iOS 4.1 Poses New Battery Drainage Problems, Users Suggest [Updated]

I never had a problem with battery life on my 3GS until the 4.1 update two days ago. In the past the battery life would drop 1- 2% overnight. It has dropped 30-40% the past two nights.

I am simply amazed what the Apple fanbois are willing to put up with. Get an EVO which IS a better phone anyway.

I have been experiencing way lower batter life since the 0S4.1 update. My phone used to go on for two days before OS4.0. When I upgraded to THAT, it went down to 1 day.

Now with OS4.1, it only lasts a few hours. Like today for example, my phone had been charging all night. So when I woke up, it was to 100%. 4 hours later, it was 12%!!!

I hope Apple, fixes this SOON!!

Same here iPhone4 batt. Just drains since update to 4.1

Yesterday I went to bed (11:30pm) my iPhone 4 had about 90% battery and when I woke up the next day (8:30am), I had about 20% left to start my day with. I’m not too sure if it was due to the fact that I had Skype running on the background or the fact that the iPhone doesn’t seem to disconnect from Wi-Fi when entering standby mode.

My Iphone 4 battery is draining very quickly with 4.1. The phone is also getting very warm.

Update and sync - then erase (settings/General/Reset) - then reconnect to ITunes and setup as new device - all apps/cal/contacts will be reinstalled. Worked for me. Be sure to use new device and not restore. Found this on the net. Battery will drain normally. Worked for me.

No problems here. My iPhone 3GS still lasts about 2 days with moderate call/game/browsing usage. However, I haven't used the Game Centre.

I have had serious battery problem. Battery started dropping very rapidly than I have read an article that after 5-600 recharge (about 2 years worth) the iPhone battery starts loosing its thrength very rapidly. I had a 3G at that time that was about 2 Years old. I have decided to change battery and since then all my battery problem has disappeared.

At 11:00 AM I updated my iPhone 3Gs to 4.2. Upon disconnecting it from the computer, it had 100% battery power. One hour later, including a 5 minute phone call, it was down to 58%. By 2:45 PM it was completely dead, after doing nothing but sitting in my pocket. Notifications were turned off for the new Game Center, and nothing else was changed in the settings that usually get me through a long work day with roughly 70% battery power remaining. I tried resetting the phone and all the things that solved the problem when this happened [to a lesser degree] with the last system upgrade - all to no avail. I am really sick of this phone, and getting sick of Apple in general because of a string of unresolved issues and non-helpful customer support over the past year. I believe the company has become, how do you say it, too big for its britches.

We had a discussion at my office yesterday - of the iPhone users, about 1/2 of us are having serious battery problems after the 4.1 update. I tried all of the tweaks I can find in online chats, but it is still losing about 10% of its charge its hour. Very frustrating and completely unsuitable for business purposes. Our firm has decided that if the problem continues, we may need to switch our employees to another type of phone ....

My iPhone battery sucks big time. I am really frustrated a lot with this iPhone 4. I had 3GS and upgraded the OS to 4.1, from 4.1, it started to drain the battery drastically. Then I called the customer care and they said I am out of the warranty period and cannot do anything wiht it. So, I upgraded my phone to iPhone 4 and installed the latest OS 4.1 and I started experiencing the same problem. I wish Apple soon comes out with a way to handle this problem.

I fully charged my battery overnight and now, 8 hours later, I'm down to 30% without making a call! At this rate I'm going to run out before the end of the day.

My 3GS now dying by noon in standby after I unplug it in the morning!

My new iphone 4 had good battery life until the iOS 4.1 update. Since then I've had to recharge the phone twice during the day just to keep it running. I've already disabled the location service and have fully discharged/recharged the battery to no avail.

I was having overnight battery probs with my 3Gs and 4 and 4.0.1, so now turn off my wi-fi before bed. Prob fixed. I had tried isolating the issue, but there's too many variables to be sure what's happening. The phone is slower to load things like the camera or Ping, but otherwise is going fine. I'm too oo scared to load 4.1. Better the devil I know.

I had a 3g touch that was 6 months old when I upgraded to 4.0 my battery would drain from full to 20% in 6-7hrs in a few weeks I had figured out that turning off notifications and push putting it in airplane mode and turning wi-fi on it would turn off the persistant wi-fi and slow the battery drain but not completely stop it. Then one day it wouldn't turn on at all. I had it replaced under warranty. The replacement had 3.1 on it and I kept it until the 4.1 came out. On 3.1 I could start with a full charge and after 8hrs still have 45% left. I upgraded to the 4.1 thinking the problems were fixed. The first day my battery was down to 20% in 6.5 hrs and so I reset the network settings as recomended on a apple forum. This didn't help so the next day I turned off the notifications and push, put into airplane mode and turned on wifi but the wi-fi is still on constant and it drains to 20% in 6hrs. Turning on airplane mode and letting wi-fi turn off extends the battery life after 8hrs was only down to 75%. So I think it is the persistant wi-fi which allows you to get voip calls unfortunately it drains your battery so you miss the voip calls. And I think the game center maintains a wi-fi connection causing battery drain.

Same problem after upgrading my 3gs 32gb to version 4 up to 4.1 Tried everything i could find in forums. The solution that worked for my case was rather simple. I've turned off 3g (edge is ok for email), wi-fi, notifications, deleted and recreated my exchange account, deleted more than 100 applications i had previously installed, but left only very basic apps i need to work. One of the most important things i did was to get skype completely removed and have replaced it by Nimbuzz, a similar voip app that allows us to place calls through skype without draining battery like crazy; it behaves perfectly well while in background. My battery is now lasting 24 hours with moderate email usage. Another thing i believe is really important is to turn off the receive images feature in email settings and also to restrict showing up to 50 messages received within the last three days. By the way, push is on for the exchange account. A final comment: i'm really an Apple fan, but i feel really disapointed for trusting a company that behaves as if users have no importance at all. I've got an impression that Apple don't really care about our battery draining issues. No wonder why so many people are looking forward to jailbreak their phones now.

Same problem for me after upgrading to os4.0 from 3.1 on my ipod touch 3g 32gb. Now i work with the following settings:
- airplane mode on
- wifi on
- push off
- notifications off

Noted that battery drainage stopped after resetting wifi settings in the menu

Now seems ok
Bert

I have the battery drain issue with my brand new iPod Touch 4G.

It looks like Apple has a major "battery gate" problem here with no fix for users.

On Apple's Discussion Board you will see an incredible 174000 views to the subject!

I called Apple support about this and they seemed unaware of it or plans to fix it.

This issue should be reported on many of the Apple blogs the way AntennaGate was splashed everywhere...but sadly it's not getting the major attention it should.

My symptoms are: I have iphone 4 since they are released the device and i have made all updates without any problems until the 4.1. My phone doesn't have any game, i use only app store programs, is factory unlocked, no push(email manual, facebook, and others), no tethering on my phone, bluetooth on, wifi on, as always. Before 4.1, 2 days to charge the phone, after 8hours or less!!
I made 2 restore with backup, and 2 restores starting a new phone, and nothing. Also i reset network settings, delete and reinstall my emails accounts, and some other tricks that i see in apple discussions. In airplane mode the drainage is zero!! but i need a phone!!!! To me, i think is something in the background running. GameCenter log off and in the last page.

Since updating my iPod Touch 8gb 2nd gen to 4.1 my battery is draining. It definitely seems to be trying to connect to the net via wi-fi at regular intervals despite having deactivated all possible pushes, alerts and such like. Some of these had been activated during the update process. I never had this issue with 4.01 or previous.

Ipod 3rd gen 32gig model. Same issue. After upgrading to 4.0 my brand new ipod would not last a night. My wife bought one at the same time except she did not upgrade to 4.0. Her ipod outlasted mine by several days. Now I am stuck and disappointed with apple. I can only assume that 4.0 is running something in the backround that it shouldn't be. I guess apple is the new microsoft :(

I have had the same problems (quick battery draining, slow operation, unable to synch) since "upgrading" to ios 4.0, 4.0.1 and 4.1 on my itouch 3rd gen 32 gb. I then reverted to ios 3.1.3 and all is back to normal. I used a detailed method to UPGRADE back to ios 3.1.3 as described in the October issue of MACLIFE, page 87 that I purchased from Barnes and Noble. Apple should have let us all go back to ios 3.1.3. All is well with my ipod touch now - at least i am running 3.1.3. It is faster, I am able to synch, and the battery discharging so quickly has stopped. Music does not skip as it did on ios 4.xx. Hope this helps others.

Last night I received an email from Applecare.com asking me to give them details about the battery destruction and how to use the battery logging system - trouble was it was for an iphone and not an itouch. So Apple is aware of the many problems with ios4.xx even on the iphone. But why did it take them so long since mid July's release of ios 4.0? Why did they not adequately test their software systems before release?

This will be the last Apple product I purchase - seems like Jobs needs to retire again. Whpen my t-mobile contract runs out i will go with a droid.

Best to all - this monstrous thread has been interesting.

Apple - you need to get your act together ASAP.


(The remark removed by the host addressed a suggestion that a class action suit is needed to get Apple to solve the software problem)

T60 Thinkpad - Ipod Touch 3G, 32 gb ios 3.1.3 NOW! Windows Vista

Ever since 4.1 was installed, the phone will not make it to morning. All settings turned off, and even tried overnight in airplane mode to boot. Time to dig out the "trustworthy" AA powered alarm clock.

Same problem described above. My 8bg ipod touch loses 90-100% of it's battery overnight while in standby mode. If I turn on airplane mode, battery retention is normal (lasting multiple days), as it was before the 4.1 update. I erased my network settings (as some had described working for them) and didn't notice any positive effect. Please follow up on this so that apple will do something to fix this! Otherwise, my ipod being touted a "wi-fi" capable device is becoming more and more of a sham because you can't use this function without completely draining the battery.

I have the iPhone 3GS and have notice the battery losing power much quicker after installing iOS 4.0. I tried installing 4.1, no difference. I tried turning off push apps, nothing. The latest thing I tried was turning off WiFi. I had 81 %left on phone before going to bed and in the morning i had 78%. Before making that change my iPhone would have been dead in the morning. Try turning off WiFi when not using it.

I have iPod touch 2g no problems with iOS 4, after shutting down all push notifications sounds etc, battery lasts all day, same with 4.01 and 4.02 .But 4.1 is a problem battery drains from 100% to zero in 5 hours while in standby mode. All notifications ate closed off. I have reset, restored and removed loads of apps. The only thing that works is airplane mode, no drain then. Something in the new firmware is accessing wifi non stop in standby, I wonder what?

Hello everyone, I have the iphone 3gs and just installed the 4.1 update. First thing I noticed was that my 3g connection was super slow compared to what it was before.

Yes, I'm having a problem on my iPhone 4. It used to last 4 days, now only 1-2.

I have the same issues. My Ipod Touch 64Gb 4g is draining at such amazing speeds. Even if I turn to flight mode (which does help, by the way). I suspect there is also a heating problem with my Ipod.
I am returning it and am already regretting the 400 €.....

I have the same battery drainage problem after upgrade to iOS 4.1

The battery drops 9% per hour even bluetooth, screen, push, location, background app. And it usually runs out every night if it was only 80% or less before I sleep. Terrible!

I have been having battery trouble w/ my 3gs since updating to 4.0.x and still the case w/ 4.1

I read somewhere to exit all apps, and turn off location services.

That seems to work for me.
If not, a hard reboot does the trick.
For a while.

My theory is that some app (e.g. Camera, Map, Notes, etc...) is continually updating in the background, thus using the network, and battery life.

n8

I upgraded last night and now my phone will power off every time it goes into standby, and the battery life is s***.

I have the same problem on my ipod touch 3rd generation after upgrade to iOS 4.1

iTouch (8GB) dying in a day vs. a week. This was "fixable" with the previous buggy iOS 4.0.x by turning off Push notifications.

Nice that Apple fixed a few problems, but the new battery-drain feature almost requires that you leave the device tethered to a charger when you're not actively using it. If I turn off WiFi, I seem to get normal battery life. If I wanted a non-networked device, I would have bought one.

Same story as the others. Dowloaded 4.1 and now my 3GS gets hot and the battery drains very quickly.

same problem here after upgrade to 4.1 battery drained in less than 12 hrs

i had it resolved by doing a full restore as a new phone. I posted my solution here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12341962

I also noticed faster battery drain after updating to 4.1 in the iTouch 2G and it seems related to wireless activity. I have turned off all push notifications and the fast drain still takes place overnight. If I select airplane mode however the battery life is back to what it used to be...fantastic.

Culprit is background updates. But these apps were present in previous version 4.0.2 but no battery drain issue that time.

Hmm..some interesting and handy tips for saving the battery life…BUT

1. Turn Off WIFI….hmm…what the use of WIFI if you kep it off…
2. Turn Push Email OFF….. it kills the whole purpose of having push email services….from Mobile ME.
3. GPRS OFF. we dont get wifi 24 hours when we are on the move…so all the time we are looking at WIFI SPOTs and turning on GPRS…not recommended…keep both on.

I keep all the things on and am getting good life out of it. Just make sure you put the mobile on charge at night before sleeping and you have no worries all day for recharging.

I to am having the same problem. It even seems like it takes longer to charge due to the raid drain. I even went an got a cell phone case that has a built in extra battery to make it last threw the day, but it drains so fast that it wont even charge the Iphone. my 3g was fine on 4.0 tell this upgrade, I might downgrade but having a taste of how fast my Iphone used to be is keeping from downgrading.... Apple really needs to step up there game or there going to end up losing allot of customers!!

I bought the iphone4 yesterday ...and had to charge it twice within 24 hours - needless to say , I took the phone back, and dropped the contract like it was hot... which it was ...running hot and sucking battery life - WAKE up APPLE your rotten to the core with this piece of crap

yeah, it must be the wifi for me- turn it off overnight, turn it on in the morning- dead... completely. i turned airplane mode on and that seems to fix the problem but this never happened when i first got my ipod touch 3g cause i would leave the wifi on all night and nothing happened. must be os4

Think I've just resolved the battery issue after suffering 100% - 20% drain in 3 hours with Ipod touch in flight mode and on standby and no apps having been opened. Had to reload OS and add as a new device, then manually copy apps across instead of doing a restore. Have lost all data but it's only lost 5% battery in last 12 hours now.

SAME HERE. TERRIBLE BATTERT DRAIN AFTER 4.1. FROM 100% YOU CAN SEE YOUR BATTERY DYING QUICKLY AS IF SOMETHING IS RUNNING. MY 3GS IS WARM AND I AM SCARED THAT IT WOULD BURST ANY MOMENT. I TRIED TO TURN IT OFF AND SEEMINGLY THE BATTERY STILL DRAINS UNNATURALLY FAST THOUGH NOT AS QUICK. I BOUGHT MY 3GS BRAND NEW UNDER A PLAN AND IS NOT JAILBROKEN AND HAS NEVER BEEN. IS APPLE ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE? HELP!!!

BING J MANILA

Just updated my iPhone4 to 4.1 (from 4.0.1) yesterday and I'm dropping battery points faster than you can say "dang, shouldn't have updated". Also noticed the phone heat that others have reported.

My iphone 4 battery droped down from 35 to dead in a second that i thought there is a problem with my phone . It was black even though i start charging it. After one hour the screen sbowed up.

its a thread issue, shut off email, contacts and calendar then open each one in the same sequence, do a full power off then back on, set email, contact and calendar back to on and its fixed.