Turn on Low Power Mode to cut battery drain by up to 25 percent
Low Power Mode reduces background activity, dims the screen slightly, and limits performance until your battery reaches 80 percent again. On most iPhones, you can turn it on manually in Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Management > Low Power Mode, or swipe into Control Center and tap the battery icon. Once enabled, your phone will also turn on Low Power Mode automatically when the battery drops to 20 percent.
The trade-off is real: apps refresh less often, email syncs on a schedule rather than constantly, and some visual effects pause. For most people, the difference is barely noticeable during a normal day. If you need your phone to run at full speed, turn it off; if you want to stretch a charge through an afternoon or evening, turn it on.
Low Power Mode works best when you turn it on before the battery gets critical. Waiting until 20 percent means you have already lost hours of normal use. Turning it on at 40 or 50 percent, especially if you know you will be away from a charger, gives you the longest extension.
Key Takeaways
- Low Power Mode cuts battery drain significantly and can be turned on manually or set to set up automatically at 20 percent.
- Disable location services for apps that do not need it, and switch from Always to While Using to save battery on maps and navigation apps.
- Reduce screen brightness or enable Auto-Brightness, and turn off background app refresh for apps you do not use constantly.
- Disable push notifications for non-urgent apps, and turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you are not using them.
- Battery health degrades over time; if your iPhone is more than three years old and the battery health is below 80 percent, a battery replacement may extend the charge longer than any setting change.
Turn off location services for apps that do not need your position
Location services use GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi signals to pinpoint your location. Every app that uses it drains the battery, especially GPS, which runs continuously. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and you will see a list of every app with permission to know where you are.
For most apps, you do not need location all the time. Turn off location entirely for apps like News, Stocks, or Reminders. For maps and navigation, change the setting from Always to While Using — this means the app can see your location only when it is open, not in the background. For weather and photos, Always is usually fine because they use less power than GPS.
The biggest battery drain comes from apps set to Always that you rarely open. Check the list for apps you forgot you had, and turn off location for anything you do not actively use.
Reduce screen brightness and disable visual effects
The display is the single largest battery consumer on an iPhone. Lowering brightness saves battery proportionally — a screen at 30 percent brightness uses roughly half the power of a screen at 60 percent. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness and drag the slider down, or enable Auto-Brightness so the phone adjusts brightness based on ambient light.
Turn off Motion and Parallax effects in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size. These animations play when you unlock the phone, open folders, or switch between apps. They look smooth but cost battery. Disabling them makes the phone feel snappier and saves power at the same time.
If you have an iPhone 12 or newer with an OLED screen, enable Reduce White Point in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size. This dims bright whites without affecting contrast, which saves battery on OLED screens specifically because they use less power to display darker colors.
Turn off background app refresh for apps you do not use constantly
Background App Refresh lets apps update their content even when you are not using them. Mail checks for new messages, news apps fetch headlines, and social media apps load new posts. Each refresh uses battery. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and toggle off the apps you do not need to stay current.
Keep it on for Mail, Messages, and any app you check frequently. Turn it off for games, news apps you read once a day, and social media if you are willing to wait a few seconds for the feed to load when you open the app. The battery savings are modest per app, but they add up if you have many apps with refresh enabled.
You can also turn off Background App Refresh entirely and toggle it back on only for specific apps. This gives you the most control and usually saves the most battery.
Disable push notifications and limit notification sounds
Every notification wakes the screen, plays a sound, and vibrates the phone. Each one uses a small amount of battery. Go to Settings > Notifications and review which apps send you alerts. Turn off notifications for apps that are not urgent — games, shopping apps, and news outlets can wait until you open them.
For apps you do keep, disable sounds and vibrations in the notification settings. A silent notification still lights the screen, but it uses less power than a sound or vibration. If you have many notifications, this adds up over the course of a day.
Focus modes can also help. Set up a Focus in Settings > Focus that silences notifications from most apps during work or evening hours. This reduces the number of times your phone wakes up and uses battery.
Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you are not using them
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios search for and maintain connections constantly, even when you are not actively using them. Turning them off saves battery. Swipe into Control Center and tap the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi icons to disable them.
The trade-off is convenience: you will not get notifications from wireless headphones, and you will need to reconnect to Wi-Fi networks manually. For most people, the battery savings are worth it, especially if you are away from home or the office for most of the day. If you are at a desk with Wi-Fi nearby, leave Wi-Fi on; if you are moving between locations, turn it off.
You can also disable Bluetooth entirely in Settings > Bluetooth if you do not use wireless headphones or accessories. This saves more battery than toggling it on and off.
Check battery health and replace the battery if it is degraded
Battery capacity decreases over time. After 500 full charge cycles, most iPhone batteries retain about 80 percent of their original capacity. After three years, many batteries are at 75 to 80 percent. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Management to see your current battery health percentage.
If your battery health is below 80 percent and you have owned the phone for more than two years, a battery replacement will extend your charge longer than any setting change. Apple charges between $69 and $99 for a battery replacement depending on the model. Third-party repair shops often charge less, but Apple batteries come with a one-year warranty.
If your battery health is above 80 percent, settings changes will give you more battery life than a replacement. If it is below 50 percent, the phone may shut down unexpectedly even when the battery indicator shows 20 or 30 percent, and a replacement is the only real fix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does closing apps in the background save battery?
No. Closing apps does not save battery because they are not running in the background — they are suspended in memory. Reopening a closed app uses more battery than letting it stay suspended. Leave apps open and rely on background app refresh settings instead.
Does turning off 5G save battery?
Yes, but the savings are small for most people. 5G uses more power than LTE when actively downloading or streaming. If you rarely read large files or stream video, the difference is negligible. Go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data and select LTE if you want to disable 5G.
Will using a third-party charger damage my battery?
No, as long as it is a certified charger. Apple-certified chargers and most major brands (Anker, Belkin) are safe. Cheap uncertified chargers may overheat and degrade the battery faster. Stick with certified chargers and avoid leaving your phone plugged in overnight regularly, as constant charging at 100 percent degrades capacity over time.
Does keeping my phone cool extend battery life?
Yes. Lithium batteries lose capacity faster when warm. Avoid leaving your phone in direct sunlight, in a hot car, or in a case while charging. If your phone gets hot during normal use, turn off background app refresh and location services temporarily. Extreme heat (above 95 degrees Fahrenheit) can permanently damage the battery.
Should I charge my iPhone to 100 percent every time?
No. Charging to 80 percent and stopping extends battery lifespan. If you charge to 100 percent every day, the battery degrades faster. iPhones have an Optimized Battery Charging feature in Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Management that learns your charging patterns and stops charging at 80 percent most of the time. Enable it to slow battery degradation.