There's nothing particularly useful about an iPhone that spends half the day attached to a charger.
Whether your battery suddenly started draining faster or you're simply trying to squeeze a few more hours out of every charge, there are plenty of settings and habits that can make a difference.
The important part is knowing which battery-saving tips actually matter.
You don't need to constantly force-close every app, completely drain your battery before charging, or spend your day obsessing over the battery percentage.
Instead, start with the things that actually consume power.
Here are 25 practical ways to improve your iPhone's battery life.
1. Find Out What's Actually Using Your Battery
Before changing anything, identify the problem.
Open:
Settings → Battery
Your iPhone shows which apps and activities have consumed the most battery power.
Look for applications using unusually large amounts of energy.
If one app accounts for a massive percentage of your battery usage despite barely being used, you've found somewhere worth investigating.
This is particularly important when battery life suddenly becomes worse.
For a complete troubleshooting walkthrough, read:
iPhone Battery Draining Fast? Here's How to Fix It
2. Use Low Power Mode
Low Power Mode is one of the easiest ways to reduce battery consumption.
When enabled, iOS reduces or modifies certain background activities to conserve power.
You can enable it through:
Settings → Battery → Low Power Mode
It's particularly useful when:
- You're away from a charger.
- You're traveling.
- Your battery is already low.
- You need your phone to last several more hours.
There's no prize for reaching 1% before turning it on.
If you know you'll need additional battery life, enable Low Power Mode earlier.
3. Lower Your Screen Brightness
Your display can consume a substantial amount of power.
If you're constantly using your iPhone at maximum brightness, reducing it can help extend battery life.
Open Control Center and adjust the brightness slider.
You don't need to make the display uncomfortable to read.
Simply use the lowest brightness level that's comfortable for your environment.
4. Enable Auto-Brightness
Instead of manually changing brightness throughout the day, your iPhone can automatically adjust the display based on ambient lighting.
Auto-Brightness can help prevent the screen from remaining unnecessarily bright.
Search Settings for:
Auto-Brightness
and verify that it's configured the way you prefer.
5. Reduce How Long the Screen Stays On
How many times have you put your iPhone down while the screen remained illuminated?
Those minutes add up.
Check:
Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock
A shorter Auto-Lock period prevents the display from staying on unnecessarily.
6. Review Always-On Display Settings
On supported iPhone models, Always-On Display allows information to remain visible even while the device is locked.
It's designed with efficiency in mind, but displaying information still requires some power.
If maximizing battery runtime matters more to you than having information constantly visible, experiment with disabling or reducing Always-On Display features.
Then compare your battery usage over several days.
7. Review Background App Refresh
Some applications can update content while you aren't actively using them.
Open:
Settings → General → Background App Refresh
Review the list.
Ask yourself:
Does this app really need to update when I'm not using it?
For applications where the answer is no, disabling background refresh may reduce unnecessary activity.
Don't automatically disable everything.
Configure it based on how you actually use your phone.
8. Review Location Services
GPS and location-related features can consume additional power, particularly when applications access your location frequently.
Open:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services
Review each app.
Depending on the application, options may include settings such as:
- Never
- Ask Next Time
- While Using the App
- Always
A navigation app legitimately needs your location.
A random application you opened once six months ago may not.
Configure permissions based on what each app actually needs.
9. Look for Apps Using Location in the Background
Location Services deserves special attention when investigating unexpected battery drain.
An application repeatedly requesting location data can continue consuming power when you aren't actively looking at it.
Again, don't disable location simply because location uses battery.
Instead, remove unnecessary access.
That's a much better strategy.
10. Reduce Unnecessary Notifications
Every notification can potentially:
- Wake the display
- Trigger vibration
- Play a sound
- Encourage you to open the phone
One notification isn't going to destroy your battery.
Hundreds of unnecessary notifications throughout the day are different.
Open:
Settings → Notifications
and disable alerts from apps that don't genuinely need your attention.
Your battery may benefit.
Your sanity might too.
11. Use Wi-Fi When Available
A strong Wi-Fi connection can often be more power-efficient than relying heavily on cellular data.
This becomes especially noticeable in areas with poor cellular coverage.
If you're at home or work with reliable Wi-Fi, use it.
12. Pay Attention to Weak Cellular Signal
Poor signal can be brutal on battery life.
Your iPhone may work harder trying to maintain or establish a cellular connection when coverage is weak.
If you're spending hours somewhere with little or no cellular service, battery consumption may increase even when you aren't actively using the phone.
When appropriate, Airplane Mode can help in areas where you know there's no usable cellular service.
Just remember that Airplane Mode affects connectivity, so use it only when it makes sense.
13. Keep iOS Updated
Software problems can sometimes contribute to unusual battery consumption.
Open:
Settings → General → Software Update
and check for available updates.
Updates may contain bug fixes, security improvements, and changes affecting system performance.
That doesn't mean every battery complaint is solved by updating iOS.
But running current software is an important troubleshooting baseline.
14. Keep Your Apps Updated
The operating system isn't the only software that matters.
An application with a bug can consume excessive CPU time, background activity, network resources, or location services.
Keep your frequently used apps updated.
If battery drain begins immediately after installing or updating a particular app, check Battery Usage to see whether that application is responsible.
15. Restart Your iPhone Occasionally
You don't need to restart your iPhone every night to protect the battery.
However, restarting can resolve temporary software problems or processes behaving incorrectly.
If your battery suddenly begins draining much faster than normal, a restart is one of the easiest troubleshooting steps to try.
16. Avoid Excessive Heat
If there's one battery-health rule worth remembering, it's this:
Lithium-ion batteries don't like excessive heat.
Avoid leaving your iPhone:
- In direct sunlight
- On a hot dashboard
- Inside a parked vehicle
- Near heating equipment
Heat can affect both immediate battery performance and long-term battery aging.
If your device becomes unusually warm while connected to power, read:
Why Is My iPhone Getting Hot While Charging?
17. Don't Perform Heavy Tasks While Charging Unless Necessary
Gaming while charging.
Running navigation while fast charging.
Editing video while connected to MagSafe.
Your iPhone can do these things, but combining a demanding workload with charging can generate additional heat.
If you're trying to quickly restore battery power, leaving the device alone for a while can help.
For more information about charging speed, read:
iPhone Fast Charging Explained: How It Works and What You Need
18. Leave Optimized Battery Charging Enabled
Battery runtime and battery lifespan aren't exactly the same thing.
Some settings don't necessarily give you several extra hours today—they help preserve the battery's ability to store energy over months and years.
Optimized Battery Charging is one of them.
The feature can reduce how long your battery remains completely charged based on your charging routine.
For most users, leaving it enabled makes sense.
Read:
What Is Optimized Battery Charging and Should You Leave It On?
19. Stop Obsessively Force-Closing Apps
This is one of those habits that refuses to disappear.
You don't need to swipe away every application every time you finish using it.
iOS is designed to manage inactive applications.
Force-close an app when:
- It freezes.
- It stops responding.
- It's clearly malfunctioning.
Don't treat the App Switcher like a daily cleaning checklist.
We discuss this and other outdated advice in:
Do You Need to Calibrate Your iPhone Battery? Myths vs. Facts
20. Don't Intentionally Drain Your Battery to 0%
Another persistent myth is that you need to completely drain your battery before charging it.
You don't.
Modern lithium-ion batteries can be charged whenever it's convenient.
If your iPhone is at 47% and you're about to leave for the evening, plug it in.
There's no reason to deliberately wait until the battery is nearly dead.
21. Check Your Battery Health
Sometimes there isn't a setting causing your poor battery life.
The battery itself may simply be old.
Open:
Settings → Battery → Battery Health & Charging
Review the available battery-health information.
If Maximum Capacity has significantly declined, your iPhone physically can't store as much energy as it could when the battery was new.
Our complete guide explains what those numbers mean:
How to Check iPhone Battery Health and What It Really Means
22. Know When Battery Replacement Makes More Sense
You can optimize settings all day long, but software can't restore lost chemical battery capacity.
If your battery is significantly degraded and no longer meets your needs, replacement may be the real solution.
Warning signs can include:
- Very short runtime
- Repeated unexpected shutdowns
- Battery service recommendations
- Significant capacity loss
- Constant need for charging
Read:
Does Your iPhone Need a New Battery? Signs It's Time to Replace It
A new battery can sometimes make far more sense than replacing an otherwise perfectly functional iPhone.
23. Use Quality Chargers and Cables
Your charger isn't directly responsible for how much power Instagram consumes at 3:00 PM.
But reliable charging equipment matters for overall battery and charging performance.
Use accessories from reputable manufacturers.
Replace cables that are:
- Frayed
- Bent
- Loose
- Damaged
- Intermittently disconnecting
If your phone isn't charging correctly, start with:
iPhone Won't Charge? 12 Fixes That Actually Work
If it charges but takes forever:
Why Is My iPhone Charging So Slowly?
24. Make Sure Wireless Charging Is Working Efficiently
Wireless charging is convenient, but proper alignment matters.
A poorly positioned device can charge inefficiently and generate additional heat.
Check:
- Phone placement
- Case compatibility
- Charging-pad condition
- Power adapter
- Temperature
If something doesn't seem right, see:
How to Fix Wireless Charging Problems on iPhone
Using MagSafe instead?
See:
MagSafe Not Charging Your iPhone? Here's How to Fix It
25. Stop Treating 100% Battery Health Like a High Score
This may be the most important tip.
Your battery is going to age.
That's what rechargeable batteries do.
You can use sensible charging habits to reduce unnecessary wear, but you cannot keep a battery chemically new forever.
Don't turn Battery Health into something you check three times per day.
Instead, ask:
- Does my phone last long enough?
- Is anything draining power abnormally?
- Is the battery physically healthy?
- Does the phone still meet my needs?
If everything is working properly, use your iPhone and enjoy it.
For a deeper look at normal battery aging, read:
How Long Does an iPhone Battery Last?
Bonus: Is It Okay to Charge Your iPhone Overnight?
Yes, under normal conditions.
You don't need to stay awake waiting for your iPhone to reach a particular battery percentage.
Use reputable charging equipment, keep the device uncovered, avoid excessive heat, and let iOS manage charging.
We've dedicated an entire article to this question:
Is It Safe to Charge Your iPhone Overnight?
Quick Battery-Saving Checklist
If you don't want to change 25 settings right now, start here:
- Check Settings → Battery for unusual app usage.
- Enable Low Power Mode when you need extra runtime.
- Reduce unnecessary screen brightness.
- Review Background App Refresh.
- Review Location Services.
- Remove unnecessary notifications.
- Keep iOS and apps updated.
- Avoid excessive heat.
- Check Battery Health.
- Replace a significantly degraded battery when it no longer meets your needs.
Those ten steps cover many of the biggest battery-life issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drains an iPhone battery the fastest?
Heavy screen use, gaming, video, navigation, poor cellular reception, background activity, and demanding apps can all consume substantial power. Check Settings → Battery to identify what's actually using power on your device.
Does Dark Mode save battery?
On iPhones using OLED displays, darker screen content can reduce display power consumption because individual pixels can produce less light or turn off. The real-world difference depends heavily on brightness, screen usage, and the content being displayed.
Does Low Power Mode hurt the iPhone?
No. Low Power Mode temporarily changes certain features and background behaviors to reduce power consumption.
Should I turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to save battery?
Not as a general rule. Disable features when you genuinely don't need them, but there's usually no reason to constantly micromanage every wireless setting purely for battery savings.
Should I close every app to save battery?
No. iOS manages suspended applications automatically. Force-close apps when they're frozen or malfunctioning rather than treating it as a routine battery-saving technique.
Why is my new iPhone battery draining quickly?
A new or recently restored iPhone may perform significant background activity, including downloading data, syncing photos, installing apps, and indexing content. Check Battery Usage and allow background setup tasks time to complete before assuming there's a hardware problem.
Can Battery Health go back to 100%?
Normal chemical battery aging isn't reversible through settings, charging tricks, or calibration. A physically replaced battery is different from attempting to restore lost capacity through software.
Continue Troubleshooting Your iPhone Battery
This article is part of the iPhone4Idiots iPhone Battery Help collection.
If a specific battery or charging problem brought you here, use the guide that matches your issue:
- iPhone Won't Charge? 12 Fixes That Actually Work
- Why Is My iPhone Charging So Slowly?
- iPhone Battery Draining Fast? Here's How to Fix It
- How to Check iPhone Battery Health and What It Really Means
- Why Does My iPhone Stop Charging at 80%?
- What Is Optimized Battery Charging and Should You Leave It On?
- MagSafe Not Charging Your iPhone? Here's How to Fix It
- How to Fix Wireless Charging Problems on iPhone
- Why Is My iPhone Getting Hot While Charging?
- Do You Need to Calibrate Your iPhone Battery?
- iPhone Fast Charging Explained
- How Long Does an iPhone Battery Last?
- Is It Safe to Charge Your iPhone Overnight?
- Does Your iPhone Need a New Battery?
Final Thoughts
Improving iPhone battery life isn't about finding one magical setting.
It's about identifying where your power is actually going.
Start with Battery Usage.
Control unnecessary background activity.
Manage your display.
Watch for poor cellular reception.
Avoid excessive heat.
And understand when the battery itself has simply aged.
Most importantly, don't turn battery management into a second job.
Your iPhone already contains sophisticated systems designed to manage charging, temperature, applications, and battery performance.
Make sensible adjustments where they help, investigate genuine problems when they appear, and then get back to using your phone.
The goal isn't to finish every day with the highest battery percentage possible.
The goal is for your battery to reliably last as long as you need it to.
