In the last few years, I have been traveling a lot and one of my concerns for me about my iPhone has always been its battery life. When I am at the office, at home, or even while driving, I can connect the charger, but when I am on the move and constantly using the phone for making calls, clicking pictures, recording videos, replying to emails, and taking notes, the battery keeps draining and it is often times difficult to plug in to charge. Considering my activities, I did carry a power bank with me always and made sure every time while driving, I connect the iPhone to the charger. But often times have seen my iPhone’s battery draining even when I am not using it much. And it can be understood, when you are in outdoor activities, it is difficult to say how long you will be out.
I was curious to know what is happening and also what can I do to save my iPhone’s battery from draining so fast. I talked to a few tech-savvy friends, and also checked online about this. I understand that the processes happening in the iPhone will affect the battery, but I wanted to know which processes are the major culprits, how much does it affect, and if it could be reduced or avoided, if I could get to this knowledge, it will help. With this intent, I researched a lot of things and tried a few techniques that worked for me, and I noticed my iPhone’s charge started lasting longer than before. In this article, I will share with you what techniques I learned and applied on the iPhone that helped me save the iPhone battery from draining faster. Understand and try these techniques and let me know how they help you. And if you have any more techniques, please share them in the comments.
Turn On the Auto Brightness
Previously, I use to manually adjust the brightness of the screen based on the ambient light. And many times unnecessarily, the screen remained at higher brightness, which obviously drain the battery. Understand that, the screen consumes a noticeable amount of battery. When I explored the auto-brightness feature, I immediately started using it. It feels very convenient, works flawlessly, and has saved battery backup.
iPhone has an ambient light sensor that works efficiently to adjust the screen brightness according to the light around it. It will auto-adjust the screen brightness and increase it while you are out on a sunny day and reduce it while you are in a dark room. So, turning on auto brightness saves the battery. To enable auto-brightness, follow these instructions:
In iOS 16/15/14/13: Go to Settings app -> Accessibility -> Display & Text Size -> tap on the toggle to enable Auto-Brightness
In iOS 12/11: Go to Settings app -> Accessibility -> Display Accommodations -> tap on the toggle to enable Auto-Brightness
In iOS 10 and older: Go to Settings app -> Display & Brightness -> tap on the toggle to enable Auto-Brightness
Keep Screen Brightness as Readably Low as Possible
This one is also about the screen brightness, but for people who are not traveling or using their iPhones outdoors much. I recommend they keep screen brightness low and as readable as possible. The high brightness of the screen will drain the battery more. To reduce screen brightness, follow these instructions:
Go to Settings app -> Display & Brightness -> drag the Brightness slider to the left till it feels ok.
I use Auto-Brightness as I use my phone outdoors a lot, so manually adjusting the screen every time is a bit cumbersome and most of the time either it just skips from the mind and the display remains all time in higher brightness.
Turn off the Always-On Display
Again for the display, iPhone’s Always-On display feature dims the lock screen, instead of turning it off, so that you can see the screen information without needing to unlock it. It is said to be working in a power-efficient way, but I would suggest you disable this feature.
When you are not required to look at the phone, maybe you are in a class or a meeting or driving, what is the use of this dim screen anyway which will be On all the time, obviously, it will drain some amount of battery for sure. To turn off the Always-On display follow this instruction:
Go to Settings app -> Display & Brightness – tap on the toggle next to Always On to disable it.
Always Enable Low Power Mode
There are many background activities that keep processing all the time, it can be automatic updates, background app refreshes, and such activities. These processes continuously drain the battery. The Low Power Mode limits such background activities and thus saves battery. I suggest all iPhone users make maximum use of this feature when they are outdoors.
I use this feature most of the time. I want to tell you that there are just two things to keep in mind:
- The Low Power Mode will get disabled when your phone has more than 80% battery.
- Sometimes you may have to manually refresh your email app to check for new emails.
I would suggest, when you are not using your phone while traveling, driving, during client meetings, or at night, enable this mode and you will see your battery saves a lot. To enable Low Power Mode, follow this instruction:
Go to Settings app -> Battery -> tap on the toggle next to Low Power Mode to enable it.
Turn off the Haptic Keyboard Feedback
The haptic feedback seems to be a cool feature, but it will cost your battery. Even Apple has confirmed that this haptic feedback will affect your battery backup.
These things should be very obvious to you. I personally keep the Sound and Haptic both disabled for Keyboard Feedback. To Turn off the Haptic Keyboard Feedback follow this instruction:
Go to Settings app -> Sounds & Haptics -> Keyboard Feedback -> tap on the toggle next to Haptic to disable it.
Turn Off AirDrop Immediately After Using
I have been negligent when using AirDrop and a few other features like Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth as well. Just like Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, AirDrop is a wireless technology that enables you to wirelessly transfer files with other AirDrop-enabled devices. Now please understand, even when you are not using the feature, it is still running some processes in the background. When the AirDrop is enabled, its signals are constantly active, though it is happening in the background you may not notice it.
I realized this about AirDrop when I keep it enabled, it is active in the background even when I am not actively using it and wireless data transfer drain the battery. After knowing this, now I make sure to always turn off the AirDrop immediately after finishing the task. I advise you to please turn off the AirDrop after using it. To disable AirDrop, follow these instructions:
Open the Control Center -> tap on the AirDrop icon -> choose Receiving Off.
Alternatively, you can also go to Settings app -> General -> AirDrop -> choose Receiving Off.
Turn Off Wi-Fi Immediately After Using
Just like Airdrop, I did the same negligence with Wi-Fi as well, I use to keep them always active even when I am outdoors and mostly using cellular data. After researching it, I realized that when Wi-Fi is kept On, it will constantly look for the available networks and this will drain the battery. As I said before, if you keep these wireless tools enabled, they will function in the background, affecting your battery.
Once I realized this, I make sure I turn off the Wi-Fi before leaving from office and home. I don’t prefer to use Wi-Fi at any cafe or at a client’s office. I have noticed a change in battery life. I advise iPhone users to Turn their Wi-Fi On only when using it and keep it disabled while traveling. To disable Wi-Fi, follow these instructions:
Open the Control Center -> tap on the Wi-Fi icon.
Alternatively, you can also go to Settings app -> Wi-Fi -> tap on the toggle next to Wi-Fi to turn it off.
Turn Off Personal Hotspot Immediately After Using
I use to often forget to turn off the hotspot after I finished using it and it would remain enabled for several hours even days, till either I use it again or turn it off. When I was looking for solutions to control cellular data usage on iPhone, I realized portable Wi-Fi was also the culprit for exhausting the cellular data and I started consciously turning it off since then. This hotspot, again being a wireless technology, also hampers the battery by draining it continuously even when you are not actively using it.
Always ensure that you turn Off your personal hotspot after you finished your work, or else it will drain the battery. To turn off Personal Hotspot, follow this instruction:
Go to Settings app -> Personal Hotspot -> tap on the toggle next to Allow Others to Join to turn it off.
Turn Off Bluetooth Immediately After Using
I use AirPods and another Bluetooth headphone with my iPhone, and mostly I keep Bluetooth enabled, even today I do so. I am not sufficiently able to do off with this thing. I understand Bluetooth also being a wireless technology, does continuously drain the battery, but for convenience of use, I keep it enabled when I am out. But still, I managed to give it a break in few times a day, like when I have kept the phone for charging, and at night I turn the Bluetooth off.
I advise iPhone users, maybe not possible, but when you are not using your wireless devices (earpiece or headset), always turn your Bluetooth off. If kept On it will drain your iPhone’s battery. To turn off Bluetooth, follow these instructions:
Open the Control Center -> tap on the Bluetooth icon.
Alternatively, you can also go to Settings app -> Bluetooth -> tap on the toggle next to Bluetooth to turn it off.
Ensure your iPhone is not Exposed to Extreme Temperatures
I have noticed that when my iPhone is too hot (if kept under the sun exposure for too long or kept on a CPU that is getting heated up) and also when it is too cold (maybe kept directly in front of an AC blower) its battery drains faster then usual, I am not exactly aware what is happening, but I experimented a few times it does drains faster.
So I suggest iPhone users try to avoid exposure to extreme temperatures, hot or cold, to ensure good battery backup.
Use Data over Wi-Fi whenever Possible
Using cellular data drains the battery faster than using Wi-Fi. So try to connect to Wi-Fi and use the internet whenever possible, but still consider security first. I never suggest connecting to free Wi-Fi at public places like cafes, clubs, or stations.
I switch to Wi-Fi when I am at home or the office, and I have personally seen the difference. I have used cellular data continuously for three hours and if I compare a similar usage on Wi-Fi, I have noticed while using cellular data, the battery drains faster.
Conclusion: Apply Techniques to Ensure Maximum Usability Per Charging
iPhone users must be cautious about applications and processes happening on their phones. There are many things that can lead to battery draining faster. In this above article, I have pointed few things which have come to my notice. Based on my experience I am sharing a few techniques that I have used on my iPhone which saved battery backup for a longer time. I have shared my personal experience and experiments with various settings changes I have done on my iPhone. I recommend you try them to save battery on your iPhone.
