iPhone battery draining

[macnewbie13]

Over the past couple of days my iPhone's battery has been draining really fast. For instance the other day I went to class with my phone almost completely charged and by the time I left the class an hour and 15mins later, i got the 20% remaining popup, I was a little confused but didnt think too much of it, so i put music on and within a couple of mins (2-3) the 10% remaining popup came up, so I immediately turned the phone off and when I got back to my dorm I plugged it in and charged it fully. I thought that I knew the reason for this, my school was experience a problem with the wireless with it connecting and disconnecting throughout the day, so I thought that could of have been the reason.

But then it happened the next day as well and there was no problems with wireless. So this time I turned the wireless off and it was good for a day. Today it was charged all day and I did not use it much at all, about 10 mins ago I go and pick it up and the battery is down to 20% again, and the wireless is off, and I do not have push notification on for my mail so I do not know what is draining the battery so quickly. If this has happened to anyone else or if anyone knows what might be causing it, I would appreciate hearing from you!

Thanks!

 

[Resist]

Do you have Bluetooth on? Do you have your iPhone check for email every 15 minutes? Is your screen brightness set high? Have you tried charging it overnight? How old is your iPhone? Is your iPhone always on?

Maybe it's just time to have the battery replaced.

 

[macnewbie13]

no bluetooth, no auto check, screen brightness is on auto, but this happens without the screen being on, it is just sitting idle on my desk. Also, I try to only charge it when it needs to be charged because that is supposedly better for the battery, but apparently that wasnt true! I got it in July and up to now the battery has been fine, it has just started the past couple of days draining to almost nothing really quickly, and it is usually on all the time, yes.

 

[wilmer007]

Most likely you need a new battery put in. Most batteries last about 2 years and since the original iPhone has been out for almost 2 years now most people with the original iPhone are gonna have to either get a new battery installed or upgrade to iPhone 3G or wait for Apple to announce a new iPhone for version 3.0. I'm also looking at my battery closely although it looks to be fine but i'll be buying a battery replacement kit online for around $6 with shipping. It's not that hard to replace a battery as a matter of fact all you need to do is follow video tutorials online and you should be fine doing it yourself and saving alot of $$$$.

Just to be sure check the following items to make sure you phone is working at optimum performance without eating up your battery:

Location Services Off
Bluetooth Off
Wi-Fi Off
EDGE Off
SSH Off
3G Off (if you have 1st gen iPhone don't worry about this)
Fetch New Data Off
EQ Off
Lower your Brightness as Low as you can while still being able to see the screen at a reasonable level
Auto Brightness On
Auto Dim set to 5 Seconds
Auto Lock Set to 1 Minute
Do not use anything related to Mail, Contacts, Calendar Settings make sure in the settings all of this is not being used.
Do not use games or any background related apps
Use iPhone regulary to maintain battery operation at highest possible level



I suggest u start looking up battery replacement kits. They give you all the tools u need to DIY for around $6 shipped. I'll probably order one today incase my iphone gets dropped in water or if i start to see my battery gets drained quicker in the near future i have it ready to go. For $6 you can't afford not to have it ready or even done and get it over with.

And yes the myth about waiting for your phone to drain your entire battery before you charge it again is a lie. If you charge it at 80% Remaining every day for 5 days it will be the exact same as letting your phone turn off and then charging it. You then have to wait 4 hours to fully charge it and you have just transformed your iPhone into a temporary iBrick till it gets some charge

Also don't leave your phone charging while you sleep if you sleep 8 hours your leaving the battery plugged in for an extra 4 hours which can cause the battery to get swollen and can also cause your battery to drain quicker than normal. I suggest you charge it any chance you can get through out the day and then unplug it when it's fully charged. Unless you set your alarm to wake u up in 4 hours to remind you to unplug your iPhone and that's bad for your health. Health vs Battery i think we have a clear winner.

 

[macnewbie13]

thanks Wilmer, that's some good advice, all of my settings are already like that. I've always tried to get the optimum life out of it, but I have the 3G and it is only 8 months old! This shouldnt be happening to the battery yet! I'll look into the battery replacement kit, but would Apple replace it for me for free since it is only 8 months old and it clearly should not be happening?

 

[wilmer007]

Well if it's only 8 months old apple should be able to replace it for free. I think they give you a 1 year warranty, u might want to double check though as i bought my 2G from a guy on craigslist. Also i read somewhere that Apple knows if you jailbroke your iPhone even if you put it back into Factory Mode using iTunes Restore and that would void your warranty so let's hope you were a good boy these last 8 months and you haven't jailbroken your phone. If you still have warranty see if you have an Apple Store in your area at the apple website and set up an appointment that way you don't have to wait 3 days to get your phone back in the mail.

 

[malsch]

Also don't leave your phone charging while you sleep if you sleep 8 hours your leaving the battery plugged in for an extra 4 hours which can cause the battery to get swollen and can also cause your battery to drain quicker than normal.

Hmmm I've never heard of "swollen" battery. Is this true? Sounds fishy to me.

 

[AgentOrange]

If your iPhone is still under warranty then you should take it in for replacement. According to apple an iPhone battery has somewhere around 400 charges before it starts to deteriorate. If you haven't charged your iPhone that much (which is likely since it has been less than a year) then there is probably something defective about the battery. You should push for having the battery/iphone replaced under warranty... You shouldn't have to pay/wait for a battery replacement if the issue is due to a defect.

This guide talks about battery issues:http://cultofmac.com/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-iphones-warranty

 

[themat]

I've had my iPhone 3G for 10 months and noticed the battery life had depreciated significantly since I first got it. I didn't have the screen on high brightness, didn't had 3G + Wireless on all the time and don't use it for playing games/music. The only thing i had turned on was push email and fetch set to every 15 minutes. I decided to take my iPhone into the apple store on Saturday, they asked me a few questions, tested it and gave me a replacement there and then . So I have a brand new shiny iPhone .

 

[bytethese]

Hmmm I've never heard of "swollen" battery. Is this true? Sounds fishy to me.

It can be true. I know this happens with Blackberry batteries as we have had several that "ballooned" at the firm I work for.

 

[orange42]

I've had my iPhone 3G for 10 months and noticed the battery life had depreciated significantly since I first got it. I didn't have the screen on high brightness, didn't had 3G + Wireless on all the time and don't use it for playing games/music. The only thing i had turned on was push email and fetch set to every 15 minutes. I decided to take my iPhone into the apple store on Saturday, they asked me a few questions, tested it and gave me a replacement there and then . So I have a brand new shiny iPhone .

They gave you a brand new shiny iPhone or a brand new shiny battery?