# iPhone battery dies FAST in cold weather while using GPS (solutions)



## *OneSpeed* (Oct 18, 2013)

No need for the "my phone is better than your phone" conversation. if you have constructive information you would like to share thats fine, but lets not turn this into something it's not meant to be.

After using my iPhone 5s to track my rides all summer with Strava I found that when the temp started to drop so did my battery life. I got a new iPhone 5s under warranty and had pretty much the same experience. so here is what I have discovered so far with regards to extending the life of the iPhone battery.

On a warn summers day i could do 4-5 hour rides while using Strava and listening to music and make it home with 10-25% battery left. towards the end of summer my phone was acting funny and when the temps went below 40 degrees i noticed my phone was dying only 1-1.5 hours into my ride. after it dyed completely one day i took it to apple store and it was replaced under warranty.

so now i have a new phone and i charged it up and went for a ride in 30 degree weather. it died in 1.5 ish hours. wtf. so i realized since i was using a phone case that has a clip that mounts on the outside of my shorts pocket, same amount of exposure as a handlebar mount, it was the cold temperature that was zapping the battery.

i tried my next ride with my phone in my pocket, inside a ziplock bag for moisture, with the screen facing out in an attempt to use my body heat to keep the phone warm. this had a positive effect but did not solve the problem.

Last night i turned the phone around in my pocket so the screen was facing my leg. I rode for 3.5 hours and when i got home the temp was 17 degrees and i had 33% battery left. Awesome. the difference? the screen had direct contact with my body heat instead of the plastic phone case.

I have also successfully used a small external power bank that is pretty light weight but it's not ideal for me. one extra thing to carry, one extra wire etc. great for a back-up but i didn't want to have to rely on an extra battery every time i ride.

so either keep your phone in a warm pocket with no case or at least make sure your phone has direct contact with body heat in cold temps.

anyone else have a similar experience? found another creative solution?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

yeah, batteries don't like cold. nothing new there.

Inside a jacket pocket by your core (warmer) is better for the battery, but won't be as good for reception. Toss a chemical heat pack in your pocket and I bet it'll be better. part of the reason I prefer dedicated computers. there's enough extra wiggle room on battery life that losing some because of cold batteries isn't a problem. there's still more than enough for a couple hours of riding.


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## random walk (Jan 12, 2010)

Third chart down:

Lithium Ion battery pack, Lithium ion cell, Li Ion cell, Li ion battery, protection circuit pcm


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## *OneSpeed* (Oct 18, 2013)

random walk said:


> Third chart down:
> 
> Lithium Ion battery pack, Lithium ion cell, Li Ion cell, Li ion battery, protection circuit pcm


interesting. there is definitely significant drop off. so the phone is not broken and I'm not crazy. good news. thanks for the documented info.


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## random walk (Jan 12, 2010)

I'd also look into some battery management techniques / apps. I don't know a thing about iPhone-specific techniques so I can't help there, other than with another link:

iOS Battery Life ? Scotty Loveless


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## richde (Jun 8, 2004)

I agree about your idea for pointing the screen towards your body, but as a way to avoid damaging the screen.

Regarding battery life, and it seems like a bit of a drain even in the summer time...
Are you listening to music stored on the phone?
Does where you ride have spotty coverage?
If either of those are true, you could put the phone in airplane mode, which turns off all the radios but strangely allows the GPS to continue operating.

I go for 3-4 hour rides with my phone in airplane mode with Strava running and when I'm done the battery isn't drained much, or any, more than if it had been sitting on my coffee table the entire time.


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## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

I have an iPhone 6 and it is better than your 5s. 

Just sayin' 




Seriously, I am going to miss being able run Strava in airplane mode with my old Droid. I could run it all day that way and have half the battery left.


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## *OneSpeed* (Oct 18, 2013)

richde said:


> Are you listening to music stored on the phone?
> Does where you ride have spotty coverage?
> If either of those are true, you could put the phone in airplane mode, which turns off all the radios but strangely allows the GPS to continue operating.


not anymore, i've become addicted to Pandora. my signal strength is pretty good in general. although after reading the link that Random Walk posted i realize how important that is. any time i'm on a group ride and not listening to music I will now switch the phone to airplane mode.



> Seriously, I am going to miss being able run Strava in airplane mode with my old Droid. I could run it all day that way and have half the battery left.


why can't you run Strava on the iPhone 6 in airplane mode?


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

i had issues in the winter as well, until I started turning off all the other radios. Bluetooth, WIFI, GPS, RFID, all different antennas consuming battery power individually. Add the radio antennas for voice and data. In a low strength area? Cell and data antennas are pushing max power.

Turning off all antennas except GPS and voice (including data) should result in decent battery life. If not, you can also turn off voice (airplane mode). Should be able to turn GPS back on after going into airplane mode, but a few phones won't allow this.

Also, turn off syncing. I'm guessing sync requests cause the core to go full speed during a query, and it doesn't power back down for a few minutes? Not as much improvement as turning off an antenna, but still a power saver.

I've done as much as three hours on the bike with just gps and voice, at the end of the workday, in the dead of winter, with no issues. if you can shut down most antennas and syncing, you should be able to get a decent ride time running any workout app.


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## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

BENKD29 said:


> why can't you run Strava on the iPhone 6 in airplane mode?


On the iPhones the GPS shuts off in AP mode. 
I have not tried it on the 6 but heard it has not changed.

I could however still run Strava off my old Droid even though the screen is shattered. 
I may do that.


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## heyyall (Nov 10, 2011)

If you want to record your rides through winter and your winter is yet to come, you need to get a dedicated GPS unit that can take cold weather. My phone doesn't work in mn winters when exposed to the cold. It shuts down all most immediately in temps below 10F. 

When this happens, the phone acts like it needs charged (shows the connect the cable screen) but it has plenty of battery. If you warm the phone back up by putting it next to your skin, it will reboot. If you connect the cable and it shows battery strength quickly once it reboots, then it isn't likely running out; it is shut down due to temperature. 

If you have to scrape frost off your iPhone after a ride when the phone was in your chest phone pocket, it is too cold for the phone.


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## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

How about keeping near a heat pack? 
You may not want to keep it directly against one because it will probably get too hot but maybe keep it near one in your pack. 

Sure, buying a dedicated GPS that will run strange may be ideal but they are expensive. You might not be able to afford one of those but you could probably spend an extra dollar a ride on a heat pack.


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2015)

I use strava on my iPhone and can get 8 hrs out of the battery.
manually shut down all apps except strava.
go to settings and open cellular, switch off cellular data.

in this mode you can't get calls or texts and your phone quits attempting to locate the next cell signal as you ride which saves a lot of battery life.


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## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

bob-o said:


> I use strava on my iPhone and can get 8 hrs out of the battery.
> manually shut down all apps except strava.
> go to settings and open cellular, switch off cellular data.
> 
> in this mode you can't get calls or texts and your phone quits attempting to locate the next cell signal as you ride which saves a lot of battery life.


Good to know.

Thanks


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## dbdg (Nov 6, 2014)

I've solved this problem by sticking my phone in my sports bra. I do recomend the lifeproof case to protect against sweat though.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

dbdg said:


> I've solved this problem by sticking my phone in my sports bra. I do recomend the lifeproof case to protect against sweat though.


Do you recommend we all wear sports bras to address this problem?


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## dbdg (Nov 6, 2014)

Sure. But get the good ones. You don't want chaffing! 😜


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

dbdg said:


> Sure. But get the good ones. You don't want chaffing!


Ok just checking. Things could definitely get...interesting...at the trailhead.


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## dbdg (Nov 6, 2014)

Probably more interesting if I don't wear mine.


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