Apple iPhone 4S battery 'dies in 12 hours' - and users are forced to find ways to patch and mend



Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces iPhone 4S, at Apple headquarters in Cupertino: Users report that the battery life of the new handset is unpredictable - and Apple has so far failed to find a solution

Battery life has never been Apple's strong suit, but even so, users of brand-new Apple iPhone 4S units have found that the handsets have alarmingly short standby times.

Some report that their brand-new phones last less than 12 hours.

Many report unpredictable spikes in battery use, and batteries becoming unnervingly hot, even when used outdoors in the shade.



Apple's official 'help' forums have been deluged by complaints about the problem - with some users reporting that the battery lasts less than a day.

Apple has not announced any official 'fix' for the problem - and several despairing users reported that Apple support staff have instructed them to bring their phones to Apple store for a replacement.



The problem doesn't seem to affect every new iPhone 4S, however.



'When my mother asked me why my battery is dying so fast on my brand new phone, I realised that the battery life on my new iphone 4s hasn't been impressive - and when I looked it up here, I found out I'm not alone,' said one user on October 31.

Sites such as Macworld have offered guides to how to 'fix' the handset in the absence of any help from Apple.

'After a long outing I returned to shore and pulled out the phone. It was noticeably hot. It had been in the shade - so this was heat from within,' said the site, which also offered potential solutions for users whose batteries failed.



Mac forums and sites have come up with several 'solutions' for the problem - although so far, no one solution appears to fit all the problems.



Users of Apple's iPhone 4S have mobbed Apple forums to complain about the device's poor battery life - as yet, there is no official 'fix' for the problem

The 'light at the end of the tunnel' is that it appears likely that the issue is software-related - many users report the same battery issues from iPhone 4 handsets that they have updated with the new iOS 5 software used in iPhone 4S.

That means the issue is unlikely to be with the physical battery itself.



The Apple fan site iDownloadblog suggests that the problem might be in the section of the Settings menu dealing with the phone resetting its time zone when you travel.



'iOS 5′s GM release introduced a bug that causes the Setting Time Zone function to keep the location tracking circuitry running constantly, draining battery power considerably,' said the site.



'Switching it off may mean that your iPhone will no longer set its own time zone when you travel, but that’s a small price to pay for having your iPhone last more than 12 hours on a full charge.'