iPhone Updating 6S from 10.3.1 to 12.1.1 ... battery killer?

[NotMyName]

I've been reading up on whether this is worth the risk and i'm not so sure so i'm here asking now. Yesterday i read of a guy who got a brand spanking new iPhone 6S, it had iOS 12.0, s/he updated to 12.1.1 and it just killed the battery big time.

As i'm reading through threads i'm getting people going from 100% to 0% in 5 seconds flat (ok, exaggeration) but from the responses that follow it seems they updated yesterday kind of thing and that over a few days & charge cycles this should sort itself out. Whether it did or not who knows because people don't come back and update once their problem has been resolved.

I'm not a big fan of the look of iOS 11 & 12 which is why i stayed on 10.3.1 but as i just got a new battery yesterday as i plan on being an iPhone owner for at least another 2 years now then i'm going to have to accept that i may need to make the jump as more and more apps require higher & higher iOS versions to work, including my banking app.


So for those who stuck it out, does the battery life drop off massively in the opening days but then is no different or even better after a few charge cycles?

Currently i can start the day with 100% at 6am and with my kind of usage - bit of browsing in the morning, on my breaks at work for a combined 1hour then by 6:00pm as i finish work i can sit at anything between 20% (if i've been playing games) and 50%.

 

[tallPete]

You've answered your own question - you are going to have to update sometime in order to keep using apps. The security updates alone make it almost essential. I would not take the risk of staying on a low iOS.

You have to remember that Apple sell over 30,000 iPhones every hour of every day.

1 person complaining about anything is nothing.

I'm very happy with my 6s on iOS 12.

 

[minimo3]

Updating to iOS 12.x does something to the battery calibration (not the battery itself). So even a brand new battery like yours will see wild swings and sudden % drops as well as overall poor battery life/sudden shut downs. You can update to iOS 12 but you must then get the battery changed AFTER the update. And keep it at that version, do not update even for minor .1.1 versions. Just fork out another $29 if you want to update to iOS 12. Do it before December 31 when the price increases

 

[NotMyName]

You've answered your own question - you are going to have to update sometime in order to keep using apps. The security updates alone make it almost essential. I would not take the risk of staying on a low iOS.

You have to remember that Apple sell over 30,000 iPhones every hour of every day.

1 person complaining about anything is nothing.

I'm very happy with my 6s on iOS 12.

The thing is i haven't answered my own question at all, nor am i going to complain to Apple or come online having a whinge. Where will that get me?

I don't (at the moment at least) have to update right now. I'm not sure when 10.3.1 came out but i've stuck it out this long, bypassed the whole iOS11 age so it can be done.

What i can't have is leaving the house at 6am and getting to work and by 10am i'm at 10% battery (happened before). If that happens then i wont be coming online to complain, i wont be going to Apple to complain, i'll just switch to another phone altogether.

Updating to iOS 12.x does something to the battery calibration (not the battery itself). So even a brand new battery like yours will see wild swings and sudden % drops as well as overall poor battery life/sudden shut downs. You can update to iOS 12 but you must then get the battery changed AFTER the update. And keep it at that version, do not update even for minor .1.1 versions. Just fork out another $29 if you want to update to iOS 12. Do it before December 31 when the price increases

So basically i should've updated before i got the new battery.

That's a shame. I read when iOS12 came out that it made peoples iPhone 6S batteries last longer. Then i checked in again more recently and saw negative comments about 12.1.1.

Are subsequent updates expected to iron this issue out? If not then looks like i'll be staying on 10.3.1 as i'd prefer not to switch to Android just yet.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

The thing is i haven't answered my own question at all, nor am i going to complain to Apple or come online having a whinge. Where will that get me?

I don't (at the moment at least) have to update right now. I'm not sure when 10.3.1 came out but i've stuck it out this long, bypassed the whole iOS11 age so it can be done.

What i can't have is leaving the house at 6am and getting to work and by 10am i'm at 10% battery (happened before). If that happens then i wont be coming online to complain, i wont be going to Apple to complain, i'll just switch to another phone altogether.


So basically i should've updated before i got the new battery.

That's a shame. I read when iOS12 came out that it made peoples iPhone 6S batteries last longer. Then i checked in again more recently and saw negative comments about 12.1.1.

Are subsequent updates expected to iron this issue out? If not then looks like i'll be staying on 10.3.1 as i'd prefer not to switch to Android just yet.

There were problems with battery performance on early versions of iOS10 also. Of course Apple will improve iOS12 as it matures just like they did with iOS10 and iOS11.. my backup 6s is on 12.1.1 and its been fine.

 

[AnthonyG6]

Updating to iOS 12.x does something to the battery calibration (not the battery itself). So even a brand new battery like yours will see wild swings and sudden % drops as well as overall poor battery life/sudden shut downs. You can update to iOS 12 but you must then get the battery changed AFTER the update. And keep it at that version, do not update even for minor .1.1 versions. Just fork out another $29 if you want to update to iOS 12. Do it before December 31 when the price increases

...and then sit at home with a tin foil hat on your head.

What you just wrote is a load of BS. Do you have any facts or doucmented evidence to back up your claims?

 

[NotMyName]

There were problems with battery performance on early versions of iOS10 also. Of course Apple will improve iOS12 as it matures just like they did with iOS10 and iOS11.. my backup 6s is on 12.1.1 and its been fine.

Yeah when i said about how i got to my break at 10am for my phone to be on 10% battery that was shortly after i had updated to iOS10 from 9. I can't remember if it was 10.3.1 or not but it was shortly after an update.

It's a couple years or so now but i can't remember how it was resolved. I know December 2016 i had a battery replacement from Apple for free as my battery was dropping off big time from 50% and not turning on again.

 

[AnthonyG6]

Yeah when i said about how i got to my break at 10am for my phone to be on 10% battery that was shortly after i had updated to iOS10 from 9. I can't remember if it was 10.3.1 or not but it was shortly after an update.

It's a couple years or so now but i can't remember how it was resolved. I know December 2016 i had a battery replacement from Apple for free as my battery was dropping off big time from 50% and not turning on again.

That free battery replacement on the iPhone 6S had nothing to do with the iOS update. There was an issue with the early batteries themselves which is why Apple had a battery replacement programme for the iPhone 6S.

 

[skillwill]

This is such a strange thread. So you want a three year old phone, to run perfectly on 3 month old software that you don’t like the look of but looks exactly the same as the OS you do like the look of, otherwise you’re going to switch phones in protest? And in the search for your new phone what will your criteria be? One that over 3 years after release still runs every latestOS and app perfectly and with a battery whose life doesn’t shorten? Good luck.

 

[pat500000]

The thing is i haven't answered my own question at all, nor am i going to complain to Apple or come online having a whinge. Where will that get me?

I don't (at the moment at least) have to update right now. I'm not sure when 10.3.1 came out but i've stuck it out this long, bypassed the whole iOS11 age so it can be done.

What i can't have is leaving the house at 6am and getting to work and by 10am i'm at 10% battery (happened before). If that happens then i wont be coming online to complain, i wont be going to Apple to complain, i'll just switch to another phone altogether.


So basically i should've updated before i got the new battery.

That's a shame. I read when iOS12 came out that it made peoples iPhone 6S batteries last longer. Then i checked in again more recently and saw negative comments about 12.1.1.

Are subsequent updates expected to iron this issue out? If not then looks like i'll be staying on 10.3.1 as i'd prefer not to switch to Android just yet.

I think you should change the brand phone.

 

[DaveOP]

Yeah when i said about how i got to my break at 10am for my phone to be on 10% battery that was shortly after i had updated to iOS10 from 9. I can't remember if it was 10.3.1 or not but it was shortly after an update.

It's a couple years or so now but i can't remember how it was resolved. I know December 2016 i had a battery replacement from Apple for free as my battery was dropping off big time from 50% and not turning on again.

We have a whole fleet of people with various iPhones from the 6S to the XS, and nobody is complaining about batteries on them. Don't listen to the poster above, you're fine to update the software. iOS 12 runs extremely well on older devices.

 

[Freakonomics101]

I’d go with iOS 12. Staying with 10 can be risky with security along with app support. My iPhone SE (6s equivalent) is awesome on 12. Gave it the iOS 9 performance that it came with when new. Battery life is good as well. Battery capacity is at 97% so I’m very satisfied with it all.

 

[Minorite]

Seen only 1-2 users complaining about battery issues on older phones with iOS 12 so update and don't even think about it. Chances that something will go wrong are damn low.

 

[campyguy]

I own/run a small engineering company with a bunch (50+) iPhones used by my employees - offering that only as a preface. Some of the handsets - 6 (VZW, 128GB) and 6S (ATTWS, 64GB) - have not been updated due to wanting compatibility with older SW. The older 6/6S handsets are running 10.3.3 and the updated like handsets are now running the latest iOS version.

None of my handsets have had their battery replaced, they're almost always on chargers, they've been checked by my Apple Business rep - "100%" battery health and I have no reason to doubt that...

My favorite iOS versions are, in no order, the latest versions of iOS 6, iOS 10, and iOS 12. The 6S on 10.3.3 - a daily carry for my personal use - is as rock solid as the VZW XS Max I carry for work, for calls/data/messaging. My biz partner carries a 6S with iOS 12 alongside a VZW XS Max she carries for work - none of my clients have complained about missed calls or messages. Our iP6 handsets have been rock solid on 10.3.3 or iOS 12.

If it weren't the need for connecting to a legacy server with some of our handsets, updating to iOS 12 is IMO a no-brainer. The older server is getting updated by the end of this year. I go through the Console logs of the iOS devices weekly, zero issues (so far?).

FWIW, we generally work in the PNW. Most of the towers we connect to are miles away, backed up with microwaves (not fiber). We see decent battery life, but, again, connecting to a charger is paramount to not burning out a smartphone battery IMHO.

 

[Beeplance]

iPhone 6S Plus on iOS 12.0. My battery lasts me 2 days of use with over 7 hours of usage. Most of the complains on the forums are over-conflated and may give the impression that everyone is expressing ****** battery life when that is not the actual case in real life.

People with good battery on iOS 12 don't make as much noise on the forums, and you can be sure there are many of them out there.

 

[FeliApple]

Have you updated yet? The iOS 12 devices I have seen had around half battery life than my 6s on iOS 9 (I have seen a 6s and a 7 - both which had the same battery life as my 6s when on their respective original version).
Your mileage may vary, but that's what I have experienced.
I'm never updating iOS again on any device. Well, maybe never is too strong of a word. At least until Apple stops messing with devices update after update. Which I don't think will happen anytime soon.