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iOS 6.1.4 Battery Life Complaints Mount

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Last Thursday, Apple released iOS 6.1.4 for the iPhone 5, an update that was small in size and only featured one change. However, for some iPhone 5 users, the update brought some unannounced issues along with it with many owners voicing concern about their phone’s battery life after installing Apple’s latest iOS software.

In January, Apple released iOS 6.1. an update that brought along several new features including the new lock screen music controls that were and still are a big improvement over the previous ones. However, iOS 6.1 also brought some menacing issues along with it, issues that of course were not mentioned in the update’s changelog.

Read: iOS 6.1.4 Problems: Battery Life & Other Issues Hit iPhone 5.

Apple rolled out iOS 6.1.4 last week for the iPhone 5.

Apple rolled out iOS 6.1.4 last week for the iPhone 5.

As we’ve pointed out, iPhone and iPad owners are still dealing with issues not only from that update, but from Apple’s three subsequent updates iOS 6.1.1, iOS 6.1.2, and iOS 6.1.3.

Last week, Apple issued its latest update, iOS 6.1.4, an update for the iPhone 5 that, at first, didn’t get much attention from owners of Apple’s latest smartphone. However, over time, the complaints about the software have begun to mount, with owners zeroing in on battery life issues that are seemingly plaguing the smartphone after installing the new software.

Recently, we reported that iOS 6.1.4 owners were experiencing a number of problems with the device, including the aforementioned battery life issues. However, at the time, the issues were only being touted by a small group of iPhone owners. Now, there is a chorus and quite a few iPhone 5 owners have chimed in with complaints about battery drain with their iPhone 5.

iOS 6.1.4 Battery Life Complaints Mount

iPhone 5 owners are complaining about battery life issues in iOS 6.1.4.

iPhone 5 owners are complaining about battery life issues in iOS 6.1.4.

While things were initially quiet, complaints have started to pick up over the past few days with iPhone 5 owners taking to Apple’s forums, Twitter and through email to complain about perceived battery life issues with the iPhone 5 after installing iOS 6.1.4.

Apple’s forums are rife with complaints from iPhone 5 owners who are experiencing battery life that they claim isn’t typical to their device. Users are reporting various degrees of battery drain on their iPhone 5 with some claiming that simple tasks like playing a saved podcast have dropped their device down to below 70% in just one hour. Others are reporting that the device is draining abnormally, even when sitting idle.

This photo, from @DetroitBORG, shows battery life that has dropped to 31% only a few hours after its last charge. Clearly, that is not optimal iPhone 5 battery life.

So while these issues may not be on the same level as the battery life issues that plagued iPhone and iPad owners after iOS 6.1, wherein an Exchange bug killed battery life, it’s still a problem for many people with an iPhone 5.

Not Affecting Everyone

Of course, as is the case with just about every iOS update, the iOS 6.1.4 battery drain issues aren’t affecting everyone. Gotta Be Mobile has heard from several people who claim that iOS 6.1.4 actually improved their battery life from iOS 6.1.3 and are now able to enjoy a more extended period without charging their phone.

Read: iOS 6.1.4 on iPhone 5 Review.

We have been using iOS 6.1.4 extensively for a week now and we have not noticed severe battery drain. We’re still getting fantastic standby battery life and getting as good of battery life as we got from iOS 6.1.3., the previous update.

This is not to say that other owners aren’t experiencing issues, but that some iPhone 5 owners are still getting the status quo when it comes to iPhone 5 battery life, even after updating to iOS 6.1.4.

Possible Fixes

The iPhone 5S release is rumored for the summer with a design and shape similar to the iPhone 5.

Don’t expect a fix from Apple any time soon.

At the moment, there don’t seem to be any pinpointed causes for the battery drain that some iPhone 5 owners are experiencing. And that unfortunately makes a fix, or at least one that works with 100% accuracy, impossible to nail down.

As we have suggested in the past, owners who are experiencing battery drain will want to monitor things like 4G LTE use as that can certainly drain battery life down immensely. Turning it off, when it’s not necessary, will save quite a bit of juice in the long run.

We also have an extensive list of iPhone 5 battery life tips. If none of those work, it’s probably best to perform a factory reset after backing up data. And if that still doesn’t work, it might be worth bringing the phone into an Apple Store for analysis.

Again, as we have mentioned before, we saw one owner who updated to a new version of iOS blame the update for battery life issues, only to discover that her battery was actually bloated and defective.

Don’t Expect a Swift Update

Those hoping for a swift update from Apple aren’t likely to get one any time soon. Battery life problems crop up after just about every single iOS update and Apple usually isn’t inclined to offer a quick fix unless the problem is extremely widespread. Case in point, the Exchange calendar bug that caused battery life to take a hit across devices.

What this means is that iPhone 5 users experiencing issues in iOS 6.1.4 are going to have to rely on quick manual fixes in order to try and contain the battery drain, else bring it in to an Apple Store for a look and possibly a replacement battery.

14 Comments

14 Comments

  1. NewfieRocker

    05/09/2013 at 6:39 pm

    I held off on updating my Iphone 5 for almost 6 months after purchasing it because, as early as 6.1.2 update, I had read about the supposed battery drain issue and the funny thing is, every update since, people post comments on various forums that alludes to battery drain. Why do people post such comments when they clearly have no clue what they are talking about? I finally updated a month ago and actually found my battery life increase because some features we’re tweaked.

    If there truly are a select few people who really do notice a difference in battery life, it more likely has to do with settings such as wifi, bluetooth, etc always on. It really isn’t rocket science to find out what settings need to be adjusted to correct the issue.

    • Michael

      05/22/2013 at 1:11 am

      Get serious, there are huge issues with the 6.1.4 upgrade, it completely killed my phone preventing it from charging, draining the battery and finally not even capable of switching on. It has gone back for repair which I expect will result in me paying for apples mistakes.

      I have a replacement iphone 5 from my company but will not be upgrading it.

  2. Larry

    05/09/2013 at 8:07 pm

    Glad to see yours is fine!! But for all the greed and $$$$ apple makes they should be doing better!! Each updat has worsen, I work at a apple store so I know, I see all the issues that plague iPhone owners!! Funny to say I have a HTC ONE and love it!! Just at apple for a job while I go to school, the iPhone 5 is far by the worst I’ve seen since the ip 4 since I worked here, I guess it is what it is!!

    • Tony

      05/09/2013 at 11:15 pm

      Dude, learn English.

      • Larry

        05/10/2013 at 5:32 am

        Ok tony GFYM!!!!

  3. That Guy

    05/10/2013 at 7:06 am

    Glad to see yours is fine!! But for all the greed and $$$$ apple makes they should be doing better!! Each updat has worsen, I work at a apple store so I know, I see all the issues that plague iPhone owners!! Funny to say I have a HTC ONE and love it!! Just at apple for a job while I go to school, the iPhone 5 is far by the worst I’ve seen since the ip 4 since I worked here, I guess it is what it is!!

    Glad to see yours is fine!! But for all all the greed and $$$$ Apple makes, they should be doing better!! Each update has worsen; I work at an Apple store, so I know. I see all the issues that plague iPhone owners!! Funny to say, I have an HTC ONE and love it!! I am just at Apple for a job while I go to school. The iPhone 5 is by far the worst I’ve seen since the iPhone 4, since I started working here. I guess it is what it is!!

    Tony- looks pretty good to me. Only a few issues with grammar. Was it so bad that you couldn’t understand what he was saying? If that’s the case, maybe YOU should learn English, dude.

    • Tony

      05/10/2013 at 7:58 pm

      Bla bla bla go be a teacher!!

  4. R@m@n

    05/10/2013 at 2:11 pm

    I have a 3GS can I update iOS 6.1.4 via Itunes…pls help how can I get that update

    • Larry

      05/10/2013 at 7:56 pm

      I think you can the 3GS is I think one of the only older models u can go to iOS 6, connect to iTunes and try… Good luck

  5. Adam hegarty

    05/12/2013 at 4:45 am

    I can confirm there are issues with battery life on ios 6.1.4. Every time my phone goes under 30 percent it takes just 20 minutes stand by And drops to 1 percent left. Then when I plug the phone in it goes all the way back up to 19. Does this all the time.

  6. Alyssa

    05/20/2013 at 7:38 am

    I like to think I’m good to my phone, I’ve never dropped it, I have my settings the way they should be to minimize battery drain, but I took it off the charger 2 hours ago and only used it about 1 hour to message my friend on facebook and write a story on wattpad, and it’s down to 85% after I did a factory reset. Last night I went from 15% to 9% to 4% in under 5 minutes. and from 50% to 20% in 10. I usually have about 50% by 8 PM but since iOS 6.1.4 I’m lucky to half 5%. The nearest apple store is an hour drive from here. :\ I’ll have to take her in if the problem persists.

  7. Macbrush

    05/22/2013 at 10:42 pm

    I got my new iPhone 5 last week as a replacement of my iphkne 4 s. I have experienced extemely fast battery draining ever since. But if I forced myself into restarting the iPhone twice a day, the battery life was actually very good, the iPhone was still at 100% 2 hours after last charge if I left it alone with maybe 1 or 2 short calls in between. So I concluded the problem was down to background running apps.

  8. Martin

    05/26/2013 at 9:03 pm

    I just went from 30% to 19% in 20 minutes and all I did was surfing the news. Bluetooth,… is turned off, no apps are running (killed all). Turning off ALL the features would be a great fix but then I can just walk around with a stone. :-)
    My phone worked great with 6.1.3 but 6.1.4 turned it into a power sucking monster.

  9. Logic VanGoodboink

    06/03/2013 at 7:22 pm

    Is it my imagination or does the writer of this article repeat himself over and over?

    I had similar problems, then discovered that if you delete Google maps, Google Now and turn off location services, you will see your battery life increase over 50%. It explains why the battery issue affects some users and not others.

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