3GS Battery Life

Larzo#IM

Well-known member
Jun 18, 2009
118
0
0
Visit site
That damn battery % meter is what's killing me. I'm checking that thing like mad, it makes it hard for me to enjoy this awesome device. I've only let it die completely 1 time though. Maybe after 2 or 3 more it will give me some better results.
 

GreenLightJerky

Active member
Jun 30, 2008
42
0
0
Visit site
Ive just finished my initial 3 cycle drain and I have been getting some really good battery life.
3g on, wifi on, bluetooth on GPS on, push on, notifications on, fetch every 15(8 accounts), Screen Brightness 100% with no auto feature and I am getting about 5 hours of usage,(watched 2 full baseball games over wifi, games, texting, twitter etc). I usually have 3g off, GPS and screen brightness around 40% so I am very happy. Ill report back after a day of normal use not trying to drain the battery.
 

Jellotime91

Well-known member
Jan 4, 2009
2,430
71
0
Visit site
Ok after a week with the iPhone 3G S I have an important tidbit about the battery that we should all know.

1. It charges significantly faster via the AC charger, and you may have some old iPod cables around but make sure you are using a newer cable (the ones with the short heads) for faster charge and sync and less compatibility issues.

2. Once you start charging from AC, it will last longer. Believe it or not, from my use, it is true. I haven't been charging it via AC and the battery has been lackluster to say the least. It hasn't been any better than my 3G was (which I charged every day via AC). I haven't been charging the 3G S with AC because I've been using it a lot at my computer because it's new and I've been playing with it at home.

After giving it a full charge last night via AC, I went out today for 8 hours (from 12pm to just now when I got home) with mild GPS usage, 3G on, iPod on for a good chunk of time... And I still have 50% battery left. It is actually very impressive compared to other days when I'd drain it to 50% just by playing with it for an hour or so in my living room.
 

SOV

Well-known member
Jun 1, 2009
166
0
0
Visit site
I believe with these batteries there will be a peak time, And also a period in which it, in a sense - warms up.
 

thinkTwice

Well-known member
Jun 9, 2009
237
3
0
Visit site
Today I was constantly on maps, twitter, 3G network surfing the web and the phone was pretty much dead by mid afternoon. But it saved my life today- makes exploring NYC so much more easier.
 

SimplyCoutured

New member
Jun 30, 2009
3
0
0
Visit site
It's nice having so many people's input on this particular issue. I'm about 99% sure I'll be getting the 3GS in Sept when my bday comes around, but I want to make sure it's not something I'm going to be unhappy with. Battery life is an issue for me. When I'm in college full time, away from home, I need something reliable that will last me through the day until it can be charged again.
Most of you may know about the Curve's battery life capabilities, and that is one thing it looks like I'm going to be missing.
However, I've seen a lot of posts saying the life gets better over time for the 3GS. So hopefully this is true and will set my 'fears' to rest.
 

GreenLightJerky

Active member
Jun 30, 2008
42
0
0
Visit site
Ive just finished my initial 3 cycle drain and I have been getting some really good battery life.
3g on, wifi on, bluetooth on GPS on, push on, notifications on, fetch every 15(8 accounts), Screen Brightness 100% with no auto feature and I am getting about 5 hours of usage,(watched 2 full baseball games over wifi, games, texting, twitter etc). I usually have 3g off, GPS and screen brightness around 40% so I am very happy. Ill report back after a day of normal use not trying to drain the battery.

Ok so im stumped. I had success with the above options turned on getting easily 5 hours of battery life.

Today I turned off: GPS, 3G and reduced my screen to 50% with auto dimming on. I get 3 hours 20 minutes with less agressive usage. WTH?
I have to try this again. very strange. If I have to keep everything ON to get 5 hours, sweet!
 

wesdavies

Member
Dec 5, 2008
7
0
0
Visit site
I have brightness set to default (50%), wifi and 3g on constantly, as well as location services and push email turned on. These are roughly the same settings as I used to have on my old 3G, except I am running the screen at a brighter setting on my 3gs. Even with the brightness set higher, the 3gs has significantly greater battery life than my 3g (15-20% better, I'd say).
 

jeuke

Member
Apr 30, 2009
5
0
0
Visit site
I love the phone but the battery drains fast. I don't think I'm using it hard, I turned off fetch, the brightness down, etc. I returned it once, I contacted Apple they said return it again. ???
 

Fmrnyer32

Member
Apr 1, 2009
18
0
0
Visit site
100 percent at 3 pm/ under normal usage 25 percent at 11:30 pm. I also have noticed it seems to charge faster too? Anyone else notice that yet?
 

ryrycalguy

Well-known member
Jul 14, 2008
60
18
0
twitter.com
100 percent at 3 pm/ under normal usage 25 percent at 11:30 pm. I also have noticed it seems to charge faster too? Anyone else notice that yet?

Sounds like my experience. I've even returned the phone once just to make sure that it wasn't a lemon I was dealing with. But yeah, my 3GS and 3G both dropped in battery efficiency after the 3.0 update. I hope this is fixed by 3.0.1 or 3.1.
 

kpurcell

Member
Jul 1, 2009
11
0
0
Visit site
I have had mine since day one of 3gs. And it is getting me about 12-14 hours of heavy general usage that includes talking, texting, using various apps, on wifi a lot of the time and twittering. I was on 3g network much of the first five days out of town, but where I live it is edge only until October. I have only totally drained the battery one time and am doing so right now by running with bluetooth and wifi and running video podcasts in a loop.
 

Fmrnyer32

Member
Apr 1, 2009
18
0
0
Visit site
Sounds like my experience. I've even returned the phone once just to make sure that it wasn't a lemon I was dealing with. But yeah, my 3GS and 3G both dropped in battery efficiency after the 3.0 update. I hope this is fixed by 3.0.1 or 3.1.

Actually compared to my 3g jailbroken iphone this battery life is so much better, i was having to charge my phone 3 to 4 times a day just to be able to use it. Felt like i had a home phone again attached to the wall.. I am very pleased with my battery performance!
 

mketchum

Member
Jul 2, 2009
7
0
0
Visit site
I use my iPhone 3GS all the time, internet, games, etc. My battery lasts me all day, charging it over night, I never had a problem with it dying on my. However, I did notice that battery does not charge while on charger when using Pandora or ATT navigator. Is that normal?
 

Jeremy

Retired Moderator
Mar 27, 2005
6,807
251
0
www.iMore.com
Does draining the battery all the way really make that much difference?

Yes it does. You should at least drain the battery completely once a month. The battery has a memory so it has to know it's limitations - see how far it can push itself. Best way I can explain it.
 

Mag

Well-known member
Jun 14, 2009
78
0
0
Visit site
Yes it does. You should at least drain the battery completely once a month. The battery has a memory so it has to know it's limitations - see how far it can push itself. Best way I can explain it.

It's actually an extremely bad way of explaining it, scientificly speaking, but, yes, it's good for this type of battery to drain it once a month and possibly a couple of times the first few charge cycles.
 

Trending Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
260,011
Messages
1,765,310
Members
441,221
Latest member
CØR