Constant Cell Tower Communication Draining Battery?

[snowman96019]

Anyone else having this issue?

For some odd reason, my iPhone is ALWAYS constantly communicating with a cell tower. I know this because all the speakers in my house are constantly buzzing from the GSM interference. I've turned the automatic mail check off, WiFi is off, no phone calls are being placed or received, and safari isn't being used. Nothing is being used.

The buzz noise that I'm hearing isn't the few and far between 'hand-shake' noise that most GSM's make on occasion. It's a constant steady buzz, as if it were transferring data, like it were downloading something. There's no way that should be though because everything is turned off. This goes on for 10-15 minutes or more. The only way to disable it is to put it into airplane mode, but I shouldn't have to do this.

I can live with the noise, but my concern is that this constant communication with a tower is draining my cell phone battery. With VERY little use, i'm lucky to get 24 hours off of a full charge.

Is there something wrong with my phone, or is there a drain battery option that I forgot to turn off?

[ayasinsk]

Well the iPhone does communicate with the tower rather often, especially if you are connected to the EDGE, and not the WIFI. Keep an eye on your usage counter and check how much you have been using your iPhone since your last charge. Maybee you are using your iPhone alot more then you realise. For instance my iPhone barely lasts 5 hours if I'm using EDGE for data transfer (Safari/Email), I noticed it lasts longer if I use WIFI. Using your iPhone's speaker (one is a speaker, the other one is a microphone) drains the battery rather well.

Here is what my usage counter states at the moment:

Usage: 4 Hours, 13 Minutes
Standby: 1 Day, 7 Hours

And I have about 40% battery left.

[snowman96019]

Sitting on my desk, with maybe ONE 15 minute phone call, the battery lasts about a day. I'm not using anything that would require EDGE network use at all. No text messaging, no checking the weather, no checking email, no using Safari, no using the iPod function, nothing at all, the battery dies in about 24 hours. I thought it had a standby time of 200 some odd hours.

The strange thing though, it's CONSTANTLY making the GSM buzz in all the speakers in my house and car, as if I were in the middle of a phone call, even though it's locked and in my pocket. Even though I'm not using ANY of the features, it seems to be emitting or receiving a GSM signal. What's it doing?

[deftdrummer1]

While I don't know exactly what it is doing, the iphone does "communicate" with the towers quite a bit. Clocks, weather etc I think use GSM behind the scenes. Not to mention visual voice mail might have something to do with it (regardless of you having messages or not).

I think though, that you are relating two things that are relatively independent of each other. Sure there is no discrepancy of whether or not using GSM to do things such as sending photos or email will drain the battery more heavily, but I don't think an unused phone communicating with the towers would necessarily be the MAIN reason your batter life is suffering. On that note I would like to point out that if your iphone does not stay charged at least a full day when not being used and it is in sleep mode then something might be wrong with your unit.

I know that at half a charge my phone will still last nearly a full day if used in great moderation ie: check the time, check the calendar, make a 2 minute call etc.

[ayasinsk]

That doesnt sound right. Do you have 1.0.2 iphone software installed? Also try restoring your iphone. It sounds like you got a defective battery. You need to exchange this unit.