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 performance, limits background activity, and dims the display slightly—but you can still use all your apps and features normally. Most people notice the difference only in slightly slower app launches.
To turn on Low Power Mode, open Settings, tap Battery, and toggle on Low Power Mode. Your phone will show a yellow battery icon at the top when it is active. You can also add Low Power Mode to your Control Center (swipe down from the top right, tap the three dots, then add Battery) so you can turn it on with one tap whenever you need it.
Low Power Mode works best when you turn it on before your battery drops below 20 percent. If you wait until your phone shuts down, you lose the hours you could have gained. Many people leave it on all day during work weeks and turn it off only when they know they will be near a charger.
Key Takeaways
- Low Power Mode reduces battery drain by up to 25 percent and can be toggled on in Settings or added to Control Center for quick access.
- Turning off location services, background app refresh, and push notifications for apps you do not actively use saves significant battery without affecting daily function.
- Reducing screen brightness and enabling Auto-Brightness prevents your display from draining battery faster than any other single component.
- Closing apps running in the background, disabling Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use, and turning off visual effects all contribute to longer battery life.
- Keeping your iPhone software up to date and avoiding extreme heat or cold preserves battery health over months and years.
Reduce screen brightness and enable Auto-Brightness
Your display uses more battery power than any other component on your iPhone. Reducing brightness is one of the most effective ways to extend battery life, especially if you spend hours looking at your screen each day.
Open Settings, tap Display & Brightness, and drag the brightness slider to the left. A setting around 30 to 40 percent works for most indoor environments. If you find yourself adjusting brightness throughout the day, enable Auto-Brightness instead—your phone will adjust the screen automatically based on the light around you, which prevents you from running the display brighter than necessary.
You can also enable Dark Mode in Display & Brightness settings. On iPhones with OLED screens (iPhone 12 and newer), dark backgrounds use less power because the pixels are actually off when displaying black. On older iPhones with LCD screens, the difference is minimal, but dark mode still helps slightly.
Turn off location services for apps that do not need it
Apps that track your location constantly drain your battery because they keep your phone's GPS and wireless radios active. You do not need to turn off location services entirely—just disable it for apps that do not actually require it.
Open Settings, tap Privacy & Security, then Location Services. You will see a list of every app that has requested location access. Tap each app and choose "Never" for apps like social media, news, or games that do not need to know where you are. Keep it on "While Using" or "Always" only for maps, weather, and other apps where location is genuinely useful.
Pay special attention to apps set to "Always"—these run location tracking even when you are not using them. Unless an app truly needs to track you in the background (like a fitness app or family locator), change it to "While Using" instead.
Disable background app refresh and push notifications selectively
Background App Refresh lets apps update their content even when you are not looking at them. This is convenient, but it drains battery constantly. You do not need to turn it off completely—just disable it for apps you do not check frequently.
Open Settings, tap General, then Background App Refresh. You will see a list of apps. Toggle off Background App Refresh for social media, news apps, games, and any app you check only occasionally. Keep it on for email, messaging, and calendar apps if you want notifications to arrive promptly.
Similarly, push notifications drain battery by waking your phone's screen and running background processes. Open Settings, tap Notifications, and review which apps send you notifications. Turn off notifications for apps that do not need to interrupt you—you can still check them manually whenever you want.
Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you are not using them
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios search for connections constantly, even when you are not actively using them. If you spend most of your day in one location with a stable Wi-Fi network, leaving Wi-Fi on is usually fine. But if you move between locations or do not use Bluetooth devices regularly, turning these off saves noticeable battery.
Swipe down from the top right to open Control Center and tap the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi icons to turn them off. You can also disable them permanently in Settings: go to Settings, tap Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and toggle off. Your phone will reconnect automatically when you need them—just tap the icon in Control Center to turn them back on.
If you use AirPods or other Bluetooth devices regularly, keep Bluetooth on but check Settings > Bluetooth to see if any devices are connected when you are not using them. Disconnect devices you are not actively wearing.
Close apps running in the background and disable visual effects
Apps left open in the background continue to use processing power and battery. Close apps you are not using by swiping up from the bottom of the screen (or swiping down from the top right on newer iPhones) and swiping up on the app preview.
You can also reduce battery drain by disabling visual effects. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, then Display & Text Size, and toggle on Reduce Motion. This turns off animations when you open apps and switch between screens. The difference is small but adds up over a full day.
Another setting that helps is Reduce Transparency, also in Display & Text Size. This simplifies the visual effects behind text and windows, which requires less processing power.
Keep your iPhone software up to date and avoid extreme temperatures
Apple releases software updates that often include battery optimizations. Open Settings, tap General, then Software Update to check for updates. Install them as soon as they are available—they frequently improve battery performance.
Temperature also affects battery life significantly. Avoid leaving your iPhone in direct sunlight, in a hot car, or in freezing conditions for extended periods. Extreme heat or cold reduces battery capacity temporarily and can damage the battery permanently over time. If your phone feels hot, close apps and let it cool down before using it again.
If your battery drains much faster than it used to, even with these settings enabled, your battery may be aging. Open Settings, tap Battery, then Battery Health & Charging to see your battery's maximum capacity. If it has dropped below 80 percent, your battery is degrading and may need replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Low Power Mode slow down my iPhone noticeably?
Low Power Mode slows down app launches and processing slightly, but most people do not notice during everyday use like texting, email, or web browsing. Gaming and video editing will feel slower. You can turn it off anytime if you need full performance, then turn it back on later.
Will turning off location services break maps or weather apps?
No. Maps and weather still work—they just use your IP address or require you to search for a location manually instead of detecting where you are automatically. You can keep location on "While Using" for these apps so they work normally when you open them, but do not track you in the background.
Can I use my iPhone normally with these battery settings on?
Yes. Low Power Mode, reduced brightness, and disabled background refresh do not prevent you from calling, texting, browsing, or using any app. You may notice slightly slower performance in Low Power Mode and slightly delayed notifications, but your phone remains fully functional.
How often should I charge my iPhone to keep the battery healthy?
Charge whenever it is convenient—modern iPhone batteries are designed to handle daily charging. Avoid letting your battery drop to zero regularly, and avoid leaving your phone plugged in at 100 percent for days at a time. Charging to 80 percent and letting it drop to 20 percent is ideal for long-term battery health, but daily use does not require this.
Does closing apps in the background actually save battery?
Closing apps saves some battery, but the effect is smaller than most people think. iOS is designed to pause apps automatically when you switch away from them. Closing apps manually helps most when you have many apps open at once or when a specific app is misbehaving and draining battery in the background.