Turn on Low Power Mode to cut background activity
Low Power Mode is the single fastest way to extend your battery life. When you turn it on, your iPhone slows down some processes, reduces animation speed, and limits background app refresh. Most people see their battery last 1 to 2 hours longer with this setting active.
To turn it on, open Settings, tap Battery, then toggle on Low Power Mode. You can also swipe up from the bottom of your screen (or down from the top right on newer models) to reach Control Center, then tap the battery icon. Your iPhone will remind you when the battery drops to 20 percent, but you can turn it on anytime—there is no penalty for using it all day.
Low Power Mode stays on until you manually turn it off or charge your phone to 80 percent. If you want it to turn on automatically at a certain battery level, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Device Management and choose your preferred threshold.
Key Takeaways
- Low Power Mode extends battery life by 1 to 2 hours and can be turned on at any battery level without harming your phone.
- Turning off location services, Bluetooth, and background app refresh for apps you do not actively use saves significant power throughout the day.
- Screen brightness and display settings consume the most battery power, so lowering brightness or enabling auto-brightness makes a real difference.
- Closing apps running in the background and disabling push notifications for non-essential apps reduces the constant drain on your battery.
- Keeping your iPhone cool and updating to the latest iOS version helps the battery perform at its rated capacity.
Reduce screen brightness and enable auto-brightness
Your screen is the biggest battery drain on an iPhone. Lowering the brightness level when ready extends how long your phone lasts. If you manually set brightness to 30 or 40 percent instead of maximum, you will notice a meaningful difference by the end of the day.
A better approach is to turn on auto-brightness, which adjusts your screen to match the light around you. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, then toggle on Auto-Brightness. Your phone will dim in low light and brighten in sunlight without you having to adjust it manually. This keeps brightness only as high as you actually need.
You can also enable Dark Mode if you have an iPhone 12 or newer with an OLED screen. Dark Mode uses less power on OLED displays because black pixels require less energy than white ones. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness and choose Dark. On older iPhones with LCD screens, Dark Mode makes no battery difference.
Turn off location services for apps that do not need it
Location services use GPS, Bluetooth, and cellular data to pinpoint your location. Apps like maps and weather need it, but many apps request location permission and then check your position constantly in the background. Disabling location for apps that do not require it saves battery throughout the day.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. You will see a list of every app that has requested location access. Tap each app and choose "Never" or "While Using" instead of "Always." "While Using" means the app can see your location only when you have it open. For most apps—social media, games, shopping apps—"Never" is the right choice.
Keep location on "Always" only for apps you genuinely need to track you, such as Find My Friends or a navigation app you use regularly. For everything else, switching to "While Using" or "Never" removes a constant background drain.
Disable background app refresh and push notifications
Background App Refresh allows apps to update their content even when you are not using them. This is useful for email and messaging apps, but many apps refresh constantly and drain your battery for no reason. Turning it off for apps you do not need to stay current saves power.
Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You will see a toggle at the top to turn it off entirely, or you can scroll down and toggle it off for individual apps. Keep it on for email, messages, and weather if you want those to update while your phone is locked. Turn it off for social media, games, and shopping apps.
Similarly, go to Settings > Notifications and review which apps send you push notifications. Each notification wakes your screen and uses power. Tap each app and choose "Allow Notifications" off, or switch to "Badges" only so you see a number on the app icon without the phone lighting up. This is especially important for apps that send frequent notifications throughout the day.
Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you are not using them
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi both search for connections constantly, even when you are not actively using them. If you spend most of your day in one location with a strong Wi-Fi signal, leaving Wi-Fi on saves battery because your phone does not have to use cellular data. But if you move between locations or do not have a reliable Wi-Fi network, turning Wi-Fi off prevents your phone from constantly searching.
The same applies to Bluetooth. If you do not use wireless headphones or a smartwatch, turn Bluetooth off in Control Center. If you do use Bluetooth devices, leave it on—the power cost of Bluetooth is lower than the cost of using your phone's speaker or wired headphones for everything.
Go to Settings > Wi-Fi or Settings > Bluetooth to turn these off permanently, or use Control Center (swipe up from the bottom or down from the top right) to toggle them on and off throughout the day based on what you need.
Keep your iPhone cool and avoid extreme temperatures
Batteries work less efficiently when they are hot or very cold. If your iPhone gets warm—from direct sunlight, a hot car, or intensive use—its battery drains faster and may even shut down temporarily to protect itself. Keeping your phone cool helps the battery last longer and perform better over time.
Remove your phone from direct sunlight, avoid leaving it in a hot car, and take breaks from demanding apps like games or video streaming. If your phone feels warm to the touch, close apps and let it cool down before using it again. In cold weather, keep your phone in an inside pocket close to your body rather than in an outside pocket.
You do not need to do anything special—just avoid leaving your phone in extreme heat or cold for extended periods. Normal room temperature is ideal for battery performance.
Update to the latest iOS version
Apple releases iOS updates that often include battery optimizations and fixes for power-draining bugs. If your iPhone is running an older version of iOS, updating to the latest version may improve battery life. Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check whether an update is available.
Updates also include security patches and performance improvements, so keeping your iPhone current is worth doing for reasons beyond battery life. Plug your phone in and connect to Wi-Fi before updating, as the process uses power and data.
Close apps running in the background and restart your phone
Apps that stay open in the background consume battery even when you are not looking at them. Closing apps you are done using removes that drain. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen (or swipe down from the top right on newer models) to see all open apps, then swipe up on each one you want to close.
If your battery is draining faster than usual, restart your iPhone. A restart clears temporary files and stops misbehaving apps from running in the background. Hold the power button and volume button together until the power-off slider appears, then drag it to turn off your phone. Wait 10 seconds, then press the power button again to turn it back on.
If battery drain remains unusually fast after a restart, go to Settings > Battery to see which apps are using the most power. If one app is using far more than others, that app may have a bug. Try closing it, restarting your phone, or uninstalling and reinstalling the app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does using Low Power Mode damage my battery?
No. Low Power Mode slows down your phone temporarily but does not harm the battery itself. You can use it every day without any long-term damage. Your battery's lifespan depends on how many full charge cycles it goes through, not on whether Low Power Mode is on.
Will turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth really save that much battery?
It depends on your situation. If you have a strong Wi-Fi network nearby, leaving Wi-Fi on uses less power than cellular data, so turning it off would actually drain your battery faster. If you move between locations without reliable Wi-Fi, turning it off saves power. For Bluetooth, the savings are smaller unless you have it on but are not using any wireless devices.
What should I do if my battery drains in a few hours?
First, restart your phone. Then check Settings > Battery to see which apps are using the most power. If one app is using far more than normal, try closing it or uninstalling it. If the problem continues, your battery may be degraded and need replacement—go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Device Management to check the battery's maximum capacity.
Is it bad to leave my phone plugged in overnight?
Modern iPhones are designed to handle overnight charging safely. Your phone stops charging at 100 percent and maintains that level, so leaving it plugged in does not damage the battery. However, keeping your battery between 20 and 80 percent most of the time does extend its overall lifespan, so if you want maximum longevity, unplug it once it reaches 100 percent.
Does closing apps in the background actually help?
Closing apps you are done using does help, but closing apps you plan to use again soon does not save much power—your phone will just reload them. The real benefit comes from closing apps that are misbehaving or using power in the background when you do not need them. Check Settings > Battery first to see which apps are actually draining power.