Apple's battery-fixing iOS 5.0.1 update hasn't worked for everyone

With new reports continuously streaming in by the hour, it now seems the iOS 5.0.1 update — which was just released to address severe battery-drainage problems on devices running iOS 5 — hasn’t been a magical, instantaneous fix for everyone. Some posters on Apple’s forums are claiming it has made matters even worse.

Internet forums aren’t always the best places to find the pure, unadulterated, fully verified truth, but there seems to be enough people with continuing battery troubles to point to a potential trend. And while the over-the-air update itself was pain free, and completely fixed the battery issue for a large majority users, it looks like multiple different factors could be contributing to battery-life problems, and the 5.0.1 update may not address all of them.

Here’s a sample posting, from forum user Leefromsheffield:

since restoring iPhone 4 to 5.0.1 at 8am this morning, and turning off all setting, making my iPhone an iPod – 1hr and 47mins later im at 49% of battery.

And some iPhone 4 users who previously had no troubles are now experiencing faster-than-usual battery drain. From user BloodFidelity:

I seem to be losing battery life significantly after upgrading to iOS 5.0.1!!! Both my iPod4 and iPhone4! Before, I never noticed a problem. I even restarted my phone right after installing.

Yesterday I upgraded an iPad 2 that had previously been running the Gold Master of iOS 5 (yes, you can upgrade as if you had the release version). My battery life is as good as it ever was.

Fellow Gadget Lab writer Christina Bonnington, who didn’t experience undue battery drain with the initial iOS 5 release, says that she’s experiencing even better than normal battery life on her iPhone 4, dropping from 100 to only 86 percent battery over the past 24 hours with normal use.

Similarly, Gadget Lab editor Jon Phillips had no strange battery life problems on his new iPhone 4S, and reports his battery life looks to be only improving.

Apple is constantly updating and improving its mobile OS, so if another fix is needed, you can expect Apple to address it. One of the best things about using iOS devices is their excellent battery life, and that’s a feature Apple prioritizes. If you’re experience issues, just keep voicing your complaints and share your settings so that Apple’s devs can work it out.

5.0.1 update–even worse battery life [Apple Support Forums]