The fastest way to improve battery life is to turn on Low Power Mode and reduce screen brightness
Low Power Mode cuts background activity, reduces animation, and limits performance until your battery reaches 20 percent. You turn it on in Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode, and it extends battery life by roughly one to three hours depending on your usage. You can also enable it manually at any charge level—you do not have to wait until the warning appears.
Screen brightness drains more battery than almost any other setting. Lowering it to 30 to 40 percent, or enabling Auto-Brightness in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, makes a visible difference in how long your phone lasts through the day. If you use your phone outdoors, you can keep Auto-Brightness on and manually raise it only when needed.
These two changes alone—Low Power Mode and reduced brightness—will extend a typical day's use by several hours. If you need longer battery life, the sections below show what else drains power and how to control it.
Key Takeaways
- Low Power Mode and reduced screen brightness are the two fastest ways to extend battery life, adding several hours to a typical day.
- Background app refresh, location services, and push notifications drain battery even when you are not using your phone, and you can turn them off selectively.
- Older batteries lose capacity over time; you can check your battery health in Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging.
- Extreme heat or cold damages battery performance temporarily, so keeping your phone at room temperature helps it hold a charge longer.
- Turning off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular data when you are not using them saves battery, though the convenience cost may outweigh the gain for most users.
Turn off background app refresh for apps you do not use constantly
Apps refresh in the background even when you are not looking at them—they check for new messages, update content, and sync data. This happens continuously and drains battery. You can turn it off globally or app by app in Settings > General > Background App Refresh.
The most practical approach is to leave it on for apps you check regularly (Messages, Mail, Maps) and turn it off for everything else. Social media apps, games, and news apps do not need to refresh in the background; they will update when you open them. Turning off background refresh for five to ten apps can add 30 minutes to 1.5 hours to your battery life, depending on how many apps were running.
Disable location services for apps that do not need it
Location services use GPS, Bluetooth, and cellular data to pinpoint your location. Apps request this permission constantly—weather apps, maps, social media, and fitness trackers all want to know where you are. GPS drains battery faster than almost any other feature.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. You will see a list of every app that has requested location access. For most apps, change the setting from "Always" or "While Using" to "Never." Maps and navigation apps need it while you are driving. Weather and fitness apps can use "While Using" so they only access location when you open them. Turning off location for apps that do not need it can extend battery life by one to three hours.
Reduce or turn off push notifications
Every notification wakes your phone's screen and processor. If you receive dozens of notifications per hour from social media, news, and messaging apps, your phone is working constantly even when you are not touching it. Go to Settings > Notifications and review which apps send notifications.
Turn off notifications for apps that are not urgent—news apps, social media, and games do not need to alert you in real time. Keep notifications on for Messages, Mail, Phone, and Calendar. You can also set notifications to "Deliver Quietly" so they arrive without sound or vibration, which uses less power than a full alert. Reducing notifications by half can add 30 minutes to one hour to your battery life.
Check your battery health and replace it if capacity has dropped below 80 percent
Batteries lose capacity as they age. After 500 full charge cycles (roughly one to two years of normal use), most iPhone batteries drop to 80 percent of their original capacity. At that point, your phone will not hold a charge as long, and no setting change will fix it.
Check your battery health in Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. If the "Maximum Capacity" number is below 80 percent, your battery is degraded. Apple offers battery replacement at an Apple Store or authorized service provider. The cost varies by model but is typically between $50 and $100. If your phone is still under warranty or AppleCare+, the replacement may be covered. A new battery will restore your phone to near its original battery life.
Keep your phone at room temperature to avoid temporary battery drain
Lithium batteries perform poorly in cold and heat. In temperatures below 50°F (10°C) or above 95°F (35°C), your battery will drain faster and your phone may shut down unexpectedly, even if the battery percentage is not low. This is temporary—once the phone warms up or cools down, normal performance returns.
If you use your phone outdoors in winter or leave it in a hot car, expect shorter battery life that day. Keep your phone in a pocket or bag to insulate it from extreme temperatures. If your phone gets very hot during normal use (not just from sun exposure), it may have a hardware problem and should be checked by Apple.
Disable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular data only if you are not using them
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular radios do use battery power, but the difference is smaller than most people think. Turning them off saves 15 to 45 minutes per day for most users. However, the convenience cost is high—you lose notifications, cannot make calls, and cannot browse the web.
If you are in airplane mode or away from service for hours, turning off these radios makes sense. For normal daily use, the battery savings do not justify the loss of connectivity. If you do want to disable them, use Control Center (swipe down from the top right) to toggle Bluetooth and Wi-Fi off. Cellular data is harder to disable without losing phone service, so it is usually not worth turning off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does closing apps in the background save battery?
No. Closing apps does not save battery because apps in the background use very little power. iOS suspends apps you are not using, so they do not drain the battery. Closing and reopening apps actually uses more power because your phone has to reload them from storage. Leave apps in the background and focus on Low Power Mode and screen brightness instead.
Should I charge my iPhone every night?
Modern iPhones are designed to charge overnight without damage. iOS 13 and later include "Optimized Battery Charging," which slows charging to 80 percent and waits until you wake up to finish. You can enable this in Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. Charging overnight is safe and will not significantly degrade your battery faster than daytime charging.
Does using Wi-Fi instead of cellular data save battery?
Yes, slightly. Wi-Fi uses less power than cellular data because the radio does not have to work as hard to maintain a connection. The difference is typically 10 to 20 minutes per day. If you are on Wi-Fi anyway, leave it on. If you have to choose between Wi-Fi and cellular, Wi-Fi is the more efficient option.
What is the best battery percentage to keep my phone at?
Lithium batteries last longest when kept between 20 and 80 percent charge. Letting your battery drop to zero or charging it to 100 percent every day will degrade it faster. If you charge overnight, iOS Optimized Battery Charging will help by pausing at 80 percent. For daily use, charging to 80 and letting it drop to 20 is ideal, but charging to 100 is safe and will not cause when ready damage.
Can I use a third-party charger without damaging my battery?
Yes, as long as the charger is certified by Apple or meets USB-C or Lightning standards. Cheap, uncertified chargers may deliver inconsistent power and can damage your battery or phone. Use an Apple charger, or buy a third-party charger from a reputable brand that lists USB-C or Lightning certification. The charger itself does not degrade your battery—age and charge cycles do.