iPhone 4S's Battery Drain and a Possible Fix

By Barbara E. Hernandez

| Tuesday, Nov 1, 2011 | Updated 12:44 PM PDT

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iPhone 4S's Battery Drain and a Possible Fix

Elliott Johns, of Boston, displays an iPhone 4S in front of an Apple Store location in Boston, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. The faster iPhone with better software and an improved camera went on sale in seven countries Friday as hundreds of buyers camped out for hours to be among the first to get one. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Several complaints on Apple message boards say that the iPhone 4S battery drains too quickly and makeshift fixes don't seem to solve the problem. But is this a repeat of last year's iPhone "death grip"?

Consumers have posted more than 2,500 comments on an Apple discussion board concerning the battery problem, according to the San Jose Mercury News. So far, Apple hasn't commented on the complaints, but a few bloggers have offered a makeshift solution, which may or may not work. From CNET:

Reset network settings
General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Enter a passcode (if you have one) and your phone will restart. No data will be lost, but you'll be asked to re-enter your Wi-Fi passwords.

Turn off Location Services

General > Location Services. Turn off any location services you don't need. Then head to System Services and disable "Location-Based iAds" and "Setting Time Zone."

Don't use location-based Reminders

This useful feature seriously drains the battery, since your phone constantly monitors your location as it waits to activate your reminders.

Disable Siri's 'Raise to Speak' (iPhone 4S only)

Go to General > Siri and turn off "Raise to Speak," a feature that monitors your iPhone's light sensor to activate Siri. Until Apple releases a battery-drain fix, just hold the home button to activate Siri.

iPhone 4S owners should get up to eight hours of talk time and up to six hours of time surfing the Web when connected to 3G networks and up to 200 hours of standby time, according to the Mercury News.

So is this the iPhone 4S's version of the "death grip" -- or the PR problem that plagued the iPhone 4 last year? In 2010, a faulty antenna caused a huge customer service gaffe that ended up with Apple giving iPhone owners a free case.

At least one analyst said that the iPhone 4S's problem is more likely an easier fix -- because hardware is harder to replace than software, Van Baker, an analyst from Gartner Research, told the Mercury News.

Despite the latest battery problem, the iPhone 4S sold 4 million units in its first weekend, a record for Apple and the iPhone.

Related Topics Apple, iPhone 4S, battery life, antenna

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