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Had iPhone 3GS switched at Apple Store today due to poor battery life

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ProPedderKustom

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 11, 2008
111
0
I was having little issues like many others here. I came from an iPhone 3G and used the identical settings on my 3GS since I received it on Friday. However, I was getting MUCH worse life on the 3GS than on the 3G with the same settings and similar usage habits.

Sooooo...

I went to the Apple Store today and, sure enough, they agreed that I was seeing VERY bad results [they ran their special diagnostic on my phone]. I was already down to 42% when I got there at 3:30PM and the phone only had 3:30 hours of use and 8:50 of standby [not even a lot of calls!].

Now I am restoring from a backup to my new 3GS and hoping for better results.
 
My 3GS is at:
Usage - 2 Hours 58 Minutes
Standby - 8 Hours 13 Minutes
Took it off the charger today around 11am. It's almost 8pm. I'm at 38% battery.

Sounds alright to me I guess. I've played some 3D games, texted, emailed, couple calls, some internet usage.
 
ProPedderKustom said:
I was seeing VERY bad results... I was already down to 42% when I got there at 3:30PM and the phone only had 3:30 hours of use and 8:50 of standby [not even a lot of calls!].
Click to expand...

Those are completely normal results.

You've had your phone off the charger for 12 and a half hours, have used it for 3 and a half, and still have almost half the battery left... and you're COMPLAINING?
What a joke...
 
It seemed like my phone was getting poor battery life the first few days but after about the 4th or 5th charge I am getting much better results and I am usin g it about the same amount of time.
 
^ I think a lot of people are forgetting to calibrate their battery. When you get your phone you should charge it all the way, use it all the way down to 1-2% then fully charge it again. Do that a few times and your battery life will improve.
 
How do you know what Percentage is left?

Never mind - just found the Percentage toggle :)
Funny thing is I have been looking for it for a few days now but only casually.
 
JBaker122586 said:
Those are completely normal results.

You've had your phone off the charger for 12 and a half hours, have used it for 3 and a half, and still have almost half the battery left... and you're COMPLAINING?
What a joke...
Click to expand...

Gotta agree. I can't believe Apple agreed that the battery was bad. Those times seem about right to me.
 
I've got 4 hours and 21 minutes of usage and 11 hours and 44 minutes of standby. Battery is at 35%.

I have 3G turned on, everything else off. There was a bit of GPS usuage earlier during the day, as well as some pictures taken. I've sent close to 100 texts today and had an hour and five minute conversation on the phone using 3G. I've also done a moderate amount of web browsing. The battery is slightly better than my 3G iPhone. I should get about 6 hours of usage on this charge. I've gotten up to 8 hours if I do ebook reading as well. I can post a screen shot for verification if anyone wants.
 
I kind of have a dumb question about "calibrating the battery."

Okay, I have read that it is good once a month to run the phone till it dies, then charge it to 100%.

I totally get that.

My question is this.

Does it hurt the calibration process if, while charging it back from being completely dead, to use the phone simultaneously while it is charging?

Thanks in advance.... :D
 
rotobadger said:
Gotta agree. I can't believe Apple agreed that the battery was bad. Those times seem about right to me.
Click to expand...

No, I had the phone on from 8:30 AM to 3:30PM and it was down to 42%. The point is that it was getting much worse life than my 3G under IDENTICAL usage and settings. Moreover, I know how to and DID calibrate the battery.

Those are crap results and I know what to expect - I've owned 2 iPhone 2Gs, 4 iPhone 3Gs, and now 2 iPhone 3GSs.

Believe me, I own a LOT of expensive battery operated items and this was not right [Segways, phones, laptops, elec scooter, etc etc]
 
Rat-Boy said:
I kind of have a dumb question about "calibrating the battery."

Okay, I have read that it is good once a month to run the phone till it dies, then charge it to 100%.

I totally get that.

My question is this.

Does it hurt the calibration process if, while charging it back from being completely dead, to use the phone simultaneously while it is charging?

Thanks in advance.... :D
Click to expand...

From what i've read your not supposed to let it completely die, as it hurts the battery, just run it down to like 1%
 
ProPedderKustom said:
No, I had the phone on from 8:30 AM to 3:30PM and it was down to 42%. The point is that it was getting much worse life than my 3G under IDENTICAL usage and settings. Moreover, I know how to and DID calibrate the battery.

Those are crap results and I know what to expect - I've owned 2 iPhone 2Gs, 4 iPhone 3Gs, and now 2 iPhone 3GSs.

Believe me, I own a LOT of expensive battery operated items and this was not right [Segways, phones, laptops, elec scooter, etc etc]
Click to expand...

You said, in your original post, that the phone had 8:50 of standby. I assume you meant that it had nearly 9 hours on standby. What kind of use was your phone getting for that 3.5 hours of actual active use time? Was it web browsing, games, music? Just curious. Obviously, if you listened to music for 3.5 hours and you were down to 42% then something was wrong. If you played games for that time then it seems completely normal.

I think you see what I'm getting at...
 
BMac702 said:
From what i've read your not supposed to let it completely die, as it hurts the battery, just run it down to like 1%
Click to expand...
Really?

So is Apple trying to purposely ruin my battery?

From their web site:

Use iPhone Regularly

For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down).
Click to expand...
http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html
 
Usage: 2 hours 13 minutes
Standby: 12 Hours 56 Minutes

I have 57% battery life left.

Is that any good. Seems a ton better than my 1st gen.
 
32GB iPhone 3GS
Usage: 1 Hour, 49 Minutes
Standby: 10 Hours, 48 Minutes
Battery: 64%
 
32GB iPhone 3GS
Usage: 3 Hour, 2 Minutes
Standby: 12 Hours, 3 Minutes
Battery: 64%

Some 3g surfing, email checking and a bit of music, been streaming baseball on wifi for the past hour.
 
Rat-Boy said:
I kind of have a dumb question about "calibrating the battery."

Okay, I have read that it is good once a month to run the phone till it dies, then charge it to 100%.

I totally get that.

My question is this.

Does it hurt the calibration process if, while charging it back from being completely dead, to use the phone simultaneously while it is charging?

Thanks in advance.... :D
Click to expand...

Well, when your iphone shuts off due to a low battery, it is not "completely dead." Its kinda like the mac calibration, they will automatically shut down after reserve battery power is used, leaving probably 1% of its battery left. Therefore, charging it up lets the battery kinda reset itself. I imagine it cant hurt the process if you use it while its charging...its always good to keep the electrons flowing through the battery than have them standing still.

Here is a link to apples iphone battery junk

Guide
 
rotobadger said:
You said, in your original post, that the phone had 8:50 of standby. I assume you meant that it had nearly 9 hours on standby. What kind of use was your phone getting for that 3.5 hours of actual active use time? Was it web browsing, games, music? Just curious. Obviously, if you listened to music for 3.5 hours and you were down to 42% then something was wrong. If you played games for that time then it seems completely normal.

I think you see what I'm getting at...
Click to expand...

I messed up with the numbers...

In that 3.5 hours I made a couple calls, sent some emails and texts, etc. But again, this is the same usage that I would give my 3G, which got much longer life [even on the 3.0 OS].
 
x0lliex said:
32GB iPhone 3GS
Usage: 1 Hour, 49 Minutes
Standby: 10 Hours, 48 Minutes
Battery: 64%
Click to expand...

noobinator said:
32GB iPhone 3GS
Usage: 3 Hour, 2 Minutes
Standby: 12 Hours, 3 Minutes
Battery: 64%

Some 3g surfing, email checking and a bit of music, been streaming baseball on wifi for the past hour.
Click to expand...
If I am x0lliex, I am going to the Apple store and having a diagnostic done and possibly swapping phones.
 
You got better results than i'm getting on my 3gs and they replaced it?

I guess I could do the same.. but it seems normal for a lot of us.

I force-killed Safari and iPod apps and it seems to help hold some juice.. been hearing about Safari/iPod apps having run away processes contributing to fast battery drain on the 3gs.. gonna give it a few more days of testing to see if that holds any truth.
 
Rat-Boy said:
If I am x0lliex, I am going to the Apple store and having a diagnostic done and possibly swapping phones.
Click to expand...

It is fine, I have been at a location all day where there are very high powered electro-magnets near by, they ruin my signal, so all day it has been searching for signal and keeps losing it every few seconds. My battery is usually better than that.
 
you should not run lio batteries until tley are dead.

heres my stats

usage 19 min
standby 19 hours 15 min
battery 94%

;)
 
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