Apple fans are going through some rough times these days. The annoying iOS bug that shortens the battery lifespan of the latest Apple products is still alive and kicking even after the release of iOS 5.1. Despite Apple’s promises, it seems that some iPhone and iPad owners will not be able to enjoy their devices for as much as they hoped, between two power cycles. Moreover, the users noticed that the battery problem got worse after the last iOS upgrade, announced with the launch of the new iPad.
iOS 5.1 Didn’t Fix The Battery Drain?
Although the “batterygate” was detailed for months while thousands of users complained about it, Apple seemed focused on resolving it with the iOS 5.0.1 update. By observing some discussions on Apple forums, we realize that iOS 5.1 didn’t cure the battery illness. Now, after the last upgrade became available, the company announced again to find a fix for the problem, but somewhat timidly, by the end of the list of iOS 5.1 advantages.
The latest upgrade “addresses bugs affecting battery life” informed Apple, and the users wasted no time in expressing disappointment for the fact that their favorite tech company failed to deliver the expected solution. On Apple Support forum, a thread dedicated to battery problems appeared, even after the iOS 5.1 launch. That particular thread has a growing popularity with more than two thousand views.
iOS 5.1 Update, Worsening The Battery Life?
Users explain how the new upgrade actually made the battery issue even worse than before. Some of them had no problem before they installed iOS 5.1 and after the upgrade, even with services like location, iCloud, Wi-Fi, Notifications turned off. Other even start wishing for a Rollback button that would allow them to downgrade to previous iOS versions, hoping that battery life would be better.
“IOS 5.1 is a failure to me,”
say most of the users on the Apple forum, under the topic “iOS 5.1 Batterydrain issue/problem”. Some of the users managed to resolve the issue by resetting their iDevices to factory settings. Obviously, this is an issue that Apple should work as soon as possible, if they don’t want to face furious customers.
“I’ve had no problems with my 4s until this morning when I did the new upgrade. In less than 5 hours at work, I went from 80% to 15% and that was just a little web use on Wi-Fi,”
iOS 5.1 Battery Issue Caused by Location Services?
Apparently, the problems with the new iOS 5.1 are more complicated than we first realized. In just a few days, hundreds of users complained on Apple support forums. Some users who upgraded to iOS 5.1 noticed that the battery issue got worse on their devices. For others, the iOS update actually improved the battery life. They also managed to track down some problems and posted a solution for anyone to see and fix the issue.
One of the recurrent problems relies in an unexpected activation of all the services after the upgrade, including the battery consuming Location Services. The solution for this problem is obviously to turn off compass calibration, diagnostics and usage and location-based iAds. Would be a good idea to check all the location-based applications, as well.
Another user suggests a few steps to get rid of unnecessary location services without resetting or losing settings.
“had a look at the location services, scrolled down to System Services, and oddly the ‘Setting Time Zone’ was active. … I have shut down most location services and set it to show system location services in the status bar.”
According to the feedback, this solved the problem for many disappointed Apple fans.
iCloud, Another Culprit for iOS 5.1 Battery Issue?
While the problems with iOS 5.1 keep pilling up, one user noticed iCloud malfunctions.
“Now on my iPad, when I open my “Music” there is NO access to iCloud. At the bottom of the app there was a button named “More” that would let me choose my iTunes library, it is no longer there,”
complains an anonymous user. If this happens to you, the solution is to restart the device.
Other iCloud issues that seem recurrent with iOS 5.1 are more difficult to solve, but not impossible.
“When iCloud is enabled, it initially works fine but when I try to turn a feature off, it crashes and keeps stuck in the circle and when settings are checked, the mail, calendar and contacts tab is greyed out,”
explains with frustration Sidney 69, asking for help from other users. As many complain about the same problem, the community is looking for solution and testing various ideas. Setting up different iCloud accounts does not work and resetting the devices only provides temporary solution. ElMac offers a way out of the situation by using just steps:
- close all the apps by double clicking the Home button
- reboot
- log out/in on the main iCloud webpage
- push every 15 minutes for a while
- send emails from a third party (Gmail or Yahoo work just fine)
Apparently, this solved the problem.