Apple released the public version of iOS 14.6 on May 24, 2021. Less than 24 hours later, some users began complaining on social media about a significant battery drain and overheating.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
- Reports of iPhone battery drain after the launch of iOS 14.6.
- Temporary battery issues are normal after a major update.
- However, some users are reporting a major battery drain.
Does iOS 14.6 drain your iPhone battery too fast?
The problem is always the same: an unknown subset of all iPhone users gets plagued with a bunch of annoying battery-related problems. On some devices, the battery is simply overheating even if the phone is idle, laid facedown and not in use for hours at a time.
Such a significant battery drain can lead to a reduction in battery health, especially if your iPhone gets very hot. According to users who reached out to Apple Support on Twitter, this is especially noticeable when using Apple’s Podcasts app, but other apps may be affected too.
There are several reasons why your battery life may be affected after an iOS upgrade.
Hey @Apple ! What about testing your iOS update before general release?
iOS 14.6 just set a new record in battery drain, and seems to damage battery health as well 👏🏼 👏🏼 @applesupport @tim_cook @MacRumours @PCmag @CNBCtech @CNNtech @SamsungMobile pic.twitter.com/cKGX1U0tOz— Stephane Pedrazzi (@StephPedrazzi) May 25, 2021
iPhone slows down after an iOS upgrade?
It’s usual for performance and, consequentially, battery life to be temporarily affected as your iPhone executes post-install tasks in the background, like Spotlight and Photos indexing. If battery issues persist, however, that usually indicates a software bug. Old configuration files carried over from previous installations could also be the culprit.
iOS 14.6 produces significant battery drain, a reduction in battery health, the phone gets very hot. This is very noticeable when listening to podcasts. iPhone 11 Pro Max, 256 GB, iOS 14.6. #iOS14.6
— Jarrid Brown (@himjawa) May 25, 2021
If your battery problems don’t go away after 24 or more hours, you should go to Settings → Battery where you can see the biggest battery hogs. Armed with that knowledge, you can force-quit an offending app and see if that helps.
Enabling Low Power mode until the issue is resolved may be a good idea because this mode temporarily disables a bunch of background tasks that could be hogging the battery.