How to Make Your Battery Last Longer with the New iPhone Operating System
Another operating system upgrade, another battery drain problem. Apple's latest iOS update, which the company released Tuesday to fix a Wi-Fi connectivity problem, has users complaining that their iPhones are losing power faster than ever. Not that this is anything new: the iPhone 3G and iPhone 4S had similar issues pop up when Apple was trying to figure out their bugs. With those battery-suck problems behind us, and thanks to some help from users on the Apple forums, here are three (and a half) quick tips on making your phone live longer with iOS 6.0.2.
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Let It Drain
Possible Solution: In a twist on the trusty turn-it-on-and-off-and-on-and-off-again trick, some forum users have found that all was solved after they upgrade their OS, let the battery run all the way down, then charged up to 100 percent again. User Nikodrive says that his battery life seems to be better after a "complete charge." One user actually did the turn-it-on-and-off-and-on-and-off-again trick, which worked for her.
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Actual effectiveness: Imperfect. Forum user .Zaph's experience is just one example of the full-drain strategy not working: "I let my phone (iPhone 5 btw) drain completely until it turned off and then charged it to 100%. Then I let it sit idling all night again and saw a 9% drain in less than 8 hours. So this hasn't resolved the issue." And, even Nikodrive isn't the sure the trick will hold: "I can't say if it's really solved the problem..."
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Turn Off Your Wi-Fi
Possible Solution: This iOS update came out specifically to address Wi-Fi connectivity, and one savvy forum user investigated whether Wi-Fi might be part of the problem. So user Kickerstop turned off his wireless altogether and has been drain-free for up to five hours ever since.
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Actual effectiveness: About as good as a Band-Aid. Not being able to use wireless obviously makes your iPhone not very useful, and it also defeats the purpose of the iOS 6 fix to begin with. It also hasn't worked for everyone, like user Jakeman007, who has turned off Wi-Fi, iCloud, and iTunes Match to no avail.
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DFU Mode
Possible Solution: Some users have suggested a Device Firmware Update, a last resort for resintalling the operating system. OSXdaily has a straightforward explanation of how to do that using iTunes.
Actual effectiveness: Unclear. One person saw a decline in battery life after trying the DFU reset. Others just threatened to do it, after nothing else worked.
Complain and Wait It Out
Possible Solution: If enough people make enough noise about the issue, Apple might acknowledge the existence of the battery problem and (hopefully) put out an update. Writing on the forums helps get attention. But one user suggests sending more formal complaints to Apple here.
Actual effectiveness: Slow. It's possible Apple won't listen happen, even though it has in the past — the company put out a fix for iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S's battery complainers. Note that this strategy involved the exact kind of patience most iPhones have trained their users to get eliminate from their daily lives.
