Many users who have upgraded to iOS 5 have noticed decreased battery life, the problem seems to effect iPhone and iPad users the worst, but some iPod touch users have noticed battery reductions as well. Even without heavy usage and when a device is in standby mode, the battery seem to drain much quicker than usual, suggesting something running in the background is causing the battery to drain all the time. Nobody has found the exact problem yet, but we’ve compiled a variety of tips and suggestions that help the battery life issue quite a bit with any iOS 5 device. Try them out and let us know how it goes for you.

Reset Network Settings

Tap on “Settings” > Reset > Reset Network Settings

Disable Bluetooth

Settings > General > Bluetooth > “OFF”

Disable Notifications & Apps in Notification Center

Settings > Notifications > Turn OFF for anything you don’t need

Disable iCloud

Settings > General > iCloud > Turn everything to OFF

Disable Location Services

Settings > Location Services > Disable selectively for services you don’t use

Disable Time Zone Adjustment

Tap on “Settings” > “Location Services” > ‘System Services’ > Setting Time Zone to OFF

Disable Ping

Settings > General > Restrictions > Enable Restrictions > Ping > OFF

Disable Diagnostic & Usage Reports

Tap on “Settings” > General > About > Diagnostic & Usage > Don’t Send

Delete eMail Accounts, Reset Network Settings, Re-add eMail Accounts

Delete your email accounts by going to “Settings” > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Account Name > Delete Account

Now Reset Network Settings in “Settings > Reset > Reset Network Settings

Reboot the iOS device

Re-add email accounts back in “Settings” > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account

Nuclear Option: Backup & Restore

The nuclear approach is a full restore of your iPhone or iPad, as there are some indications that completely restoring the iOS device can recover battery life quite a bit. If you go this route, be sure to backup your device first, and you can either download iOS 5 IPSW to restore from manually or try the standard iTunes Restore method. Either way you’ll need to then manually restore from the backup you made beforehand after iOS 5 has been re-installed.

I had the most success with disabling bluetooth and resetting network settings and then selectively disabling notifications for things I don’t need, but your mileage may vary. Interestingly enough, the battery issues weren’t present in iOS 5 betas, suggesting that a minor software change caused the battery life to worsen in the final release of iOS 5. Until an official update and fix comes from Apple (iOS 5.0.1?), try these fixes to stop the battery draining, and let us know what works and what doesn’t for you.