Signal-ios: 3.9.1 heat and battery drain on iPhone 8

[DrFleischman]

• [x] I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates
• [x] I am submitting a bug report for existing functionality that does not work as intended
• [x] This isn't a feature request or a discussion topic

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Bug description

I'm running Signal on my iPhone 8 iOS 13.5.1. Starting yesterday (June 2, 2020), after I updated to 3.9.1, I noticed my phone overheating and rapid battery drain whenever I have Signal in the foreground. The problem appears to go away when I switch off Signal but it's still running in the background. Neither shutting down Signal (double-press home button, swipe up) nor phone restart solves the problem: As soon as I start Signal back up and have it in the foreground, the problem comes back. I don't need to use the camera or anything non-standard. This is just regular texting back and forth.

Steps to reproduce

• Run 3.9.1 in the foreground

Actual result: Describe here what happens after you run the steps above (i.e. the buggy behaviour)
Hot phone, very fast battery drain.

Expected result: Describe here what should happen after you run the steps above (i.e. what would be the correct behaviour)
Normal temperature phone, normal battery drain

Screenshots

N/A

Device info

Device: iPhone 8

iOS version: 13.5.1

Signal version: 3.9.1

Link to debug log

https://debuglogs.org/46c7175e524a7bb43f2a1cf15af5b6b55f5f3c9844562b6a9d14039bc5c84d10.zip

[dvelyk]

I too have this problem on an iPhone SE.

Device info

Device: iPhone SE

iOS version: 13.4.1

Signal version: 3.9.1.1

[rswoop8]

I am having the same issue on an iPhone X, albeit only in one of my conversations; having the conversation list or any other conversation open does not cause the issue. I profiled the phone using the Instruments app on my Mac, and it shows Signal's CPU usage as anywhere between 70% - 100% while the conversation in question is open. The issue started after I updated to Signal 3.9.0, and I'm currently on the latest App Store release

Device info

Device: iPhone X

iOS version: 13.5.1

Signal version: 3.10.0.8

[matthesjh]

I'm having the same problem too. When a conversation is open, the battery drains very fast and the device becomes very hot.

Device info

Device: iPhone 8

iOS version: 13.5.1

Signal version: 3.10.1.1

[Fluxkomqensator]

I also have the problem. When a conversation is open I can literally watch the battery percentage going down. Phone gets hot. Battery fall seems to stop in conversations/contacts overview.

Device info
Device: iPhone SE
iOS version: 13.5.1
Signal version: 3.10.2.1

[DrFleischman]

A follow up, I updated to Signal version 3.10.1 and then 3.10.3, and the problem persists.

[Bee-ble-brox]

I am also experimenting the issue on an iPhone X on iOS 13.5.1. It started after an upgrade I made around a week ago. The phone gets really hot and the battery melts quickly. I cannot use Signal more then 2 or 3 hours without having to recharge my phone (it feels like I'm playing a heavy 3D game while texting).

Device info
Device: iPhone X
iOS version: 13.5.1
Signal version: 3.10.4.6

[Bee-ble-brox]

Updated to 3.10.5.3 ans the problem persists. Just lost 13% battery in 30 minutes… :/

[Cerberus0]

@dvelyk, @rswoop8, @matthesjh, @Fluxkomqensator, @Bee-ble-brox: If you could share debug logs, that could help the developers diagnose this issue sooner:

• https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007318591-Debug-Logs-and-Crash-Reports#ios_debug

@DrFleischman, @Bee-ble-brox: Please do not bump issues. It's safe to assume that the problem will persist until this issue is closed.

[Imperiopolis-Signal]

In addition to capturing debug logs, can you please cite the time range in which you were seeing the heat issues so we can correlate with the logs? Also any other context for what you were doing at the time would be helpful. We’ve had a very difficult time reproducing this behavior.

[rswoop8]

Debug log linked below

Steps I took to produce this log:

• Enable debug logging
• Exit settings, open problematic conversation
• Allow the phone to sit for a few minutes, until its temperature has increased notably
• Navigate back to settings, get link to debug log

The log appears to be relatively empty, as all I am doing is opening the problematic conversation and allowing the phone to sit for a few minutes. Is there anything I can do to hopefully provide some more detailed logs/info?

https://debuglogs.org/c369119635e7249e070e74d5a74387a0ea344ebdb1b1bb04ebf4712c8249395d.zip

Edit: grabbed another log using the following steps, hopefully it's more helpful:

• Enable debug logging
• Kill Signal
• Open Signal, navigate to problematic conversation
• Allow phone to sit until it gets hot
• Submit debug logs

https://debuglogs.org/9a3dd203983b6bfed32956db4a2b45b99e20233c2a55fac7ea5cf0182e355c85.zip

[mortoray]

I have the same problem on iPhone 7. This started happening about 2 weeks ago, roughly after one of the recent Signal updates.

[211217613]

This is for the heat issue. I was on a call via Airpods and my iPhone had to shut itself down. Had a black screen and temperature warning.

Device info
Device: iPhone 8
iOS version: 13.4.1
Signal version: 3.10.5.3

e37afdf1facb5ef3cbf63ab2a3c6f10bc3898b9bf5f1e50fcce38325d1bf6bdd.zip

[DXCanas]

Having the similar issues on my iPhone 11. Signal has been using most of my battery for at least the past 10 days (that’s as far as iOS battery stats go). For the past 2 or 3 weeks, I’ve noticed that I’ve had to charge much more often than before, but I didn’t check my battery stats until recently.

On May 28, my phone also drained an incredible amount (about 20%-30%, iirc) over an hour and 17 minute long call.

It’s getting to be pretty frustrating.
https://debuglogs.org/d8e8057f5e2dfc7e014eaec5aec4661b615171439314a41fea504829f84f333e.zip

[guimspace]

@Imperiopolis-Signal You may check if the issue is related to how Signal currently switches from Wi-Fi to cellular (or vice-versa) - also the frequency and how easily it will switch; iPhone Wi-Fi Assist could be playing a role here too. While having both enabled, the iPhone produces more heat (thus more energy consumption) than having one of two disabled. It is consistent for me and my partner.

[DXCanas]

Want to point out that others are describing similar issues on Reddit:
https://reddit.com/r/signal/comments/h96tq0/ios_battery_drain/

[adrianmace]

Nothing conclusive so I won't be posting logs, but echoing others thoughts regardless. In the last 10 days or so I've noticed my phone requesting Low Power Mode at around 8-9pm, rather than typically ending the day on ~30%.

iPhone Xs 64GB - 13.5.x - Automatic Updates.

[matthesjh]

This problem seems to be fixed (at least for me) with the latest production version 3.12.0.16. I just opened a conversation which previously resulted in some overheating and battery drain after some minutes, and now everything is fine after ten minutes.

[swotam]

Same issues here on an iPhone 11 Pro Max and an iPad Pro 9.7". Issue started within the last month following one of the Signal iOS app updates. Battery use and overheating is through the roof and isn't acceptable.

Edit: of course after posting this I installed the latest Signal beta build and it _appears_ to have resolved the issue from what I can tell.

[rswoop8]

Problem also appears to be fixed for me as well (app version 3.12.0.16). Phone no longer gets hot when opening the previously problematic conversation, and CPU usage while said conversation is open is now back on par with all the other conversations (5% - 8%). Thank you to the Signal devs for fixing the issue; can't have been an easy one to track down.

[Imperiopolis-Signal]

We’re glad to hear this is fixed!

[harikrishna-2k]

Is it fixed? I mean look at this.


It still consumes nearly 20% for less than two hours of usage (1 and half hours of it is background activity, what ever that means) here is the debug log
https://debuglogs.org/6292bb1abc8ac509c289642f9ea8775d1fc62b67b84e4da22b61ecfe10f37cbf.zip

[DXCanas]

Can confirm, still getting the issue. Gave it a few days to be sure.

https://debuglogs.org/99e5e69607d6b70a6a10d3ce2699849406c26f9ab6932b51ead573c4ac584a2e.zip

See disproportionate battery use relative to screen time

[harikrishna-2k]

https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-iOS/issues/4496
Opened an issue.

[tomiteko]

I’m still having the issue
iPhone SE 2020
iOS 13.5.1
Signal 3.12.4.1

[DXCanas]

Checking in after latest update - same behavior.

Might this have to do with just having really long conversations?

https://debuglogs.org/16936008659db11a1641e10fe05979851a51b20b6eb868ff867e180898d8c45d.zip

Pinging #4496 here, because this issue is older.

[211217613]

Ya I can confirm that I'm still seeing overheating on the phone when making calls. Is there any way to get device or cpu temperature metrics in the debug logs for signal?

[philnord]

I have an iPhone X and using 3.17, installed everything yesterday. I get this issue as well and only have 5 contacts and no group chats. Signal using a lot of battery.