Battery Drain Problems After iPhone Upgrade? Apple Suggests Complete Data Wipe (forbes.com) 64
Apple has confirmed several problems including "increased battery drain" for some users who upgraded their iPhone to iOS 14. But ZDNet warns Apple's proposed solution "sounds pretty drastic."
Forbes reports: In an official post, Apple reveals seven significant data and battery-related problems with iOS 14 and watchOS 7, and the company states the only fix is to "erase all content and settings from your iPhone".
Breaking these down, Apple classifies six as related to its Activity, Health and Fitness apps as well as the broader problem of "Increased battery drain on your iPhone or Apple Watch." The latter will not be a surprise to anyone who has seen the growing number of complaints directed at the company's @AppleSupport Twitter account since iOS 14 was released...
On the plus side, Apple's belief that these problems can be fixed without an iOS update is good news. That said, a complete data wipe is also the nuclear option, so Apple is not messing around... I would also be amazed if iOS 14.0.2 is not being fast tracked as we speak.
Forbes reports: In an official post, Apple reveals seven significant data and battery-related problems with iOS 14 and watchOS 7, and the company states the only fix is to "erase all content and settings from your iPhone".
Breaking these down, Apple classifies six as related to its Activity, Health and Fitness apps as well as the broader problem of "Increased battery drain on your iPhone or Apple Watch." The latter will not be a surprise to anyone who has seen the growing number of complaints directed at the company's @AppleSupport Twitter account since iOS 14 was released...
On the plus side, Apple's belief that these problems can be fixed without an iOS update is good news. That said, a complete data wipe is also the nuclear option, so Apple is not messing around... I would also be amazed if iOS 14.0.2 is not being fast tracked as we speak.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: iOS (Score:4, Funny)
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Simple solution. Plug your iPhone into a Mac and use Xcode Instruments.
LOL.
Magically intuitive.
Apple forcing Fortnite off people's phones? (Score:1)
This sounds like an underhanded way of forcing people to get rid of previously installed copies of Fortnite off their iPhone. If they just did it for you, they'd get into trouble, but this way, they trick you into doing it to yourself.
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Re: iOS (Score:1)
Re: iOS (Score:4, Interesting)
Any major iOS post-upgrade tasks really shouldn't still be affecting a device days after the fact - but that is what a number of people I know are experiencing. iPadOS 14 seems to be especially bad in the battery life department.
My "solution", learned from experience, is to know better than to upgrade iOS / iPadOS until all the involuntary beta testers report there are no more problems (usually around the .2 phase). My phone is still on 13.7 - it's not as if there were any particularly significant security patches in iOS 14. Yeah I'm missing some new emoji, but somehow I've learned to cope.
Re: iOS (Score:1)
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Software development cycles seem to mostly have dropped much in the way of bug testing and validation, with the idea that a shitty patch can be replaced with another shitty patch easily. Version x.0 is pretty much beta quality anymore, and then you have to wait out the inevitable fixes-that-cause-more-problems of the first coupe of patches.
We were having this conversation at work about how we like to wait for "update 1", the semi-generic milestone of a new software release that tends to be the point at whi
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Software development cycles seem to mostly have dropped much in the way of bug testing and validation, with the idea that a shitty patch can be replaced with another shitty patch easily.
What's the mantra? Release early, release often?
Back when updating was harder -- ie, hours spent downloading an upgrade or when patches were more commonly atomic (ie, you installed a fix for a single issue) and not a huge patch bundle, I think the quality was better.
True that.
We were having this conversation at work about how we like to wait for "update 1", the semi-generic milestone of a new software release that tends to be the point at which the release code of a new version has finally reached (more or less) non-beta stability and is worth adopting.
I do a similar thing with cars. A two-year old car, f'rinstance, will have real-world operational stats, and be debugged. (Not to mention that the value will have taken it's greatest drops in depreciation and the manufacturer will probably not have started cutting corners^H^Hsaving resources. Note: Not part of the analogy)
Oh my! I just realized that I executed an Obligatory Slashdot Car Analogy! I get a special tag for that, don't I? I presume it wou
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Most users couldn't be arsed to wait for their phones to complete the tasks.
Other people suck.
Re:iOS (Score:5, Informative)
Would be real nice if iOS had a process manager so we can identify a power hungry app in real-time.
Even better would be a screen that could show us apps sorted by battery drain over a period of time, that way we could make a more informed decision than whatever one happens to be on top in this exact moment. Maybe make it show the last day and the last 10 days?
Maybe put it at Settings > Battery where users can easily find it.
Yeah, I wish they had that too. Again, at Settings > Battery...
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Clearly showing all the apps used and how much juice they're sucking up.
Geez the only thing that seems to be missing are system components. Good thing we'd never need to monitor that aspect of our device...
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Whoooosh?
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Ah, I'm following now. Honestly though, I didn't address it because I don't think anything actually needs addressing. It's already handled.
You mentioned that most of these issues are caused by the system. While true, in the sense that iOS updates are the root cause for many of these problems, it's almost never the case that a dot release of iOS leads to iOS itself draining the battery faster. Rather, it's usually something about the way apps use iOS (e.g. calls to buggy APIs, using data that the system is m
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Re: iOS (Score:1)
it would be nice if ios was a real operation system
What's an "Operation System"?
Begone, troll!
Re: iOS (Score:3)
Would be real nice if iOS had a process manager so we can identify a power hungry app in real-time
There is a Battery-Usage-by-App list with both instantaneous and historical views. Will that do?
Sorry for the lame link. It was the first one I found with decent screenshots. Youâ(TM)ll get the idea...
https://www.imore.com/how-see-... [imore.com]
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Go to Settings->Battery.
Shows precisely what proportion off battery went to what app.
Also shows screen time drain, battery health, charging history.
More useful than what's currently being pulled, as it might simply be a spike.
Every version (Score:2)
It seems like every version, there is mass feedback over battery consumption. A couple versions ago they even discounted battery replacement to $30 just to calm the masses. By now maybe the should have a better beta program if software fixes are the solution.
Re:Every version (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, yes, battery is a big issue, causing huge landfills and hundreds of billions in profits for Apple shareholders. Just look at the other article: Apple contract a firm to destroy millions of used Apple products. They mostly worked fine, and a few employees decided to resell the perfectly good products in China. Apple reaction? Sue them. The allegation includes that...mhh, they lose sales when older products aren't destroyed. What does this have to do with batteries? Well, it's the #1 cause for upgrades, so I guess a few hundred billions over the years might be some valid reason too.
My biggest issue with Apple is that I feel bad about having to use their products. I really do. I probably could point to so many things I like. But it's not how I felt in 2005 with the iPod, or my first iPhone in 2008, or even my first iPad in 2011. I feel embarrassed and contributing to very bad behavior by some people at Apple. I remember also spending $500 per year in App Store purchases, then I noticed how they use the analitics to copy innovators and disenfranchise them, then allow ads to go on top of a company's product in the App Store. Say some people love my XYZ App. I promoted it a lot. Why is some other App suggested on top of mine for a Dollar? Do I now need to pay 30% of Sales Tax, then 7% for my state, and on top pay maybe the equivalent of 7% just to prevent competitors for presenting their product before mine? My choice are ... what? Remove my App and lose the 45% market share Apple has in the US market?
As I said, I increasingly feel bad when using Apple products, a bitter after taste, but this doesn't have to do with their engineers and designers. It has to do with another class of executives at Apple. How do I feel when I read millions of products go to landfills at Apple request, because that's good for money, even though so many were functional? Yes, a huge amount of carbon emissions and destruction to the planet is because we can't stop needing to harm it more for some extra profit.
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"Apple contract a firm to destroy millions of used Apple products. They mostly worked fine, and a few employees decided to resell the perfectly good products in China. Apple reaction? Sue them. The allegation includes that...mhh, they lose sales when older products aren't destroyed. "
You seem to be defending this firm.
While losing sales may have been one of the allegations, I'm sure the others revolved around breach of contract. Granted, this is commercial products, but it's a real bad problem. Consider:
Re:Every version (Score:4, Insightful)
It seems like every version, there is mass feedback over battery consumption. A couple versions ago they even discounted battery replacement to $30 just to calm the masses. By now maybe the should have a better beta program if software fixes are the solution.
Isn't that supposed to be the appeal of the walled garden? The software runs on hardware controlled by the same company, thereby resulting in less unexpected code performance?
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Quality Control (Score:2)
Steve Jobs would kick Tim's ass for all the crap that has been flowing down the pipe lately. It is quite disappointing.
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After they fixed it, they monitored it closely, saying, "Safari, so goodie."
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If they'd had Timmy Mallett advertising for them, they wouldn't be a $3T company today...
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Safari was the first browser that could try to show a page as intended. Your alternative was Blackberry. Go use one. The iPhone had 1% of the capability it has now in terms of memory and processing. Was it 64MG ram? Actually, Safari saved us from the tyranny of the desktop. I remember many pages did not work, and those of us that complained and complained, where the ones that allowed a big shift towards standards compliant websites. At the time the web would almost invariably require Internet Explorer.
If St
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Actually, Safari saved us from the tyranny of the desktop
Apple is all about freedom
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Re: Quality Control (Score:2, Offtopic)
apple does not have to worry about QC. They know the cultists and sheep will accept the problems and shout down anyone that tells the truth about apple product.
The quality of your trollish drivel makes me pine for the erudite wisdom of the Swastika-Man Postings.
If you have proof, delete proof (Score:3)
So all you need to do is clean the slate so you have nothing to compare against..
Of course there is always going to be trade offs in upgrading all phones, so maybe it is still better than offering nothing.
Re: If you have proof, delete proof (Score:1)
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I assume they'd still want you to do an iCloud restore. But does that bring back the problem? I don't know.
Seems like (Score:5, Insightful)
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My guess is that they aren't quite that far along yet. It hasn't been out that long.
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The “wipe” advice is a workaround until the fix comes out, likely this week I’d imagine. iOS 14 only just came out this week or last, so we’re talking about a rapidly evolving situation that they haven’t had a chance to address properly yet, rather than users on an unsupported system being told to deal with it.
Also worth noting, a data wipe costs most iOS users just a few minutes. All you need to do is wipe and then log back in and you’ll be prompted to pull your data bac
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Also worth noting, a data wipe costs most iOS users just a few minutes. All you need to do is wipe and then log back in and you’ll be prompted to pull your data back in from your latest iCloud Backup. You can use the phone immediately as the data is restored in the background.
So in other words, you completely made up the "just a few minutes" thing. I mean, you can use the phone when it's completely wiped. The point at which you can "use the phone" is not where the clock stops.
Re:Seems like (Score:5, Interesting)
No, I mean a few minutes. Having just gone through this process last year with a new iPhone, it felt like everything was up and running by the time I finished the initial setup process. My apps were seemingly all in place and arranged how I have them, my notes were there, my email and settings, my preferences for every app, etc.. While I know intellectually that stuff was still downloading for awhile in the background, in practice it didn’t matter because anytime you hit one of those things it bumped it to the top of the download queue, pulling it immediately. It’s usable as your device almost immediately, not just as a device.
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if they know a data wipe can fix it, then they should know why a data wipe fixes it, and they should be able to send out a patch that adjusts the data. Otherwise, how do you know that getting a text, taking a photo, adding a contact, or some other action will not retrigger the problem?
Fuck you! I paid good money for my identity, and I'm not going to let some random peckerhead on the Internet cause me to question my beliefs. It works FINE, do you understand? Huh? Do you? Say it! Say it! I want you to say
Photos (Score:2)
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For privacy reasons, the Photos app does on-device face detection, as well as other processing and indexing. While I can’t say anything for sure, it’s possible that’s the cause, particularly if you have a large library of photos and videos. It should stop after awhile.
So, Apple (basically) says (Score:2)
Power cycle all your *data*?
I'm not sure even Comcast customer support would offer a suggestion like that...
Nothing new (Score:1)
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Sure. But it really ought do those background tasks while the phone is on the charger overnight, and then place them on hold when the phone is removed from the charger and the user presumably wants to actually use their phone during the day. It's not as if those tasks are vital to the function of the OS update; otherwise they'd have been necessary to do during said update before the new OS could function at all.
Sure, it's a routine issue with every OS update. But Apple should really implement this, or so
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The phones are doing crap in the background or something.
OK, now look up "background," "foreground."
Apple is poorly managed? (Score:2)
Defer to your betters, Applites. (Score:2)
The gardener says it is time to replant.
Who are you to question him?
So that they can make these decisions is the reason for walled gardens to exist!
Don't be vapid ninnies who whine about receiving the benefits that you've been lording over your peers for so long.
Clickbaity Summary (Score:5, Informative)
Relax.
If you actually follow the Hyperlinks back to the original Apple Support document, you will quickly see that this is a simply a Backup and Restore of a Paired Apple Watch and iPhone.
Obviously a corner-case data-reindexing/upgrading issue, that will be quickly addressed in the next OS Update.
Forget the breathless yellow journalism; everyoneâ(TM)s precious is not lost forever!
Nothing to see here; move along...
https://support.apple.com/en-u... [apple.com]
Uh, what is new about the "nuclear option"? (Score:4, Insightful)
Not an iphone user anymore but supported Mac and Apple products for years. The wipe to bare earth and restore has been the go to option for as long as I can remember.
I don't think Apple is alone here.
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Yeah, on systems that can't tell between what's system data and user data. I'm old enough to remember when that's wasn't as long as I can remember.
As far back as 1992 I knew to partition my hard drive into system and data volumes. To this day, I've never had to do a catastrophic wipe and restore.
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I don't think Apple is alone here.
I had a Surface Pro 3 with a loose fan that would rub against the case when tilted beyond 45degrees. ... *adjust IQ expectations* "Oh I've already done that and it still doesn't work. I know I'm as shocked as you are. Can you give me an RMA number now?"
Microsoft Support: "Can you please try going through the Reset the PC procedure in Windows"
Me:
"The battery life version" (Score:2)
Pretty much every version of iOS has started out with a battery life problem. The "dot zero" version of an update would suck your battery dry in a few hours, and the "dot one" version would fix that.
I had the battery life crash on the .1 version a few days ago, and even complained about it elsewhere. Then, I remembered the other battery life killer - the version update data fix-up, where the new version goes through and update how your data is stored, mangling your settings, turning on new features, etc.
A d
Didn't get it yet? (Score:2)
Another reason to don't upgrade right away... (Score:2)
... especially with major updates. I already knew it would have issues.
Still just working (Score:2)