iPhone 3G owners - your battery

Minority · 17 Oct 2008 at 20:30

I'm considering getting an iPhone 3G, but I am concerned about battery life.

Could owners give an honest account of their usage and the battery life they experience.

Thanks

G-MAN2004 · 17 Oct 2008 at 20:41

If you listen to music and browse a lot, then you'll probably be charging it every day, but obviously it depends on your activities.

Jokester · 17 Oct 2008 at 20:43

My battery lasts about 3-4hours when browsing the net.

On standby I guess it lasts 4 or so days.

tsinc80697 · 17 Oct 2008 at 20:44

I think its crap even when I hardly use it.
had it die a few times overnight when its got the sceen turned off/locked which is odd.

I have it on charge most of the day and when I go to sleep, about 8 hours of standy, it goes down 10-15% probably making the standby time 3days.
Couldnt go away for a weekend with it on a full charge, even if I turned off wifi/3g/email/ipod and just use it to text/phone a few times, probably still wouldnt last :/

Kainz · 17 Oct 2008 at 20:49

I only use the 3G for phone/text usage and maybe the odd bit of internet access and I still have to charge the bugger on a daily basis. Battery life reports will vary heavily from handset to handset I think you will find.

beefybarn · 17 Oct 2008 at 21:52

Mine gives a good couple of days with just general phone and text use

Doug · 17 Oct 2008 at 22:08

Kainz said:
Battery life reports will vary heavily from handset to handset I think you will find.

Exactly.

Initially my battery life was dire, not lasting a full day with next to no usage. In the few weeks since, it's got a lot better: I can actually use it and still get two days out of it.

Sp00n · 17 Oct 2008 at 22:08

beefybarn said:
Mine gives a good couple of days with just general phone and text use

Same, probably a bit more but i really need to let it drain right down to find out.

pinkegobox · 17 Oct 2008 at 22:32

I have to charge mine daily, even with mild usage. I do, however, have wifi always enabled, and 3G on. You can probably cut it down, however I would expect to charge it every day. (not an issue for me, as I can plug it into a laptop during the day).

iSam · 17 Oct 2008 at 23:57

It's the one real let down for the iPhone, they will need to improve the battery life in the future. It's annoying to keep charging it all the time.

^JP^ · 18 Oct 2008 at 00:08

Never really under 30% after a day of good all round use.
Emails, Web, Calls and Music. Don't use it for games or video though.
The novelty of games went after the first few days and never in a position to watch video (walking, driving or working most of the time).
I bought a Sony Speaker Dock / Clock Radio for mine so every day I just plug it in next to my bed and that way I don't forget to charge it.
Never really sync it and was always forgetting to charge it. Now I don't!

Spitfir3 · 18 Oct 2008 at 00:30

3g browsing etc drains mine!

Days on standby.. i'm happy with it. It is like an iPod to me anyway so i'm used to the more frequent charging.

CGrieves · 20 Oct 2008 at 10:34

For most people the iPhone is a daily charger. For me it's not a big deal because I use it as an alarm clock, so when I sleep, it charges. Having said that I've only once had it go into the red during a days use, and I use it as an iPod, lots of texting, facebook, general browsing and the odd game.

I've come to the conclusion that as a computing device, it's very efficient, I often sit with the kids playing CPU intensive stuff like Aqua Forest for hours, and the battery hardly takes a hit. Wifi does make a dent though, and 3G absolutely canes it. To be expected really.

I have ordered a USB charger which powers from AA batteries, which I'll drop in my rucksack when I'm out and about. Should help with emergencies, not that I've ever had one!

^JP^ · 20 Oct 2008 at 10:45

CGrieves said:
For most people the iPhone is a daily charger. For me it's not a big deal because I use it as an alarm clock, so when I sleep, it charges. Having said that I've only once had it go into the red during a days use, and I use it as an iPod, lots of texting, facebook, general browsing and the odd game.

I've come to the conclusion that as a computing device, it's very efficient, I often sit with the kids playing CPU intensive stuff like Aqua Forest for hours, and the battery hardly takes a hit. Wifi does make a dent though, and 3G absolutely canes it. To be expected really.

I have ordered a USB charger which powers from AA batteries, which I'll drop in my rucksack when I'm out and about. Should help with emergencies, not that I've ever had one!

I bought one of these Rechargeable Emergency Battery Packs.

Charge it up, put it in work bag and forget about it. Never had to use it but good to know its there if I need it.

Only charged it once and seems to hold charge very well.

lmfy2k · 20 Oct 2008 at 11:17

few calls, texting, a lot of browsing (3g and wifi), using the mail to check gmail i get 2 days before charging.

Minority · 28 Oct 2008 at 19:10

I really can't decide whether to get one or not.

I have no idea how long my battery would last and how often I would need to charge it. AHHH!

Durzel · 28 Oct 2008 at 19:46

Anyone else notice that iPlayer just totally mauls the battery?

NVIDIA_x64 · 29 Oct 2008 at 09:12

Durzel said:
Anyone else notice that iPlayer just totally mauls the battery?

Yeah lol 1hr of top gear over wifi = Half ma bat gone

b0rn2sk8 · 29 Oct 2008 at 16:26

My iPhone is a nightly charger. Although i would consider my self to be a heavy user. Browsing, music, email, a lot of facebook and a hell of a lot of texting.

Forgot my charger when i didnt stay at home for a night, it was dead by 10am the next day.

Again games and a lot of the apps wore off after the first couple of weeks except facebook and the other odd one or two.

Spyhop · 29 Oct 2008 at 20:51

3G usage canes the battery.

I tried steaming Last.fm over 3G at work and the the phone had switched itself off within ~2hrs, from a full charge.