14 DAY TRIAL // About a week after iOS 7.1.1 got released to the masses, customers are beginning to notice that not only did the firmware not solve their battery drainage, but it actually made it worse. In our own testing, we’ve found that iOS 7.1.1 has significantly reduced the autonomy of our iPhone 5 test unit.
Initial reports about the new firmware were positive. Despite Apple making no mentioning of any battery drain fixes in iOS 7.1.1, the update appeared to have addressed the issue for most customers. As it turns out, some are only now beginning to experience the problem, while others are seeing the issue worsen.
Responding to the question “IS there significant battery life improvement with iOS 7.1.1,” an Apple Support Communities forum member replied:
“Just the opposite. My iPad mini (Retina) would typically discharge about 30% per day during my normal use, which is very consistent from day to day. After installing the ‘Upgrade’ it went from 100% to 10% in one day. I charged it overnight, and it would only charge to 90%. Later, I left it sleeping for 4 hours, and when I came back the battery had gone from 80% to 30% – with nothing (that I initiated) running.”
“The claims are garbage,” writes another. “I can charge my phone to 100%, put it on Airplane mode, and go to sleep, after 8hrs of sleep it won't even turn on because the battery is dead. I can charge it completely again, and watch the battery percentage drop 1% nearly every minute. I've reset the phone and restored, it seemed to be fine for a bit and then started doing it again.”
In our own testing, we’ve found that iOS 7.1.1 has indeed impacted the battery life of our iPhone 5 test unit. As the aforementioned user claimed, we can literally see the power meter drop by the minute with no heavy usage on our end.
While a hard-reset has apparently fixed the problem for some, this wasn’t the case with our hardware.
Of course there are just as many customers who are pleased with the update, and some are downright ecstatic that iOS 7.1.1 has finally addressed their battery drain issues.
For the record, the official purpose of the update was to make further improvements to Touch ID fingerprint recognition, to fix a bug that could impact keyboard responsiveness, and to address an issue when using Bluetooth keyboards with VoiceOver enabled.