Turn on Low Power Mode to cut battery drain by up to 25 percent
Low Power Mode is the single fastest way to extend your iPhone's battery life. When you turn it on, your phone reduces processor speed, limits background activity, and dims the display slightly. Most people notice the difference when ready — your phone stays responsive, but it uses less power.
To turn it on, open Settings, tap Battery, and toggle Low Power Mode to on. Your battery icon turns yellow when it is active. You can also swipe up from the bottom of your screen (or down from the top right on newer models) to open Control Center and tap the battery icon there. Many people set their phone to turn on Low Power Mode automatically at 20 percent battery — go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Device Management and choose your threshold.
Low Power Mode works on all iPhones running iOS 9 or later. The tradeoff is real but small: some background tasks pause, and a few features like iCloud Photos syncing slow down. For most people, the battery gain outweighs the minor inconvenience.
Key Takeaways
- Low Power Mode cuts battery drain noticeably and turns on with one tap in Settings or Control Center.
- Screen brightness is often the biggest battery drain on an iPhone, so lowering it or turning on auto-brightness saves hours of use.
- Background app refresh lets apps update even when you are not using them; turning it off for apps you do not need saves significant battery.
- Location services, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi drain battery when left on constantly, so turn them off when you do not need them.
- Older batteries lose capacity over time; if your iPhone is more than three years old and drains quickly, a battery replacement may be cheaper than a new phone.
Lower your screen brightness or turn on auto-brightness
Your display is usually the biggest battery drain on an iPhone. A bright screen uses far more power than a dim one, so reducing brightness is one of the fastest ways to extend battery life.
Open Settings, tap Display & Brightness, and drag the brightness slider to the left. Most people find 30 to 40 percent brightness comfortable indoors and still readable. If you want your phone to adjust brightness automatically based on the light around you, toggle on Auto-Brightness in the same menu. Your phone uses the ambient light sensor to dim the screen in dark rooms and brighten it in sunlight, which saves battery without you having to adjust manually.
If you have an iPhone 12 or newer with an OLED screen, you can also enable Dark Mode — Settings > Display & Brightness > Dark Mode. Dark pixels use less power on OLED screens than light ones, so a dark theme can add an hour or two to your battery life depending on how much time you spend on your phone.
Turn off background app refresh for apps you do not use often
Background app refresh lets apps update their content even when you are not looking at them. Mail checks for new messages, news apps fetch headlines, and weather apps pull the latest forecast. This happens constantly in the background, and it drains your battery.
Go to Settings, tap General, then Background App Refresh. You will see a list of every app on your phone. Toggle off background refresh for apps you do not need to stay current — for example, you might turn it off for games, shopping apps, or news apps you check only once a day. Keep it on for Mail, Messages, and other apps where you want real-time updates. Turning off background refresh for five to ten apps can add 30 minutes to an hour to your battery life.
You can also turn off background refresh entirely by toggling the switch at the top of the list, though that stops all apps from updating in the background.
Disable location services when you do not need them
Location services use your phone's GPS, which is power-hungry. Apps like Maps, weather, and social media request your location constantly, and your phone works to pinpoint you even when you are not using those apps.
Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security, then Location Services. You will see every app that has asked for your location. For most apps, you can change the setting from "Always" or "While Using" to "Never." Maps and navigation apps need location while you are using them, so leave those on "While Using." For apps like Facebook, Instagram, or weather, switch to "Never" unless you specifically want them to tag your location or show local content. Disabling location for apps you do not need can save 15 to 30 minutes of battery life per day.
You can also turn off Location Services entirely by toggling the switch at the top of the menu, though that will break Maps and other navigation apps until you turn it back on.
Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you are not connected to a device or network
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi both search for devices and networks to connect to, which uses power. If you are not actively using them, turning them off saves battery.
Swipe up from the bottom of your screen (or down from the top right on iPhone X and newer) to open Control Center. Tap the Bluetooth icon to turn it off, and tap the Wi-Fi icon to turn it off. Your phone will no longer search for networks or devices, and you will save 10 to 20 minutes of battery life per day. When you need them again, just tap the icons to turn them back on.
If you use Bluetooth headphones or a smartwatch regularly, you might want to leave Bluetooth on. In that case, focus on turning off Wi-Fi when you are away from home or the office, since your phone will use cellular data instead — which uses less power than actively searching for Wi-Fi networks.
Check your battery health and replace the battery if it is degraded
iPhone batteries lose capacity over time. After two to three years of daily charging, your battery may hold only 80 percent of its original charge. If your phone drains much faster than it used to, the battery itself may be the problem.
Go to Settings, tap Battery, then Battery Health & Device Management. You will see a number showing your battery's maximum capacity — for example, "85% maximum capacity." If that number is below 80 percent, your battery is degraded and replacing it will noticeably extend your battery life. Apple charges between $69 and $99 for a battery replacement depending on your iPhone model, which is usually cheaper than buying a new phone.
If your battery is below 80 percent, you will also see a message saying your phone may experience unexpected shutdowns. This means your battery can no longer deliver the power your phone needs under load, even though it still holds a charge. A replacement battery fixes this problem.
Close apps running in the background and restart your phone weekly
Apps sometimes get stuck running in the background and drain battery even though you are not using them. Closing them is straightforward: swipe up from the bottom of your screen to see all open apps, then swipe up on each one to close it. This does not uninstall the app — it just closes it so it stops running.
Restarting your phone once a week also helps. Power off your iPhone completely, wait 10 seconds, then power it back on. This clears temporary files and resets background processes, which often improves battery life. To restart, go to Settings > General > Shut Down, or press and hold the power button and volume button together until the power-off slider appears.
Neither of these is a permanent fix — apps will start running again as you use them — but both can add 30 minutes to an hour to your battery life in the short term.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth really save that much battery?
It depends on how often your phone searches for networks and devices. If you are in an area with weak Wi-Fi signals, your phone works harder to find a connection, which drains battery faster. Turning Wi-Fi off in those situations saves noticeable battery. Bluetooth is similar — if you have a device nearby that your phone keeps trying to connect to, turning Bluetooth off helps. In areas with strong signals and no nearby devices, the savings are smaller.
Will Low Power Mode slow down my phone noticeably?
Low Power Mode reduces processor speed, so demanding tasks like gaming or video editing will feel slower. For everyday tasks like texting, email, and web browsing, most people do not notice a difference. If you do notice slowness, you can turn Low Power Mode off temporarily for the task, then turn it back on.
Is it bad to leave my phone on Low Power Mode all the time?
No. Low Power Mode is safe to use continuously. It does not damage your battery or phone. The only downside is that some background tasks pause, so you might miss notifications from apps that do not update as often. If that bothers you, turn it off; otherwise, leaving it on is fine.
How often should I replace my iPhone battery?
Apple recommends replacing your battery when it drops below 80 percent maximum capacity. For most people, that happens after two to three years of daily use. If you use your phone less frequently, it may take longer. Replacing the battery costs $69 to $99 and usually extends your phone's usable life by another two to three years.
Does dark mode really save battery on all iPhones?
Dark mode saves battery only on iPhones with OLED screens — iPhone 12 and newer. On older iPhones with LCD screens, dark mode makes no difference to battery life. If you have an iPhone 11 or earlier, focus on lowering brightness instead.