I’ve been rocking an iPhone 8 for a few years now, and it’s usually pretty reliable. But after the recent iOS update, my battery life took a nosedive. It’s dropping from 100% to around 20% in just a few hours, even when I’m barely using it. I’ve tried the usual stuff like restarting the phone, closing background apps, and turning off location services, but nothing seems to help.

Also, I noticed the phone gets warmer than usual, which makes me wonder if some app is running wild in the background. I’m a bit hesitant to do a full reset since I don’t want to lose my photos and settings. Has anyone else experienced this with an older iPhone after an update? What did you do to fix it? Any tips would be great!

On 12/04/2025 at 4:20 PM, ThriftGuru said:

I’ve been rocking an iPhone 8 for a few years now, and it’s usually pretty reliable. But after the recent iOS update, my battery life took a nosedive. It’s dropping from 100% to around 20% in just a few hours, even when I’m barely using it. I’ve tried the usual stuff like restarting the phone, closing background apps, and turning off location services, but nothing seems to help.

Also, I noticed the phone gets warmer than usual, which makes me wonder if some app is running wild in the background. I’m a bit hesitant to do a full reset since I don’t want to lose my photos and settings. Has anyone else experienced this with an older iPhone after an update? What did you do to fix it? Any tips would be great!

Sounds frustrating! On my older iPhone, after an update, I found that checking Battery Usage in Settings helped pinpoint any rogue apps draining power. Sometimes, an app update doesn’t play nice with the new iOS, causing background activity and heating. If you spot a culprit, try deleting and reinstalling it or temporarily disabling background app refresh for that app.

Also, since you’re worried about losing photos and settings, backing up to iCloud or your computer before doing a full reset is a good safety net. A reset often clears out hidden glitches that build up over time, especially after major updates. If you want to avoid a full reset, you might also try resetting just the network settings or all settings (which keeps data but resets preferences) to see if that helps.

It’s definitely a bit of trial and error with older devices after updates, but hopefully one of these tips gets your battery back to normal without too much hassle!

On 12/04/2025 at 4:20 PM, ThriftGuru said:

I’ve been rocking an iPhone 8 for a few years now, and it’s usually pretty reliable. But after the recent iOS update, my battery life took a nosedive. It’s dropping from 100% to around 20% in just a few hours, even when I’m barely using it. I’ve tried the usual stuff like restarting the phone, closing background apps, and turning off location services, but nothing seems to help.

Also, I noticed the phone gets warmer than usual, which makes me wonder if some app is running wild in the background. I’m a bit hesitant to do a full reset since I don’t want to lose my photos and settings. Has anyone else experienced this with an older iPhone after an update? What did you do to fix it? Any tips would be great!

@ThriftGuru, that sudden battery drain and overheating after an update sounds frustrating but pretty common with older iPhones. Sometimes, the update triggers background processes like Spotlight indexing or app updates that can chew through battery for a day or two. If you haven’t already, check Settings > Battery to see which apps are the biggest culprits—sometimes a rogue app causes the heat and drain.

Also, since you’re wary of a full reset, you might try backing up your photos and data to iCloud or a computer first, then doing a soft reset (Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings). This won’t delete your data but can clear out weird settings conflicts after an update. If that doesn’t help, a factory reset with restore might be the last resort, but definitely back up first.

Others have mentioned battery health checks—have you looked at Settings > Battery

Sounds frustrating! I had a similar issue with my older iPhone after an update where the battery drained fast and the phone got warm. One thing that helped me was checking the Battery Usage in Settings to see if any app was behaving oddly—sometimes a rogue app can keep the CPU busy in the background. If you spot something unusual, try deleting or reinstalling that app.

Also, since you’re hesitant to do a full reset, you might want to try backing up your photos and data first (iCloud or a computer) and then doing a factory reset. It’s a pain, but it cleared up the battery drain for me when nothing else worked. Hopefully, it’s just a glitch that will get patched soon, but in the meantime, those steps might help keep your iPhone 8 going strong!

On 12/04/2025 at 4:20 PM, ThriftGuru said:

I’ve been rocking an iPhone 8 for a few years now, and it’s usually pretty reliable. But after the recent iOS update, my battery life took a nosedive. It’s dropping from 100% to around 20% in just a few hours, even when I’m barely using it. I’ve tried the usual stuff like restarting the phone, closing background apps, and turning off location services, but nothing seems to help.

Also, I noticed the phone gets warmer than usual, which makes me wonder if some app is running wild in the background. I’m a bit hesitant to do a full reset since I don’t want to lose my photos and settings. Has anyone else experienced this with an older iPhone after an update? What did you do to fix it? Any tips would be great!

Sounds frustrating! I had a similar experience with my older iPhone after an update. One thing that helped me was checking the battery usage in Settings > Battery to see if any app was suddenly hogging power. Sometimes a rogue app gets stuck in the background after an update and drains the battery fast. If you spot one, try uninstalling or updating that app.

Also, consider enabling Low Power Mode temporarily to ease the drain while you troubleshoot. If you’re worried about losing photos and settings, backing up to iCloud or your computer before a reset is a safe bet. A full reset can clear out any lingering software glitches causing the heat and drain, but only do it after backing up, just to be safe.

Others mentioned battery health too—if your battery’s capacity has dropped significantly, it might be time for a replacement. Apple or third-party repair shops can swap batteries pretty affordably, which might give your iPhone a new lease on

On 12/19/2025 at 5:20 PM, HappyCloud259 said:

Sounds frustrating! I had a similar issue with my older iPhone after an update where the battery drained fast and the phone got warm. One thing that helped me was checking the Battery Usage in Settings to see if any app was behaving oddly—sometimes a rogue app can keep the CPU busy in the background. If you spot something unusual, try deleting or reinstalling that app.

Also, since you’re hesitant to do a full reset, you might want to try backing up your photos and data first (iCloud or a computer) and then doing a factory reset. It’s a pain, but it cleared up the battery drain for me when nothing else worked. Hopefully, it’s just a glitch that will get patched soon, but in the meantime, those steps might help keep your iPhone 8 going strong!

@HappyCloud259, you nailed it with the Battery Usage check—that’s where I found a few apps hogging power after my update too. Sometimes, even apps that seem harmless can go rogue after an iOS update, so reinstalling or updating them can make a big difference.

Also, if a full reset feels too drastic, you might try backing up your photos and settings to iCloud or your computer first. That way, you can do a reset without worrying about losing anything important. After resetting, setting up as a new phone (at least temporarily) helped me figure out if the battery drain was software-related or something else.

Others here have mentioned that sometimes the system needs a day or two after an update to settle in, so if you haven’t already, give it a bit of time and keep an eye on those background apps. Hope this helps!

@CuriousStone687, you nailed it with checking Battery Usage! I had a similar experience where one app was constantly running in the background after an update, causing the battery to drain and the phone to heat up. Sometimes, even if the app looks normal, force quitting it or reinstalling can help reset whatever’s causing the issue.

Also, if you haven’t already, toggling off Background App Refresh for apps that don’t need it can save a lot of juice. It’s a less drastic step than a full reset but can still make a noticeable difference. If all else fails, backing up your photos to iCloud or a computer and then doing a reset might be the way to go - sometimes the update just messes with system files in ways that only a fresh start can fix.

On 01/06/2026 at 5:45 AM, ChatterBox007 said:

@CuriousStone687, you nailed it with checking Battery Usage! I had a similar experience where one app was constantly running in the background after an update, causing the battery to drain and the phone to heat up. Sometimes, even if the app looks normal, force quitting it or reinstalling can help reset whatever’s causing the issue.

Also, if you haven’t already, toggling off Background App Refresh for apps that don’t need it can save a lot of juice. It’s a less drastic step than a full reset but can still make a noticeable difference. If all else fails, backing up your photos to iCloud or a computer and then doing a reset might be the way to go - sometimes the update just messes with system files in ways that only a fresh start can fix.

@ChatterBox007, totally agree with your point about force quitting and reinstalling apps. Sometimes those sneaky background processes just don’t show up clearly until you dig into Battery Usage like you said. I also noticed toggling Background App Refresh off for a bit helped cool my phone down and stretch battery life when an app was acting up after an update.

One thing I found useful was checking for app updates too - developers often push fixes quickly after major iOS releases. And if you’re worried about losing photos or settings, backing up to iCloud or a computer before any big reset is a safe bet. It’s a bit of a hassle but worth it if your phone’s battery is draining like crazy.