Apple Continuing to Investigate iOS 5 Battery Issues - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Continuing to Investigate iOS 5 Battery Issues

Yesterday, Apple released iOS 5.0.1, the first update to the company's latest iOS 5.0 mobile operating system and one designed in large part to address complaints of battery life issues. But even with the update, a number of users are still reporting significant issues with battery life on their iOS devices.

ios5
Apple has now provided a statement to AllThingsD indicating that it is continuing to investigate the battery life complaints in an attempt to determine what is causing the problems.

The recent iOS software update addressed many of the battery issues that some customers experienced on their iOS 5 devices,” the company said in a statement. “We continue to investigate a few remaining issues.”

Apple has not committed yet to a near-term iOS update to address any additional issues, but is presumably already working on a follow-up update incorporating fixes for any other problems it discovers.

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
deep black iphone 18 pro

Apple Says iPhone 18 Pro Max Sold in U.S. Differs in One Way

Saturday September 12, 2026 3:27 pm PDT by
As noted by Nicolas Lellouche, who writes for the French tech website Numerama, Apple has updated its tech specs pages for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to clarify which models are equipped with its new C2 cellular modem and where. Apple now says the iPhone 18 Pro has a C2 modem worldwide, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses the chip in every country except for the U.S. According...

Top Rated Comments

194 months ago
I like the slightly more disclosive apple.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
194 months ago
I like the slightly more disclosive apple.

I was thinking that myself. It's nice to know even a little information and at least you know they're working on it rather than being silent.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
194 months ago
That is what it's supposed to lose. At that rate, you'd get at least 10 hours of battery life when it's being used, and even more if it's on standby.

That's not what you're supposed to get at all.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stella Avatar
194 months ago
Try recalibrating your battery first and then see if there's any improvement after 5.01.

I'm quite liking the SJ post era - not to say the SJ rein was bad, because it wasn't, it was good, of course. But, SJ would have just said "There's no battery issue".. and Apple would have been digging itself out of a hole by now.

In short: Apple communication has improved.

My 4s is losing about 5 percent an hour on standby. Is this normal?
Depends: What services do you have running? i.e., location service will kill your battery. What is your cell reception like?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
netnothing Avatar
194 months ago
Based on the Apple provided numbers, here's what you 4S owners should (roughly) be seeing for battery drain under ideal conditions:

Talk time - 8 hours on 3G
Loss per hour: 12.5%
Loss in 30 minutes: 6%
Loss per minute: 0.2%

Standby time - 200 hours
Loss per hour: 0.5%

Internet use - up to 6 hours on 3G
Loss per hour: 17%
Loss in 30 minutes: 8%
Loss per minute: 0.3%

Internet use - up to 9 hours on WiFi
Loss per hour: 11%
Loss in 30 minutes: 5%
Loss per minute: 0.2%

Video playback - up to 10 hours
Loss per hour: 10%
Loss in 30 minutes: 5%
Loss per minute: 0.2%

Audio playback - up to 40 hours
Loss per hour: 2.5%
Loss in 30 minutes: 1.2%
Loss per minute: 0.04%

(numbers rounded)

Let me followup with the standby time number......I for example on my iPhone 4 on 5.0.1 charged to 100% last night before bed. Woke up this morning still at 100%. So standby should generally be a slow drain, depending of course on what you have running.

-Kevin
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bjb.butler Avatar
194 months ago
That is what it's supposed to lose. At that rate, you'd get at least 10 hours of battery life when it's being used, and even more if it's on standby.
What? He said he loses 5%~10% an hour on standby. That means, on average, his battery, on standby would go from full to empty in ~13 hours. How is that what it's "supposed" to lose? Apple claims up to 200 hours of standby time. He gets 13 :cool:

10% is wayyy to high to be losing on standby, unless he is in a poor signal area. I have 4~5 bars on Sprint, and my 4S has NEVER lost more than 5% while I sleep (6~8hrs).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors