed battery usage on iOS.

There are definitely apps that can do things in the background for longer periods of time than just to wrap things up, and they can show up with such background usage in battery usage information section of settings. It's not the case with many apps, but there are at least a few somewhat popular apps (usually various social media type of apps, among some others) that seem to do that kind of thing at least for some people. A good part of this has recently been discussed at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/app-developers-abusing-background-refresh.2047663/

 

[Mlrollin91]

They are. The App Switcher closing should only be used when an app is misbehaving, or when you don't intend to use an app for a long time. In fact, I'd say 95% of the time, you don't even need to swipe anything up.

Using the app switcher to close out apps, as I mentioned above can drastically save battery life, depending on the apps that you are using. Refer to my second part of this quote for examples that use battery life in the background.

Apps cannot explicitly collect information in the background because

1. Apps are very limited to what information can be collected
2. Apps cannot remain open in the background, they are suspended after a time frame is up (the time frame given to an app that has just been put into the background is only used for finishing up any remaining operations and to speed up switching between apps)
3. Apps are restricted to iOS limitations (i.e. To collect information such as location services, it would be extremely obvious to the user that they are doing so)

I don't know why people keep saying apps stay in the background. Apps on iOS do not stay in the background unless they've violated Apple's ToS or a bug(s) has occurred with the operating system. If there's any drain, it would be caused by screen-on time or push notifications. Some apps use a lot more battery when opened with the screen on (Facebook), and since push notifications work by maintaining an open connection to the APNS, more push notifications means more drain. These are of course, just theories, because there is no real method to check detailed battery usage on iOS.

The bolded/underlined is simple not true. There are apps, such as Waze, Pokemon Go, Apple Store, Disneyland/Disneyworld and it goes on and on that keep a constant location service signal, even in the background that allows the app to continue to run without suspending. Check the privacy settings. You have 3 options for these apps: 1) Never, 2)While Using the App and 3) Always). When always is selected, it will continue to use your location services in the background, preventing the app form fully suspending. This has massive impact on battery life if you keep the app open in the background.

It has nothing to do with breaking ToS, Apple has implemented this into iOS. It literally says it on the screenshots. Therefore, these types of apps are constantly running in the background.

 

[cswifx]

Using the app switcher to close out apps, as I mentioned above can drastically save battery life, depending on the apps that you are using. Refer to my second part of this quote for examples that use battery life in the background.

You can do a quick search for 'swiping apps to save battery life myth ios' and instantly bring up articles about why this isn't true, especially for apps you are constantly using. I did mention that if you don't intend to use an app for a long time after using it once, it is okay to close it. It is however not okay to always swipe away all your apps, and it is also the reason why Apple still refuses to put a 'Clear All' button on the App Switcher.

The bolded/underlined is simple not true. There are apps, such as Waze, Pokemon Go, Apple Store, Disneyland/Disneyworld and it goes on and on that keep a constant location service signal, even in the background that allows the app to continue to run without suspending.

I'll admit this was my fault. I actually failed to mention the other ways apps can use iOS's infrastructure to stay in the background. However, the user always has control over such interactions, and can turn them off. It is safe to say unless one has allowed every permission for every app they've used ever, there should not be any battery drain from such features being disabled.
[doublepost=1496368434][/doublepost]

There are definitely apps that can do things in the background for longer periods of time than just to wrap things up, and they can show up with such background usage in battery usage information section of settings. It's not the case with many apps, but there are at least a few somewhat popular apps (usually various social media type of apps, among some others) that seem to do that kind of thing at least for some people. A good part of this has recently been discussed at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/app-developers-abusing-background-refresh.2047663/

Background App Refresh is actually controlled by iOS based on your usage patterns. Turning it off should prevent apps from refreshing anything in the background at all, and will save battery life. See my merged comments for additional comments on this.

 

[Mlrollin91]

You can do a quick search for 'swiping apps to save battery life myth ios' and instantly bring up articles about why this isn't true, especially for apps you are constantly using. I did mention that if you don't intend to use an app for a long time after using it once, it is okay to close it. It is however not okay to always swipe away all your apps, and it is also the reason why Apple still refuses to put a 'Clear All' button on the App Switcher.

See, thats not entirely true. As I proved my point with apps that run location services. If I leave Pokemon Go open 24/7 when not using it, it destroys my battery. When closing it out when I am finished prevents location services from running 24/7. That is factual. Even reopening it in 20 minutes will save 20 minutes of background usage. GPS drains battery.

As I have stated above (#32), depending on the app should determine if you should close it out or not.

Pokemon Go yes, its using location services, notes, settings, messages, phone, calculator and so on. Fine leave open.

As you knowing Apple's motives, you do not know why they don't included a close all. Apple does state you don't need to close out your apps for performance, BUT AppleCare has told me that closing out location requiring apps will save battery life. And thats 100% provable.

 

[C DM]

You can do a quick search for 'swiping apps to save battery life myth ios' and instantly bring up articles about why this isn't true, especially for apps you are constantly using. I did mention that if you don't intend to use an app for a long time after using it once, it is okay to close it. It is however not okay to always swipe away all your apps, and it is also the reason why Apple still refuses to put a 'Clear All' button on the App Switcher.



I'll admit this was my fault. I actually failed to mention the other ways apps can use iOS's infrastructure to stay in the background. However, the user always has control over such interactions, and can turn them off. It is safe to say unless one has allowed every permission for every app they've used ever, there should not be any battery drain from such features being disabled.
[doublepost=1496368434][/doublepost]

Background App Refresh is actually controlled by iOS based on your usage patterns. Turning it off should prevent apps from refreshing anything in the background at all, and will save battery life. See my merged comments for additional comments on this.

Yes, background app refresh controls that and turning it off can potentially help, but even without background app refresh apps can have background usage, and sometimes for longer than what is typically allowed for most apps, sometimes for valid/known reasons, and other times either due to a bug of some sort, or because something is being used (or abused) intentionally.

 

[Sammydad1]

Here is a video about replacing the U2 / Tristar charging chip.

Some graphic language***

 

[cableguy84]

I started getting excessive drain when i upgraded. Went to Apple, turns out my battery had a fault . They replaced the phone.

The battery was swelling inside the phone and was damaging other components

It was purely coincidental that i had just upgraded to the latest software

 

[Sammydad1]

I started getting excessive drain when i upgraded. Went to Apple, turns out my battery had a fault . They replaced the phone.

The battery was swelling inside the phone and was damaging other components

It was purely coincidental that i had just upgraded to the latest software

Was your phone a 6S ? That was the "only" replacement program announced in the recent past, and only if your phone was produced between certain dates. Normally they just replace the battery. Your phone must have been in bad shape.

 

[cableguy84]

Was your phone a 6S ? That was the "only" replacement program announced in the recent past, and only if your phone was produced between certain dates. Normally they just replace the battery. Your phone must have been in bad shape.

It was a 6s plus , yea the battery began swelling and was affecting the screen etc