Unusual battery drain during phone call on iOS 15

[johnjkjk]

I know there are a lot of 'battery drain' posts, but could not find one that answers my question.

Noticing significant battery drain during phone (voice) call on iPhone SE with 15.0.2. With screen off (using wired headset), the battery meter shows 4h phone call as 4 hours screen on. I get 5 hours of screen time (1h/20%), so battery drains with 4-5 hour phone call. I should get much more talk time (with screen off).

Not a network issue: Tried both LTE and aeroplane mode with wi-fi calling (with screen off). Battery drains during phone call as 'screen on'. Tried low power mode- no change.

Oddly, voice-only internet call (with screen off) drains exactly 50% battery as regular phone call, with battery meter showing 50% screen on and 50% background, even through the screen was off throughout. 1 hour facetime with screen on, drains as much as 1 hour screen-on, as expected.

Screen definitely off by pressing power button. Proximity sensor works okay. So why is it showing as screen on rather than background?

Apart from phone calls, I have no battery issues. Standby and background task like streaming music has insignificant battery usage. Charging is fine and battery health not terrible.

Help?

 

[johnjkjk]

Any help please? Is it normal for a regular phone call with screen OFF, to drain battery as "screen on"?

 

[darkus]

I have a feeling it’s a network issue and iOS 15. I just upgraded to iOS 15 and my reception has gone down the toilet to near unusable levels. As a result my phone is constantly on fire trying to get reception.

I have a feeling it’s linked to your issue. It might be constantly trying to get a signal and so it’s draining battery fast.

I can tell you since going to iOS 15 my battery life has been cut in half, but I assume it’s all linked back to connectivity issues.