Apple releases iOS 6.1.1 update to address battery issues with iOS 6.1

After complaints about the recent iOS 6.1.0 update, Apple has now released a new update to iOS, numbered at 6.1.1. According to Pocket Lint, the update is 23MB and can be downloaded over-the-air by iPhone 4S users. It is primarily meant to address the bugs that people have been facing because of the iOS 6.1 update.

Apple said, "This update fixes an issue that could impact mobile performance and reliability for iPhone 4S." The update is said to have been in testing for members of Apple's developer program since February 6. This points to the fact that Apple worked to get this update out quickly to address many of the complaints it was facing.

The update aims to fix issues that iPhone 4S owners are facing

Many of the complaints came to light just yesterday with users facing issues with 3G connectivity, battery life, and over heating. An earlier report states that complaints regarding iOS 6.1 started trickling in all the way back from January 28, when Apple officially released version 6.1 for users to download. The issue seems to be plaguing only users who have upgraded their devices recently.

The earliest report from January 28 came from a user who incidentally reported an improved battery life, with comments talking about how users were saying the ‘exact opposite’ instead. Complaints about depleting battery life was the most common complaint with one user complaining about the battery life of his device having fallen to 23 percent after about an hour and a half of standby.

The problem has escalated so much in the last few days that Vodafone sent out a mass text to users advising users to not upgrade their phones to iOS 6.1 as far as possible, not at least till Apple releases a fix. Vodafone said that upgrading to iOS 6.1 is bringing about issues with 3G.

The update to 6.1 had brought along with it support for LTE capabilities to iPhone 5 across 36 additional carriers. Users of the new iPad could also enjoy LTE across 23 iPad carriers around the world. However, India did not figure in the list of countries to get this feature, which means the iPhone 5 and the new iPad are limited to HSPA+ speeds here.

Additional updates in iOS 6.1 also brought the much-awaited ability to use Siri to purchase movie tickets in the United States through Fandango. Moreover, iTunes Match subscribers could download individual songs to their iOS devices from iCloud, Apple’s cloud storage service after the update to iOS 6.1.

However, Apple is known to have issues with its updates and this is not the first time a new release is causing troubles for devices. Apple had released a minor 6.0.2 update to fix an issue a Wi-Fi issue that seemed to be plaguing the newer Apple devices – the iPhone 5 and the iPad Mini. Instead, the fix ended up messing with device battery life instead.

The issue appeared to be plaguing the iPhone 5 a lot more than the iPad mini. Prior to the update, we had found the battery life to be decent on the iPhone 5. With normal usage, the handset could be used for a day without it depleting too much. However, after the update to 6.0.2, with the same amount of usage, the battery appeared to be draining a lot faster than before.