7 Known Issues With the iPhone 5s and iOS 7 — And How to Deal With Them

With the launch of every new iPhone comes a wave of fresh problems plaguing iOS users.
In 2010, it was so-called Antennagate, a hardware issue that saw iPhone 4 users getting significantly reduced cellular reception if they held their iPhones in a particular way. With the launch of iOS 6 last year, the new Maps app sent iOS users into a tizzy (as well as into trailer parks, the ocean, and the middle of the desert).
With the launch of iOS 7 and the iPhone 5s last month, we've got a whole new batch of issues to deal with. Here are six major iOS- and iPhone-related problems that many users are experiencing and how to deal with them. If there are any we've missed, feel free to share them in the comments.
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iPhone 5s Sensors Incorrectly Calibrated

If you plan to use your new iPhone 5s as a level, a compass, or to track your activities using its gyroscope or accelerometer, you may find things are a little...off. That's because those sensors aren't working properly on some iPhone 5s units.
This issue could be a big one. For now, it's unclear if it's a software or hardware problem. On top of that, the specific issues people are experiencing seem to vary quite a bit. If it is hardware related, it's going to be a challenge for Apple to issue a software-based fix. Some people who have affected units are already taking them back to the Apple Store and swapping them out for new ones. That seems to be the only fix for now. Even then, some customer's new units still have gyro, accelerometer, and compass abnormalities.

Battery Drain

I can't remember the last iOS update that wasn't accompanied by at least some complaints over excessive battery drain. And iOS 7 is no exception. While the iPhone 5s chugs along swimmingly with quite stellar battery life (at least in our experience), the iPhone 5 in particular is seeing some serious battery drainage. It doesn't appear that the problem is universal -- for some, battery life has actually improved.
If your iPhone seems to be sucking up more juice than usual, here are a few fixes you can try.
  • Turn off Background App Refresh by going to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You can turn it off entirely, or turn it off for select apps. You can also switch off background app updates by going to Settings > iTunes & App Store and scrolling down to the Automatic Downloads section and toggling Updates to off.
  • Disabling Parallax, which we will describe in a forthcoming slide.
  • Switch off Location Services for apps you don't need it on by going to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
  • Eliminate Auto-Brightness by going into Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness and switching Auto-Brightness to the off position.
Gizmodo has a long list of other tweaks you can make to maximize your iOS device's battery life.

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