How to Fix Bad iOS 8.2 Battery Life

Yesterday, Apple released an iOS 8.2 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. And while feedback about the iOS 8.1.3 update has been mostly positive, some users are still experiencing issues with iOS 8 battery life. With bad iOS 8.2 battery life in mind, we want to offer some fixes that could help to boost battery life on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Last year, Apple pushed the iOS 8.2 update into its beta program for developers. At its Spring Forward Apple Watch event on Monday, Apple quickly announced the arrival of the iOS 8.2 update. Shortly after the event, Apple pushed out iOS 8.2 to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch bringing enhancements, bug fixes and an Apple Watch app to the iPhone.

The company’s latest iOS 8 update is a big one, checking in at well over 300MB for iPhone and iPad users. It brings enhancements for the Health app, it brings changes to key applications like Mail, and it squashes some pesky iOS 8 problems. Among them, the GMT calendar issue and an annoying problem with Bluetooth in the car.

Apple’s iOS 8.2 update is aimed at fixing iOS 8 problems though it appears that iOS problems continue to linger for some iPhone and iPad users. iOS 8.2 users are starting to complain about several issues including bad iOS 8.2 battery life.

Just restored my iPhone 6 to iOS 8.2 and the battery drain is ridiculous… uh

— Michael Camilleri (@MikeCam) March 10, 2015

Update to iOS 8.2 they said. It’ll be better they said. Right… battery drain seems to have worsened. Great QA Apple.

— William McBee (@gerbick) March 9, 2015

iOS 8.2 drain more battery than before. Only 6 hours @AppIeOfflciaI — darkamon (@666darkamon666) March 10, 2015

Wow battery is draining like crazy. iOS 8.2 effect? #iPhone6 — Deepak Abbot (@deepakabbot) March 10, 2015

First overnight of #ios 8.2. Battery drain 30% more than normal, usually wake up at 92-95%, today at 62%. What gives?

— mikealtmyer (@mikealtmyer) March 10, 2015

Downloaded the new IOS 8.2. 100% battery now 8%🔋😫#crapIOS8

— Ian (@078Ian) March 10, 2015

Battery life problems always seem to plague iPhone and iPad users after the release of new iOS software though most times, it’s not the actual update that’s causing the problems. Instead, apps and other services are often the culprit.

For the moment, these iOS 8.2 battery life problems appear to be fairly isolated though we do expect them to grow as more users apply the iOS 8.2 update to their iPhone or iPad.

How to Fix Bad iOS 8.2 Battery Life on iPhone or iPad

With that in mind, we want to try and fix bad iOS 8.2 battery life for you. This guide delivers help to get better battery life on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This guide will help with iOS 8 battery life, but it assumes that you already upgraded to iOS 8.2 for the fixes it brings to the iPhone and iPad.

Find Apps Eating Up Your Battery

The first recommendation that we always make after the arrival of a new iOS update is for iPhone and iPad users to check out third-party applications. Third-party applications have a tendency to put a huge dent into battery life on the iPhone or iPad, regardless of what version of iOS you’re on. If you use an application a lot, it’s going to drain your battery. But there are also times where bugs or issues might cause an app to go rogue and start abnormally draining iPhone or iPad battery.

If you want to fix your iOS 8.2 battery life, you’re going to want to first want keep an eye on applications for potential problems. To do that, you’ll want to take a look at the battery life usage tool that Apple included with its iOS 8 update. To start using this tool, head to Settings -> General -> Usage -> Battery Usage to see which apps use the most battery life.

Once you find an app that appears to be using too much battery life, you can limit your use of it when away from power, stop its background activity or remove it completely from your iPhone or iPad.

Turn on Airplane Mode When You Have Poor Coverage

One thing that we’ve noticed is that poor cellular coverage is often to blame for bad iOS 8 battery life. When your phone needs to search hard for a signal, it runs the battery down faster, something to keep in mind when you’re in spotty areas. You may need to turn on Airplane Mode when there isn’t a strong 4G or LTE signal in the area. This will kill off your connectivity but it could save you from horrible battery drain.

Disable iCloud Keychain

Some iPhone users claim that disabling iCloud Keychain has helped them get rid of abnormal battery drain. Many iPhone and iPad users don’t use or don’t need iCloud Keychain so it’s worth disabling to see if it provides positive results.

To disable iCloud Keychain, first head to Settings -> iCloud -> Keychain -> Toggle iCloud Keychain off. You can always turn it back on if turning it off doesn’t bring a boost to battery life.

Limit Background App Refresh

We highly recommend limiting background app refresh on the iPhone or iPad. This feature updates applications in the background so that data is available right when you open an application. Many of you don’t or won’t need this feature so it’s worth investigating to see if it restores the battery life on your iOS 8.2 powered device.

If you don’t want to turn it off completely, you should instead find apps that use it too much and turn it off for them one by one to see if that solves your bad iOS 8.2 battery life problems. This way, you can keep the apps that aren’t using up a ton of charge. It’s a tedious process though it’s had a positive effect on our iPhones and iPads in the past.

To get started, go to Settings -> General -> Background App Refresh -> Turn it off for each app that is using too much power. It’s going to take some time but it’s worth trying if your device takes a hit after the move to iOS 8.2.

Stop Using Auto Brightness

Both the iPhone and iPad include sensors that change the screen brightness based on the light in your current environment. Often times, the sensors will boost your screen brightness to unnecessary levels. This can potentially harm your battery life. If you are willing to change the brightness levels manually, we recommend toggling this feature off to see if it helps the battery.

To shut Auto Brightness off, go to Settings -> Display & Brightness -> Auto-Brightness -> Off. Once it’s off, you’ll be able to manually adjust the brightness of your screen to help keep battery drain to a minimum. Remember, you can always turn brightness up or down on your own when you need it using the Control Center. For those that aren’t familiar, Control Center is the feature that pops up when you swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

Restart or Reset Your iPhone or iPad

If you start noticing weird battery drain or if your device starts getting really hot, you should try performing a reset to see if that returns things to normal. Most of you know how to restart an iPhone or iPad but we’ll remind you. Hold down the power button, swipe to turn it off, and then hold the power button down to turn it back on.

You can also try resetting the iPhone or iPad by holding the home button and the power button for about 10 seconds. This will not remove any of your data and could help restore your device to form.

Reset All Settings

The next set of fixes are the steps to take if you’re encountering major battery life issues after getting iOS 8.2 on board your iPhone or iPad. If you see the usage and standby numbers listed as the same when you look at iOS 8.2 battery usage in Settings, these are the steps that you’re probably going to want to take in an effort to get a grip on your device.

The first step to take is to reset your settings. Go to Settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset All Settings and then enter your passcode when prompted. This will take five minutes or so to complete and will put all of your settings back to default. This will not remove any data or photos from your iPhone and iPad. This has worked for us in the past and it’s the first step to take if you’re seeing major battery drain.

Restore the iOS 8.2 Update

If that doesn’t work, you should try to install the iOS 8.2 update again using a restore. You’ll need to do this on your computer with iTunes installed. Warning, this will wipe your phone or tablet completely so think of this as a last ditch effort.

You can try restoring from your backup after the update, but if the problem returns, you will want to do this again without restoring from backup. Here’s how to do this.

1. Plug in and backup to the computer or to iCloud.
2. Turn off Find My iPhone – Settings -> iCloud -> Find my iPhone -> Off.
3. In iTunes Click Restore.
4. Follow the prompts and the iPhone will reinstall iOS 8.2 from scratch.
5. When it completes click Restore from Backup to put your information back on the iPhone or Choose to set up as a new iPhone.

This process takes awhile to complete. Expect to spend 20 to 45 minutes for this process, and maybe longer if you restore from backup. It’s going to vary from device to device, person to person.

Downgrade to iOS 8.1.3

For a limited time, you can move back to iOS 8.1.3. If you were getting good battery life on iOS 8.1.3, this might be a step to consider. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide that will outline just how you can make this happen.

Apple will, at some point, close this up so if you want to make this move, you’re going to have to make it soon. It’s impossible to predict when Apple might close this up so you’ll need to decide soon.

Genius Bar/Replacement

If none of these fixes work, you should make an appointment with Apple and get an Apple Genius to look at your phone or tablet. Back up your iPhone or iPad before you go and simply ask them if your battery life is bad. They can test this in store and if you’re under warranty, they will replace the device. There is a one year warranty by default and two years with AppleCare+.

Awhile back, we were getting horrible battery life on the iPhone 4s but couldn’t figure out why. So, we took it to the Apple Store to get it looked at. The Geniuses ran a diagnostic and were able to determine that the battery was starting to physically bloat inside the device’s frame. They replaced it free of charge and the device has been fine ever since. Moral of the story: Don’t dismiss the Genius Bar as an option.