Apple confirms bug in iOS 5 causing battery life issues

November 2, 2011 By Mike Dunn

Apple confirms that there are errors in iOS 5 that are causing battery life problems in some iOS 5 devices. Apple believes it will be able to solve the problem in a few weeks with a software update.

Complaints of poor battery life on iOS 5 devices first gained some attention over the weekend. Today Apple confirmed to AllthingsD that there is in fact a problem with iOS 5 that is causing battery performance problems in some phones. In fact the official statement from Apple states, “A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices. We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks.”

Unlike the antennagate scandal from last year it does appear that this issue is purely software based, and can be fixed by an update. It is also important to note that this problem is not limited to the iPhone 4S, and it is also happening in older generations of iPhones with the latest version of iOS.

It would be very interesting what Apple considers to be “a small number of customers” seeing how there seems to be countless people citing the problem on Apple’s official support forums. We are also curious why the errors in the OS are only effecting a small number of customers and not all of the customers.

It is nice to see that Apple responded as quickly as it did in this situation, but hearing that it will take a few weeks to address the bugs is disheartening. So have you noticed less than stellar battery life on your shiny new iPhone 4S, or reduced battery life on your idevice since updating to iOS 5?

Showing 17 comments

Rick Bartlett at 1:49pm 19th February 2012 Yeah, I DID have a battery problem too!! Although the AT&T store agent SHOULD HAVE KNOWN and TOLD ME, he failed to disclose anything about it. My wife was with me and had dropped her matching iPhone3 and needed a new phone. So, instead of messing with the issue, we ended up buying 2 new iPhones. The sales person shoulda' gave me the info and allowed me to choose waiting to the patch or sending my phone in for a check, or the purchase... SHAME on AT&T and APPLE!!! We were told nothing about the common battery life problems OR the iPhone5 coming out soon!!
Lee Brady at 7:44pm 3rd November 2011 @ chung... You sir are wrong.
Chung Yew at 5:31am 3rd November 2011 Apple fans: "Its okay! iPhone is still better than droid!"
Anthony Moisty McMorrow at 5:23am 3rd November 2011 Yeah I noticed it and I have also noticed that things like google images takes for ever to load and other aps close down some times. I also have to tap the screen or the omnibutton (just made that up but I'm sticking with it) numerous times for it to work. I have had to restart it a couple of times as well as everything just hung on me. None of this happened before I updated my iphone4 so not the greatest of updates for me to be honest.
Joel Geist at 3:07am 3rd November 2011 Even with battery issues, ios kills the droid
Dave Allen at 1:32am 3rd November 2011 Every droid phone I've ever seen lasted only half as as long as my IPhone. So suck it haters.
Greg Johnson at 1:21am 3rd November 2011 No problems on my 4. When I get my 4s next week, I'll let you know. In the meantime: chill.
Johnny Garcia at 1:11am 3rd November 2011 I havent had any problems... Or maybe havent noticed since my last phone was an evo(4 hours battery life
Kevin Raimundo at 12:03am 3rd November 2011 I believe it's has to do with location . I went into alarm clock app. And it was running when I had it off.
Caleb Mendez at 12:02am 3rd November 2011 I've gotten a longer battery life with the same settings lately. Of course, there are always exceptions.
Sarah Fitzgerald at 11:59pm 2nd November 2011 Long live droids.
Robert Haston at 11:56pm 2nd November 2011 Lol lol LOL lmfao another iphail, you sheep are soo ignorant its utterly beyond amusing...... Just saying
Lukas Sprehn at 11:55pm 2nd November 2011 I knew it wasn't just me :O Is it that erfor where it sometimes shuts down then not in a chager? Or am I mistaken?
Patrick ZeZe Jaden at 11:54pm 2nd November 2011 -_____________________-
Tito Lopez at 11:52pm 2nd November 2011 Apple you suck.
Philip Louie at 11:51pm 2nd November 2011 hope they fix it ASAP
andrew at 4:20pm 2nd November 2011 I've noticed less than stellar battery life in my 4S. I actually anticipated something like this happening when i got my phone, but suspected they'd fix it in the first software update, so this is good news.To me, it sounds like it's probably a software problem in conjunction with certain apps or push notifications. this would help explain why the problem isn't found in every iOS5 device.