Getting the most battery life out of your iPhone is important for any user. With heavy usage, iPhone batteries can drain quickly, leaving you searching for a charger by the afternoon. Luckily, there are many ways to conserve battery life on your iPhone and make a single charge last all day.
In this guide, we’ll provide 18 tips to help you extend your iPhone’s battery charge throughout the day. By adjusting settings, managing apps, and modifying usage habits, you can easily improve battery efficiency. Whether you have an old iPhone with worn battery capacity or a newer model, these battery life hacks can make a difference. With just a few tweaks, you’ll get hours of extra iPhone use before needing to recharge. Read on to learn key strategies for preserving battery, no matter which iPhone model you have.
1. Reduce screen brightness. The screen is one of the biggest drains on the battery, so dim the brightness to the lowest comfortable level. You can do this manually or enable Auto-Brightness to automatically adjust based on the ambient light.
2. Limit background app activity. Apps that run in the background, like email and social media apps, drain your battery. Go to Settings → Battery and turn off background app activity for apps you don’t use often. You can also swipe up from the bottom of the screen to close apps you’re not using.
3. Turn off location services for some apps. Apps that use your location in the background such as weather and maps apps can reduce battery life. Go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services and turn off location access for apps that don’t really need it.
4. Limit visual effects. Visual effects like parallax motion and widgets also use more battery. Go to Settings → General → Accessibility → Reduce Motion and turn it on. This will limit animation effects.
5. Update to the latest iOS software. Updating to the latest iOS version ensures you have the latest battery optimizations and fixes. Go to Settings → General → Software Update to check for available updates.
6. Avoid extremes in hot or cold temperatures. Extreme temperatures reduce battery capacity and drain the battery faster. Avoid leaving your iPhone in hot cars or cold places for long periods when possible.
7. Only charge up to 80-90%. Don’t charge your iPhone all the way to 100% when possible. This reduces battery capacity loss over time and improves battery health. Aim to charge to around 80% for the best balance of use time and battery health.
8. Use airplane mode when the signal is weak. Searching for a cellular signal drains the battery quickly. When in a poor signal area for extended periods, activate airplane mode to turn off connectivity and avoid the battery drain.
9. Turn off “Hey Siri”. The “Hey Siri” feature allows you to activate Siri with your voice, but it requires your iPhone to constantly listen for the trigger phrase which reduces battery life. Go to Settings → Siri & Search and turn off “Listen for ‘Hey Siri'”. You can still activate Siri by pressing and holding the side or Home button.
10. Limit use of vibrate and haptic feedback. Features like keyboard clicks and haptic feedback drain small amounts of battery with each buzz. Go to Settings → Sounds & Haptics and disable options like “Keyboard Clicks” and “System Haptics” when possible.
11. Disable email push accounts. If you have email accounts that push new messages to your iPhone, it can reduce battery life. Go to Settings → Accounts & Passwords, select the account and turn off “Push” to fetch new emails manually instead. You can adjust the fetch schedule to balance new emails and battery life.
12. Close Safari tabs when done. Having many tabs open in Safari, especially those with Flash content or video, can drain your battery in the background. Make it a habit to close Safari tabs when you’re finished with them.
13. Consider a portable charger. If you need longer battery life during long trips or days when you’ll be away from power outlets, consider using a portable charger or power bank. These can recharge your iPhone on the go and provide hours of additional use time.
14. Recalibrate your battery (if needed). If your battery life seems poor, it may help to recalibrate your iPhone’s battery to restore capacity estimations. To recalibrate, fully charge your iPhone, then use until it shuts off. Then fully recharge again. This process may take a few charge cycles to complete. Check to see if it improves your battery life.
15. Disable Bluetooth when not in use. Bluetooth can drain the battery quickly, especially if it is constantly searching for devices to pair with. Turn it off in Settings when you’re not actively using a Bluetooth device.
16. Use Low Power Mode. Low Power Mode temporarily reduces background activity, visual effects and performance to preserve battery life. Enable it in Settings → Battery when you need extra usage time.
17. Avoid using a VPN. Virtual private networks add encryption that can drain the battery faster. Turn off your VPN when not needed or look for a low-energy VPN service.
18. Turn off Wi-Fi and cellular when not in use. When you don’t need an internet connection, like on an airplane, disable Wi-Fi and cellular data for maximum battery savings.
19. Disable raise-to-wake. The raise-to-wake feature activates your screen when you pick up your iPhone. Turn this off in Settings → Display & Brightness to avoid accidental wake ups.
20. Replace the battery if needed. If your battery capacity drops below 80% despite your best efforts, replacing the battery can dramatically improve battery life again. Take it to an Apple store or authorized service provider for a battery replacement.
The key is understanding which features and habits drain your battery the most, and then modifying settings, usage and behaviors to optimize for longer battery life. With some adjustments, you can maximize your iPhone’s battery capacity to comfortably get through a full day of use.
