Apple iOS 5 and iPhone 4S battery life issue discovered and fixed!

iPhone 4S users have been having a bit of an issue with poor battery life on the new flagship handset from Apple, with last week Apple requesting feedback from its users regarding the length of time the handset’s battery lasts.

Now some of those reports are suggesting that the poor battery issue may have something to do with a bug in iOS 5, more specifically the “Setting Time Zone” within the Location Services settings.

User tests are pointing towards the Location Services area as the “Setting Time Zone” option is there, so that when turned on it will automatically change the time on the phone when the iPhone 4S in question moves from one time zone to another; the bug means that the phone is pinging the location server even when the user remains within the same time zone, which causes a hefty drain to the battery.

Basically the handset is repeatedly searching back to the Apple servers trying to change the Time Zone settings and thus using the iPhone 4S’ A5 processor much more than it should be.

So if you have an Apple iPhone 4S and are experiencing a shortage in battery life then it may be worthwhile changing the “Setting Time Zone” option to off in the iPhone iOS5 settings. To do so:

  1. Tap Settings
  2. Tap Location Services
  3. Tap System Settings
  4. Tap Setting Time Zone to “Off”

If you take a look at the “Setting Time Zone” option in the handed users will see that there is a purple arrow beside the setting which indicates the service is being used for location-based connectivity and with the current bug, the arrow is always purple.

Whilst the battery life is a big issue for Apple, with it being a software-based issue we can assume an iOS 5 software update will be released in the next couple of weeks to sort the battery life out. We’re also pretty certain that the hysteria linked to the fault wont quite reach iPhone 4 “antannagate” proportions.

So use this quick solution and cross your fingers for a fix soon iPhone lovers.

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