Tips to Extend Your iPhone Battery Life

For a great many people, the iPhone is a daily go-to which does it all, from work to play, navigation, payment, photography, and beyond. In this age of such multiple uses, it is no wonder that battery life is of great importance. While we have seen improvements in the efficiency of the processors and better battery management in recent iPhone models, we still see many reports of fast drain. The bright side is that with some smart tips and system changes, you can greatly improve your iPhone’s battery life, which in turn will get you through the day smooth sailing.

Here are practical, proven, and easy-going tips which will help you get more out of each charge.

1. Use Low Power Mode as required.

Low Power Mode is a basic yet very effective feature for conservation of battery which, when enabled, reduces background activity, disables mail fetch, reduces visual effects, and also puts to rest certain non-essential features.

Most folks wait till their battery is dead before plugging in, but you don’t have to. If you are going out for the day or you know there won’t be a chance to recharge your phone very soon, turn it on early and you may see your battery life extend greatly. Also, it is very useful when traveling, at events, or spending the day outdoors.

2. Adjust screen brightness yourself or use auto-brightness.

Your iPhone’s screen is a major power consumer. At high brightness levels for extended periods, your battery will drain fast.

Two simple changes can help:

Dim the screen as much as is comfortable for you but not to the extreme.

Enable Auto-Brightness, which will adjust the screen according to your environment.

As your phone is designed to do so, you may be surprised at the large amount of energy you save over time.

3. Use your home Wi-Fi instead of cell data.

Wi-Fi is more energy-efficient than cell data. As your phone constantly searches out a mobile network or has trouble with a weak signal which it tries to maintain, battery life goes down.

Whenever possible, connect to a stable Wi-Fi. In areas of very poor reception, try turning on Airplane Mode; your iPhone uses more power in a weak signal environment than when it is off at all.

4. Control Background App Refresh.

Background App Refresh allows apps to update their info while you aren’t using them. Though convenient, this also causes battery drain which is excessive for apps you don’t use that often.

You can reduce battery usage by:

Disable Background App Refresh completely, or

Disable it for those apps which don’t require live updates (games, shopping apps, rarely used apps).

This ensures that only essential apps work in the background.

5. Disable Location Services for non-essential apps.

Location is a very resource-intensive service. Many apps ask for your location even if they don’t really require it.

A smart approach is to:

Leave Location Services turned on for best use of features in apps like maps, ride-sharing, or weather.

Set apps to “While Using the App” and not “Always.”

Turn off location access for apps which don’t need it.

This decreases GPS use, which is the biggest drain on your iPhone.

6. Disable notifications that you don’t need.

Every notification is a light-up of your screen, a wake of your phone, and a use of small amounts of energy. In time, they add up, also if you get many alerts.

Take some time to go over your notification settings:

Only enable notifications for the apps you use the most.

Turn off alerts for games, promos, or apps you don’t use often.

Fewer alerts save battery and also reduce distraction and improve focus.

7. Go to Dark Mode, on OLED iPhones in particular.

In your iPhone which includes the OLED display (that is iPhone X and later models except SE series), you will see that Dark Mode helps out in terms of power consumption. What the OLED screens do is they light up only the pixels they need to, which in turn means that darker themes use less energy.

In the evenings and when I use it full time, I find Dark Mode to be better for the battery and also easier on the eyes.

8. Get rid of widgets you don’t use.

Widgets are ever-changing to display present info like weather, news, reminders, calendar events, that sort of thing. They run on power.

Keeping what is essential on your Home Screen, in turn, conserves battery as it doesn’t refresh info that you check rarely. If you have widgets you hardly use, get rid of them for a better and more organized experience.

9. Reduce background activity in social media apps.

Social media apps including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok are to blame for the majority of battery use. They refresh content, track location, preload videos, and notify frequently.

Here’s what you can do:

Disable Background App Refresh for them.

Limit notifications.

Put them in Focus modes for work and study.

Use them in your browser if you care for the battery health.

These easy changes will see large battery life improvements.

10. Stay on the latest with your iPhone software.

Software updates also have performance improvements and better battery health included. By ignoring updates, you put to waste what may be improved run time of your battery.

While you should update often, do so when your battery is full or when you are on power.

11. Manage your battery charge habits.

Battery care determines how well your iPhone does over the years. To keep your battery in great shape:

Do not let your phone die fully often.

Maintain your charge at 20 to 80 percent when you can.

Use Apple’s in-app Battery Health tool which includes Optimized Battery Charging to reduce battery aging.

Do not put your phone in hot environments; also avoid heat when charging.

These habits will increase your battery’s overall life span, which in turn will also affect day-to-day use.

12. Disable unnecessary wireless features.

Features such as Bluetooth, AirDrop, or Personal Hotspot drain battery even when not in use. If you don’t use them often, leave them off until you do.

For example:

Disable Bluetooth if you aren’t connected to a device.

Do not use AirDrop unless you are going to share files.

Leave your Personal Hotspot off when you don’t need it — it is a big battery drain.

13. Use power-saving modes which include Focus.

Focus modes like Do Not Disturb, Work, and Sleep reduce notifications and background activity. When you have less distraction, your screen turns off for longer, apps refresh less often, and in the end, your battery life improves.

This saves power at the same time as you don’t have to go in and turn off each setting. Just put your device in Focus Mode for what you need at the time.

14. Check your battery use to identify which apps are draining it.

iPhone reports in detail on which apps are using the most battery. By checking this out regularly, you may notice which apps are issues and do something about it, which may be to reduce background activity, cut back on notifications, or remove the app altogether.

It is a habit which puts you in charge of your power use.

15. Use offline downloads when you can.

Streaming video and music depletes the battery fast as your phone is constantly on the net. When you will have access to Wi-Fi, download what you need then.

Offline performance sees reduced processing power, less network use, and in the end, less battery.

Final Thoughts

Extending your iPhone’s battery life is a simple task. Out of a few easy habits — lower screen brightness, reducing background apps, better notification control, and proper charging techniques — you can see a difference in how many hours your charge lasts. Also, these tips will have your phone running all day and at the same time will improve your battery health over time.

Your iPhone is built for efficiency; we just ask that you use it in smart ways. By implementing this advice, you will see improved performance, reduced battery issues, and a very dependable device as a result.