Safe to update?

[TwoScoops]

I currently own an iPhone 4 running 4.2.1. It's been a while since I have considered updating to a more recent version. Now that iOS 5 has been released and has had time to mature, I would like to try it out.

However...

With the amount of complaints I see about battery life dropping 10% every hour compared to 2/3% on iOS 4, I don't know if I should. Is everyone experiencing this and are there ways to avoid battery drainage issues?

 

[TheOriginalKi]

I had no problems with my 4 on iOS 5 and don't have any issues with my 4s on iOS 5.

 

[ppfd]

Yep no problems on my jailbroke 4.

 

[Markc1024]

At this stage, why not just wait until 5.1 is available - supposedly in a couple weeks.

 

[smirk]

Because then he'll want to wait two more months to make sure it's stable...

 

[AppleFanatic10]

I have no problems with the battery dying like that. I think the battery life works pretty well on iOS 5.

 

[bandofbrothers]

The main gripe of battery dropping is generally from current 4s owners.

The iPhone 4 has in general been a stronger battery !

Im on 5.0.1 and jailbroken with redsn0w and have found that as a stock phone and jb phone my iPhone 4 gives me up to 1.5 days moderate to heavy usage.

I applaud your patience in holding out to date before upgrading !

I was itching after the first few days.

Different now I'm jb tho and I'm a lot more patient these days !!

If you do update and jb perhaps you could update your thread with your findings both on the ios5 and battery life ?

Enjoy the journey.

 

[Hyper-X]

Remember that the 4s has a much more powerful CPU and it appears to me that most of the drain comes from cell 3G usage.

With airplane mode on with just WiFi on, I could go 3 days without recharging. Had to do that recently during a trip to Japan where they lacked CDMA.

Another solution is to simply seek additional power. I use a Mophie Juicepack Plus and I can go about 1.5 days without recharging with heavy data use.

 

[vistadude]

If you read the reviews for Skype on iOS 5, it looks like they no longer offer background multitasking, so you can only receive calls if you're actively using the app.

 

[Arelunde]

Go ahead and update! There are SOOO many improvements between the OS you are using and iOS5 - you will be amazed!! It's like getting a brand new phone. As far as battery life goes, mine is great on iOS5 - even on a busy day, I still have at least 30 percent left. Most days it'saround 65 percent - not too shabby!

 

[Ishmumrhmn]

I currently own an iPhone 4 running 4.2.1. It's been a while since I have considered updating to a more recent version. Now that iOS 5 has been released and has had time to mature, I would like to try it out.

However...

With the amount of complaints I see about battery life dropping 10% every hour compared to 2/3% on iOS 4, I don't know if I should. Is everyone experiencing this and are there ways to avoid battery drainage issues?

if you update, preserve the baseband so you can unlock it later