I have a 32gb 5s and it had great battery life - until I went from 8.3 to 8.4. I hoped every iOS update that came out would fix the issue, but it's the same: on sleep/standby, the battery goes from 100% to the high 70's in about 3 hours (sometimes even lower %).

Here's what I've done so far:

1. Restored as new (but, did restore the last back-up to the phone afterward - my last ditch attempt will to restore as new and install all apps as new instead of installing the back-up)
2. Turned off just about every function (location services, push mail, cellular data, etc.)
3. Performed a stand-by test (note the usage & stand-by time, put it to sleep for 5 minutes, then verify that standby increased by 5 minutes and usage didn't increase)
4. Replaced the battery 2x (once with a cheap battery, and when the phone was acting the same, installed a more expensive, highly-rated battery - still no change)
5. Bought a battery case for emergencies

The phone is out of warranty, so if it's a hardware issue, I think I'll just live with it. But, before I nuke & pave it again (and this time install everything from scratch), I was wondering if there was anything I'm missing that could be the problem. I've been scouring the web since the 8.4 update and almost every article gives the general 'get more out of your battery' advice (which I've already done).

$80 bucks for new battery installed at Apple Store for iPhone 5s

The latest iOS has much better battery management, IMHO. I was enjoying it on my 5s until I killed it by dropping it on a tile floor.

definitely upgrade to ios 9 and report back.

---

iOS 6 = OS X 10.6 (good)

iOS 7 = OS X 10.7 (junk)

iOS 8 = OS X 10.8 (barely acceptable)

iOS 9 = OS X 10.9 (good)

I'm at the latest iOS and have a brand new battery (installed it last week and verified it had 0 cycles when I fired the phone up.

Quote
rouderon
I have a 32gb 5s and it had great battery life - until I went from 8.3 to 8.4.

Now it's time to go to iOS 9.2.1.

Quote

I'm at the latest iOS and have a brand new battery (installed it last week and verified it had 0 cycles when I fired the phone up.

Okay, now I'm confused.

Anyway, have you seen this one?:

[thewirecutter.com]

I am at 9.2.1 and, not sure which part you're confused about, but assuming the 0 cycles - if so, I meant that it was truly a brand new battery (the 'new' [cheap] battery I bought first had 195 cycle counts - meaning it wasn't exactly 'new')

I'll peruse the article - looks like a lot of info!

Just to be clear: I've had almost every iPhone up till the 5s since the original iPhone and never had a battery problem. After I went from 8.3 to 8.4 I immediately knew something was amiss the next day. I'm trying to avoid nuke/pave again - my last resort. But, I'd bet it's software-related somehow (possibly a bad/unruly app?) since the battery drain problem began immediately with an iOS update.

Quote
rouderon
I'm at the latest iOS and have a brand new battery (installed it last week and verified it had 0 cycles when I fired the phone up.

So are you saying that you've installed 9.2.1 and a new battery and still see problems?

Have you pared Background App Refresh to the essentials?

Have a problematic app like Facebook, which is known to be a battery drainer?

In active usage, 10%/hr is not horrible. If it's losing that amount on standby, then something running in the background is eating the battery.

iOS 9 can show you which App are using battery

Yes - I've installed every update (since the 'infamous' 8.4) and have been at 9.2.1 since it was released. And, yes, I've installed 2 batteries (both within the last 2 weeks) and haven't seen any change in battery drain. Unfortunately, I think my only option is nuke/pave :-(

Also, nothing in battery usage shows anything out of the ordinary. I do have low phone signal problems at home, but I still have the drain problem when the signal is good.

There was something about resetting Network settings (you'll need to reenter your network password) and turning of some auto-time sync setting, both situations causing high battery drain.

There was also something posited abut a fresh install of an iOS/update doing something for a period of time the increased battery drain for a day or two.

It was supposed to be some kind of activity that settled down after a couple of days.

Has it been longer than that?

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Yeah - I updated to 9.2.1 when it was released - so it's been a while. I'll do a search for the network reset & time sync ideas. I keep thinking there's a simple fix that I'm overlooking. But, like I said, I've been researching this issue since the 8.4 update and so far nothing has fixed the problem.

I have a feeling your newest, more expensive battery is not as good as you think.

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.