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The most battery draining apps?

appleguy123

appleguy123

macrumors 604
Original poster
Apr 1, 2009
6,870
2,573
15 minutes in the future
I take my iPhone to the Genius Bar and they tell me that 4 hours usuage (ipod and backlight) is fine with 5 hours stand-by. So I know the battery is shot and Apple doesn't believe that it is. So i ask you what are somethings that would give me the worst usage times?
 
it doesn't matter with applications if they aren't open.

games and other processor intensive applications will draw the battery down.


for now, turn off bluetooth, wifi and use EDGE if you can. that helps a bunch. you can also try dimming the brightness a bit and see if that helps too. if you don't have service. turn the phone off.

with this being said, i just drove 8 hours in the car listening to music and tethering to my MacBook for ~2 hours, i spoke on the phone for roughly an hour and have checked facebook, twitter, etc and i still have more than 20% battery via SBSettings
 
Apple is FOS. Honestly, I would try to have that case reopened.

Location services may be a culprit but only if you're using an app that uses them I think. GPS of course. Maps for sure, that always sucked me dry. The obvious videos including YouTube™. Streaming just about anything.

I also heard (don't know if it is true) that having mail open on screen and then locking the screen will drain the battery. I can't say I get why but it is a possibility.

GPU intensive apps.

Really the answer is everything. It's Apple, battery draining anything is sort of standard. :)
 
Try and hit the Home button (to close down any app that you're using) then locking.
 
Meh, i use the hell out of mine, 3G always on, location services, on, screen brightness up pretty high with auto dim off. text a lot, talk moderately, im always surfing the net, playing games, etc.

i get 5+ hours usage. if i were to reduce screen brightness just a tad, i can get an extra 40 minutes from what i've tested on average, but i dont want to.

if you start turning this off, that off, dont use this, that and the other thing.....whats the point??
 
jessica. said:
Apple is FOS. Honestly, I would try to have that case reopened.

Location services may be a culprit but only if you're using an app that uses them I think. GPS of course. Maps for sure, that always sucked me dry. The obvious videos including YouTube™. Streaming just about anything.

I also heard (don't know if it is true) that having mail open on screen and then locking the screen will drain the battery. I can't say I get why but it is a possibility.

GPU intensive apps.

Really the answer is everything. It's Apple, battery draining anything is sort of standard. :)
Click to expand...

This "usage" that I am doing is listening to music with the backlight on. Tethering the battery lasts two hours. A ten minute phone call eats twelve percent battery. I need an absolutly horrible usuage to get a replacment. And the genius is so rude to everyone.
 
michael.lauden said:
for now, turn off bluetooth, wifi and use EDGE if you can. that helps a bunch. you can also try dimming the brightness a bit and see if that helps too. if you don't have service. turn the phone off.
Click to expand...

sweeet, so basically dont use any of the functions of the phone...

not having a go at you, just seems crazy thats all ;)

My iphone is terrible on battery life, wont even last 1 day and i dont even make phone calls on it (work phone for email etc) whereas my nokia with exchange will last almost 3 days.
 
willjax said:
sweeet, so basically dont use any of the functions of the phone...

not having a go at you, just seems crazy thats all ;)

My iphone is terrible on battery life, wont even last 1 day and i dont even make phone calls on it (work phone for email etc) whereas my nokia with exchange will last almost 3 days.
Click to expand...

The problem is there so much wrong information about how to save on battery life (like turning off wifi, for example). Wifi should be turned off, if you don't have a hotspot, but should actually be on, if you're at a hotspot or at home. I can go all weekend w/o charging while at home.

See this thread, which does a good job of explaining what you should and should not be on to conserve battery life:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/525741/
 
iphone.aggie said:
The problem is there so much wrong information about how to save on battery life (like turning off wifi, for example). Wifi should be turned off, if you don't have a hotspot, but should actually be on, if you're at a hotspot or at home. I can go all weekend w/o charging while at home.

See this thread, which does a good job of explaining what you should and should not be on to conserve battery life:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/525741/
Click to expand...

I know what u mean and that thread is very helpful, but who wants to be constantly turning #G / Wi-fi on/off all day?
 
I bought this off ebay and it arrived yesterday

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190307756922&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

I used it today and it works great. Ignore the 1900mAH size - it probably works out to about 1000mAH so it completely charges an iPhone one time. You can charge this battery using the same iPhone charging cable. Makes for a great backup source when you travel (and want to use the battery draining apps like GPS, streaming data, etc).

P.S. i am not the ebay seller, just a customer.
 
willjax said:
I know what u mean and that thread is very helpful, but who wants to be constantly turning #G / Wi-fi on/off all day?
Click to expand...

Personally, I don't use many of the things mentioned in the thread. But there are some people who need to maximize their battery life and that thread helps demonstrate different ways to save on everyday usage, and more importantly, explains how to properly maintain your battery.

I never turn off 3G since I am on the road browsing constantly, but if I used my iPhone to talk / text / games...I would keep it on EDGE most of the time.

The point is, each person needs different things out of their iPhone and a lot of people enable things that don't benefit them.
 
The Genius Bar suggested I turn off Push.

I said, so I won't need MobileMe then, since I want to buy it (mainly) for the Find My iPhone feature.

Push is a huge drain; Find My iPhone is a great feature; how will you find your iPhone though if the battery is completely drained?
 
HowEver said:
The Genius Bar suggested I turn off Push.

I said, so I won't need MobileMe then, since I want to buy it (mainly) for the Find My iPhone feature.

Push is a huge drain; Find My iPhone is a great feature; how will you find your iPhone though if the battery is completely drained?
Click to expand...

I thought fetch me was a huge drain for most part.
Since push only works when you get an email at that instant
I have mobile me on push n battery is good unless something is not right somewhere.
 
http://www.ehphone.ca/2009/07/apple...s-and-recommendations-turn-it-on-turn-it-off/

http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

(The Coles notes version of the following: have no fun.)

Apple said:
Optimize Your Settings
Depending on how they are configured, a few features may decrease your iPhone battery life. For example, the frequency with which you retrieve email and the number of email accounts you auto-check can both affect battery life. The tips below apply to an iPhone running iPhone 3.0 or later software and may help extend your battery life.

Minimize use of location services: Applications that actively use location services such as Maps may reduce battery life. To disable location services, go to Settings > General > Location Services or use location services only when needed.

Turn off push notifications: Some applications from the App Store use the Apple Push Notification Service to alert you of new data. Those applications that extensively rely on push notifications (such as instant messaging applications) may impact battery life. To disable push notifications, go to Settings > Notifications and set Notifications to Off. Note that this does not prevent new data from being received when the application is opened. Also, the Notifications setting will not be visible if you do not have any applications installed that support push notifications.

Fetch new data less frequently: Applications such as Mail can be set to fetch data wirelessly at specific intervals. The more frequently email or other data is fetched, the quicker your battery may drain. To fetch new data manually, from the Home screen choose Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap Manually. To increase the fetch interval, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap Hourly. Note that this is a global setting and applies to all applications that do not support push services.

Turn off push mail: If you have a push mail account such as Yahoo!, MobileMe or Microsoft Exchange, turn off push when you don’t need it. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and set Push to Off. Messages sent to your push email accounts will now be received on your phone based on the global Fetch setting rather than as they arrive. If the global Fetch setting is set to Manually, you will not be able to locate your iPhone using the MobileMe Find My iPhone feature.

Auto-check fewer email accounts: You can save power by checking fewer email accounts. This can be accomplished by turning off an email account or by deleting it. To turn off an account, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, choose an email account, and set Account to Off. To remove an account, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, choose an email account, and tap Delete Account.

Minimize use of third-party applications: Excessive use of applications such as games that prevent the screen from dimming or shutting off or applications that use location services can reduce battery life.

Turn off Wi-Fi: If you rarely use Wi-Fi, you can turn it off to save power. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and set Wi-Fi to Off. Note that if you frequently use your iPhone to browse the web, battery life may be improved by using Wi-Fi instead of cellular data networks.

Turn off Bluetooth: If you rarely use a Bluetooth headset or car kit, you can turn off Bluetooth to save power. Go to Settings > General > Bluetooth and set Bluetooth to Off.

Use Airplane Mode in low- or no-coverage areas: Because your iPhone always tries to maintain a connection with the cellular network, it may use more power in low- or no-coverage areas. Turning on Airplane Mode can increase battery life in these situations; however, you will be unable to make or receive calls. To turn on Airplane Mode, go to Settings and set Airplane Mode to On.

Adjust brightness: Dimming the screen is another way to extend battery life. Go to Settings > Brightness and drag the slider to the left to lower the default screen brightness. In addition, turning on Auto-Brightness allows the screen to adjust its brightness based on current lighting conditions. Go to Settings > Brightness and set Auto-Brightness to On.

Turn off EQ: Applying an equalizer setting to song playback on your iPhone can decrease battery life. To turn EQ off, go to Settings > iPod > EQ and tap Off. Note that if you’ve added EQ to songs directly in iTunes, you’ll need to set EQ on iPhone to Flat in order to have the same effect as Off because iPhone keeps your iTunes settings intact. Go to Settings > iPod > EQ and tap Flat.

Turn off 3G: Using 3G cellular networks loads data faster, but may also decrease battery life, especially in areas with limited 3G coverage. To disable 3G, from the Home screen choose Settings > General > Network and set Enable 3G to Off. You will still be able to make and receive calls and access cellular data networks via EDGE or GPRS where available.
Click to expand...
 
Two of my favorite apps are also two of the most battery-draining:
RSSPlayer (when it's downloading)
Parallel Kingdom
 
Couple of questions based on recommendations

1. if wifi is turned off, then how can your phone connect to wifi when it's available. I thought that since wifi uses less battery (and doesn't count as 'air time') we want to use it as much as possible.
If it's turned 'off' in 'settings' then it won't connect unless you remember to re-set it in 'settings'.

That would mean remembering to go to 'settings' whenever I get home, etc.
But most importantly, when I'm out and about how would I know if there is an available wifi connection that I could be logged into if I've got wifi turned off?

2. can someone elaborate on 'push' vs 'fetch' for email. Push pushes email instantly with some kind of beep? But, if I'm in no rush I can just have the phone 'fetch' at an interval and it will show a badge on mail icon if there is mail?

Every 15 minutes is fine for me to be notified of email so I should turn off 'push' and turn on 'fetch' and set to 15 minutes?

And that will save battery life?

thanks
 
alent1234 said:
in other words, be like my wife and don't use your phone
Click to expand...

I have a 3G and get 5 hours usage everyday and standby times of a day. If you have a 3GS you should expect almost double those values. You don't have to NOT use your phone. If you're not getting that kind of battery life, then you should do what you can to make sure it's not software-related and if it's not then take it back.
 
Turn everything off and use your old flip phone instead... that way you'll save battery.....:rolleyes:

Everytime I hear someone say "Turn this off, turn that off" I get very :mad:
Spend half your day playing with your damn phone... turning on, turning off its features.... :rolleyes:
 
cenetti said:
Turn everything off and use your old flip phone instead... that way you'll save battery.....:rolleyes:

Everytime I hear someone say "Turn this off, turn that off" I get very :mad:
Spend half your day playing with your damn phone... turning on, turning off its features.... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Bluetooth is about the only feature I turn off since I never use it. No point in disabling all the features of phone. That's why I have like 3 chargers are home, one in car and work.
 
aphexacid said:
Meh, i use the hell out of mine, 3G always on, location services, on, screen brightness up pretty high with auto dim off. text a lot, talk moderately, im always surfing the net, playing games, etc.

i get 5+ hours usage. if i were to reduce screen brightness just a tad, i can get an extra 40 minutes from what i've tested on average, but i dont want to.

if you start turning this off, that off, dont use this, that and the other thing.....whats the point??
Click to expand...


I agree totally, I use Wifi when I am at home, Brightness down to 25% bc I like thi setting, I browse the internet, read mail although i have mail set to manual, not Push, but i charge it once and sometimes twice a day, but for the most part texting is bad for the battery, but most games and lots of wifi use will kill it more. I also run off 3G when I am on WIFI, doesnt pay to have both running.
 
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