iOS 17 is probably hitting your battery hard today -- but that's expected

AppleInsider

Upgraders to iOS 17 are likely seeing deeper iPhone battery drains today. This is normal behavior, and everything should stabilize within a week.

Whenever Apple releases a major update to its iPhone operating system, there are numerous complaints about the battery in the following days, especially when it comes to battery life. These are regular issues that users find, and are fairly typical of releases, such as the one to iOS 17.

There are good reasons that the battery can drain quicker just after a big update, and while it's a short-term problem for most, some may find it to be a longer-term issue.

Short-term pain

The immediate reason for faster battery drain is that Spotlight has to reindex all of the files on the iPhone. That database is crucial for users to receive fast search results on the iPhone.

Re-indexing all files on a device can take time, potentially a few days. During this time, users may find their iPhones running a bit slow for searches and other tasks, and their battery may be consumed at a faster rate than normal.

Once the new database has been created, this will immediately reduce the day-to-day processing load, improving the response time of the iPhone. It will also stop using extra battery for that processing, so near-typical battery lifetimes should return.

The reindexing process can take a week to complete in some cases, though some may find it completes within a few days.

There is nothing anyone can do to speed up the process. Generally, iPhone owners simply have to wait it out.

And after that week, if you're still seeing a big hit to your battery to the tune of hours, contact Apple's support through your method of choice and get it documented.

Apple won't make a plan to address issues without data.

Older iPhones and iOS 17 battery draw

There is another reason that an iPhone could use more battery than usual after an update, and that can be down to a combination of new features and the age of the iPhone running the operating system.

This is not "planned obsolescence" or any similar term that is being bandied around today. This is how software has always been, and always will be. As features are added and advance, they take more processing power.

With new features and new code being introduced to iOS over time, major updates require more processing power. This, in turn, hits the battery harder, as the processor is running longer.

Newer iPhone models are still impacted some by this -- but to a lower magnitude. Older iPhones with slower A-series chips and smaller battery capacities may feel the effects a lot more in such cases.

Apple somehow releasing a high-efficiency update package for the operating system to reduce resource usage to fix this is unlikely. The alternative is not hitting that "upgrade to iOS 17" button.

But, if you're reading this, it's probably too late to not do that.

Read on AppleInsider

M68000

On a side note - i’ve lost about 9 to 10 Gb of storage on my phone since the update..  Will any temp or dormant install files for the OS be purged?  

Mike Wuerthele

M68000 said:

On a side note - i’ve lost about 9 to 10 Gb of storage on my phone since the update..  Will any temp or dormant install files for the OS be purged?  

Little of both. The new OS occupies a bit more space than the previous.

zenwaves

M68000 said:

On a side note - i’ve lost about 9 to 10 Gb of storage on my phone since the update..  Will any temp or dormant install files for the OS be purged?  

I lost at least 20-25GB of space after the update!

M68000

zenwaves said:

M68000 said:

On a side note - i’ve lost about 9 to 10 Gb of storage on my phone since the update..  Will any temp or dormant install files for the OS be purged?  

I lost at least 20-25GB of space after the update!

What?   That is hard to fathom.   I saw the full download size was 7.7 Gb when connected to cable and macbook, which possibly is compacted.  But either way, 20Gb less space from the update is hard to understand.  I always check before and after when it comes to OS updates and know the space has not come back yet after 18 hours or so.  Obviously the new features require more space.   It’s starting to look like 256 Gb is minimum for me when getting new phone,  applications seem to get bigger over time too.

macminion

How about battery usage section named - ACTIVITY BY iOS  SHOW BATTERY USAGE
                              SHOW ACTIVITY 

I have low power mode on for at least two weeks.

jellyapple

Not only “in the following days”, but also a week BEFORE.

macgui

M68000 said:

zenwaves said:

M68000 said:

On a side note - i’ve lost about 9 to 10 Gb of storage on my phone since the update..  Will any temp or dormant install files for the OS be purged?  

I lost at least 20-25GB of space after the update!

What?   That is hard to fathom.   I saw the full download size was 7.7 Gb when connected to cable and macbook, which possibly is compacted.  But either way, 20Gb less space from the update is hard to understand.  I always check before and after when it comes to OS updates and know the space has not come back yet after 18 hours or so.  Obviously the new features require more space.   It’s starting to look like 256 Gb is minimum for me when getting new phone,  applications seem to get bigger over time too.

Hard to believe as well. My phone is 256G and I had to dump some stuff as the OTA download needed 7.7G for a 3.05G update before it would download. Making 8G free space the phone was updated to 17.0 and there's 5.63G available. I thought phones cabled to a Mac needed little more space then the size of the Update file. It all went well.

Only on one occasion was there ever a noticeable slowdown and noticeably short battery life. Restarts (not forced Restarts) didn't help and it wasn't until a .2 or.02 update did battery. Then normal battery life was restored.

king editor the grate

I wait for point release but may not have option since Pro Maxxx blue arriving Friday. 

22july2013

As soon as I got iOS17 installed I tried to set up a personal voice. It took 20 minutes to read aloud the required speech items, and now I've been waiting about 8 hours for the software to process my voice. However your results may be less because it seems to require a connected charger and also seems to require the screen be locked before it will process anything. So it seems most people will let their phones charge overnight to get this task completed.

iOS_Guy80

Is this battery drain operating system upgrade issue the same for iPad and Watch?

FileMakerFeller

It seems odd that updating the Spotlight index database is not reserved for times when the battery is being charged.

aegean

I did a fresh install of iOS17 on my 14 Pro Max to ensure it's a clean install, no footprints of iOS 16. But here's the issue:

I can't add more than one iCloud email account. The main Apple ID of iCloud.com account gets added while restoring, and then when you try to add another iCloud.com email address account, I just keep seeing rounded circle of apps icons animation (which is new), nothing moves forward after that for hours.

I downgraded back to 16 as I can't function without multiple iOS email accounts. And now I am back to business. Looks like iOS17 is not in my luck.

Anyone else try to add more than one iCloud.com email accounts and let me know if you can.

Thanks,

Rae

shep4jesus

aegean said:

I did a fresh install of iOS17 on my 14 Pro Max to ensure it's a clean install, no footprints of iOS 16. But here's the issue:

I can't add more than one iCloud email account. The main Apple ID of iCloud.com account gets added while restoring, and then when you try to add another iCloud.com email address account, I just keep seeing rounded circle of apps icons animation (which is new), nothing moves forward after that for hours.

I downgraded back to 16 as I can't function without multiple iOS email accounts. And now I am back to business. Looks like iOS17 is not in my luck.

Anyone else try to add more than one iCloud.com email accounts and let me know if you can.

Thanks,

Rae

I have three iCloud email accounts on my iPhone using iOS17.

musicmandws

I’ve got 3 iCloud email addresses and 2 non-iCloud accounts I’ve not had any problems. 😁

Calamander

FileMakerFeller said:

It seems odd that updating the Spotlight index database is not reserved for times when the battery is being charged.

It's probably because a lot of stuff can stop working without the spotlight index. It will make some features look broken. 

My battery was way down today, 39% around noon - normally I have 35% or so left in the evening when going to bed. iPhone 11 Pro. I will keep it plugged in now so it should get done with everything. 

Didn't watch space usage - I have plenty to go of my 512GB... never worry about it. You only start worrying about storage when it's running out...

dope_ahmine

M68000 said:

On a side note - i’ve lost about 9 to 10 Gb of storage on my phone since the update..  Will any temp or dormant install files for the OS be purged?  

Very interesting. I experienced just the opposite.

My iPhone 11 Pro used 52 GB of its 64 GB total before the iOS 17 update. But after the update it had miraculously returned 6 GB, so it now only occupies 46 GB(!!!) 👍

apple4lizife

I’ve had my phone for less than two months I upgraded to iOS 17 now I’m not saying specifically that it was iOS 17, but my battery health went down to 99% less than two months and lost one percent🤦🏽‍♂️

MplsP

The information and warning in this article should be in an iOS pop up notification after every iOS upgrade. It would save a lot of frustration by users who don’t realize what’s going on in the background and jump to the conclusion that the new os is trashing battery life. 

ITGUYINSD

Why does Spotlight need to reindex your entire phone?  I assume it doesn't index anything that has to do with the OS itself, just apps and data (music, pictures, files, etc.).

Between the moment you click INSTALL (and Spotlight has already indexed everything) and the moment your new iOS is installed, nothing has changed, file-wise.  Nothing.  Your spotlight index should still be good, or at the least it just indexes anything that has been added (what could that be?).

And for the fastest chip in the world on the fastest phone in the world, why does it take a week?  

pulseimages

How long does it take for app developers to update their apps to iOS 17?