# iPhone 4S battery drains fast - any ideas



## maries (Dec 29, 2010)

I took my phone to the Apple Store and they looked at the settings and didn't find anything that would be an issue.  They also checked the battery and said that was fine.

Does anyone else have this issue?  Any ideas?  They suggested resetting back to factory settings but I don't want to do that unless absolutely necessary.  I make sure all the apps are closed out completely so nothing is running in the background and the power can still drop 40% overnight.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

try letting it drain *completely* then recharge. if that does not work, go back to the store and make them give you a new one!


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

maries said:


> I took my phone to the Apple Store and they looked at the settings and didn't find anything that would be an issue. They also checked the battery and said that was fine.
> 
> Does anyone else have this issue? Any ideas? They suggested resetting back to factory settings but I don't want to do that unless absolutely necessary. I make sure all the apps are closed out completely so nothing is running in the background and the power can still drop 40% overnight.


I have noticed my 4S battery drains much faster than my other phones. I have to charge every night. Does yours loose power while charging?


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

I know some apps really pull a battery's charge down, especially ones that use GPS and Bluetooth, but I'm guessing Apple checked that, and you said you were closing out apps. Losing 40% overnight is crazy, though, so I'd at least try resetting. If you go get a new one, you'll have to start from scratch anyway.


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## maries (Dec 29, 2010)

Bluetooth is off and locations services are off for almost everything.

I have let it drain completely (not intentionally) and that didn't make a difference.  I'm not losing power while charging and it seems to charge back up fast.

I took some things off last night and it only drained 17% overnight but that is still about 2% an hour not doing anything.  I am charging twice a day.  It is at the point that I am thinking of going back to my 3S which could go days without needing to charge.  I'm sure most people use their phone and have more things on then I do so it is making me crazy that I need to keep the features at bare bones just so I don't get caught with a drained battery.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Definitely something wrong.  My phone loses hardly any power when in standby mode.  Heck, I don't often drop 40% from the time I leave for work until I get home even with checking e-mail, facebook, streaming some music etc. throughout the day in the office.  I only lose that much if I'm having a ton of touchscreen usage (i.e. a lot of texting or game playing).


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

Just saw this article maybe it will help?

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/heres-how-to-stop-the-iphone-4-159736


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Sounds like you installed iOS 6.  Really the only thing you can do is wait for 6.0.1.  Battery life is atrocious on my iPad3, several coworkers' iPhone 4S, and a friends iPhone 4 (didn't install it on mine) since going to 6.  It's so-so on the iPhone 5, which comes with it preinstalled.  Definitely a big step down, power-wise, from iOS 5.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

I've noticed no difference with iOS 6 on my iPad 2 or iPhone 4s.

iPhone is currently at 68% today and I've done a lot of texting, checked facebook/twitter several times, read a handful of news articles, played words with friends and hanging with friends a few times, sent a few e-mails, and been listening to music for 3 hours or so.  Pretty typical day of usage and battery life for me.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

I've had a 4S since last November.  There was a very brief time early this year when battery drained quickly.  Other than that, it's been OK.  (Knock on wood.)  Don't know what I did or didn't do or had changed at the time to effect the battery.  So I'm no help really.


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## maries (Dec 29, 2010)

Sorry for the lack of response, I was on vacation and charging my phone 2 times a day still with minimal use - mostly checking the weather.

I didn't load iOS 6 yet and I don't have the time zone location servce running.  Thanks for the suggestions though.  And based on that I don't think I will even try loading iOS 6.

I wish I knew if resetting to factory settings would really make a difference.  Do I need to re-enter all contacts?    I wonder if I could transfer my data to my old 3GS and then bring it back over later?


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

maries said:


> Sorry for the lack of response, I was on vacation and charging my phone 2 times a day still with minimal use - mostly checking the weather.
> 
> I didn't load iOS 6 yet and I don't have the time zone location servce running. Thanks for the suggestions though. And based on that I don't think I will even try loading iOS 6.
> 
> I wish I knew if resetting to factory settings would really make a difference. Do I need to re-enter all contacts? I wonder if I could transfer my data to my old 3GS and then bring it back over later?


You should be able to back up the 4S on iTunes and then sync it back after you do the factory reset. Almost everything should be the same, aside from having to re-enter passwords. That's how it's worked for us in the past when we upgraded iPhones.


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## KnightsTouch (Oct 9, 2012)

Trim your notifications, lower your screen brightness, and shut down your apps running with a simple double click of the 'home' button.


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## maries (Dec 29, 2010)

I haven't updated to iOS 6 yet and trimmed my notifications and turned off location services on just about everything that wasn't essential.  

I have both work and home email and not sure if that could be the issue.  I don't want to start from scratch if that isn't going to fix the issue.  

Last night it was at 85% when I went to bed with all apps closed out completely so nothing was running.  This morning it is at 59%.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Definitely seems like a defect.  I'd back it up and then try to get an exchange from Apple.

In the meantime, you can just leave it plugged in over night so you're at least starting at 100% in the morning.


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