Turn on Low Power Mode to cut background drain when ready
Low Power Mode is the fastest way to extend your iPhone's battery. It reduces performance, dims the screen slightly, and stops background app refresh — the invisible work your phone does when you're not looking. On most iPhones, you reach it by opening Settings, tapping Battery, then Battery Health & Charging, then toggling Low Power Mode on. On newer models with Dynamic Island, swipe down from the top right and tap the battery icon to access it faster.
Low Power Mode cuts your battery drain by roughly 20 to 30 percent because it stops apps from updating data in the background. Email won't refresh as often. Maps won't track your location. Spotify won't pre-load songs. The trade-off is real — your phone feels slightly slower — but most people find it worth it when the battery is below 20 percent or when they know they won't have a charger for hours.
You can also set your iPhone to turn Low Power Mode on automatically at a certain battery level. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging and choose when you want it to set up. Many people set it to 20 percent so they don't have to remember.
Key Takeaways
- Low Power Mode cuts background activity and extends battery life by 20 to 30 percent, and you can set it to turn on automatically at any battery level you choose.
- Background app refresh, location services, and push notifications drain battery constantly even when you're not using the phone, and turning them off for apps you don't need saves significant power.
- Screen brightness is one of the largest battery drains on an iPhone, so enabling auto-brightness or manually lowering it to 30 to 40 percent makes a real difference.
- Closing apps in the background does not save battery, but disabling location services for specific apps does because GPS is power-hungry.
- Older batteries lose capacity over time, and if your iPhone is more than three years old, a battery health check in Settings can tell you whether replacement would help.
Disable background app refresh for apps that don't need it
Background app refresh lets apps update their data even when you're not using them. Mail checks for new messages. Weather pulls the latest forecast. News apps load stories. Each one drains battery in small amounts, but together they add up. You don't need to turn it off entirely — just for the apps that don't matter to you.
Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You'll see a list of every app on your phone. Toggle off the ones you don't need to update constantly. Keep it on for Mail, Messages, and any app that sends you time-sensitive notifications. Turn it off for games, news apps, and social media unless you specifically want them refreshing in the background.
This change alone can add 2 to 4 hours to your battery life depending on how many apps you disable. The effect is most noticeable if you have a lot of apps installed and you're not actively using most of them.
Lower screen brightness or enable auto-brightness
Your screen is the single largest battery drain on an iPhone. A bright display uses far more power than anything else running on the phone. The easiest fix is to let your iPhone adjust brightness automatically based on the light around you.
Go to Settings > Display & Brightness and toggle on Auto-Brightness. Your phone will dim in low light and brighten in sunlight without you having to touch anything. If you prefer manual control, drag the brightness slider down to 30 or 40 percent for everyday use. You can always raise it temporarily if you're outside in bright sun.
Lowering brightness from maximum to 40 percent can add 3 to 5 hours to your battery life. It's the single most effective change most people can make. If you find the screen too dim, try 50 percent first — the difference between 50 and 40 percent is noticeable, but the battery savings are still substantial.
Turn off location services for apps that don't need it
GPS is power-hungry. It's one of the few features that drains battery faster than the screen. You need location on for Maps and weather, but most other apps don't actually require it — they just ask for it.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. You'll see every app that has asked for permission to know where you are. Tap each app and choose "Never" or "While Using" instead of "Always." "While Using" means the app can see your location only when it's open. "Always" means it tracks you in the background, which drains battery constantly.
Social media apps, shopping apps, and games almost never need your location. Maps and weather should stay on "While Using" or "Always" depending on whether you want them to work in the background. This change saves 1 to 2 hours of battery life for most people.
Disable push notifications and fetch less frequently
Every time an app sends you a notification, your phone wakes up, lights the screen, and vibrates or plays a sound. If you have dozens of apps sending notifications, your phone is waking up dozens of times a day. Each wake-up uses battery.
Go to Settings > Notifications and review which apps can send you notifications. Turn off notifications for apps you don't need to hear from when ready — news apps, social media, games, shopping apps. Keep notifications on for Messages, Mail, and phone calls.
You can also control how often Mail fetches new messages. Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data. Change it from "Push" (when ready) to "Every 30 Minutes" or "Hourly." Push uses more battery because your phone is constantly listening for new mail. Fetching on a schedule uses less power because it checks at set times instead.
Check battery health if your iPhone is older than three years
iPhone batteries lose capacity over time. After two or three years of daily charging, a battery that once lasted all day might last only until afternoon. You can see how much capacity your battery has lost by going to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging.
Look at the "Maximum Capacity" number. If it's above 80 percent, your battery is still healthy. If it's between 70 and 80 percent, it's aging but still usable. If it's below 70 percent, your battery is degraded enough that you might notice shorter battery life even with all the settings above turned on.
If your battery health is below 70 percent and you're frustrated with battery life, replacing the battery is usually cheaper and faster than buying a new phone. Apple and many third-party repair shops offer battery replacement. The cost varies, but it's typically between $50 and $100 depending on your iPhone model.
Close apps running in the background — but know it doesn't help much
Many people swipe up to close apps thinking it saves battery. It doesn't, or at least not in the way they think. iOS is designed to pause apps when you're not using them. A paused app uses almost no battery. Closing an app and reopening it later actually uses more battery because your phone has to reload it from scratch.
The only time closing an app helps is if it's actively running and misbehaving — draining battery even when you're not using it. If you notice one app consistently draining your battery, close it and restart your phone. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Usage to see which apps have used the most power in the last 24 hours or the last 10 days. If one app is using far more than the others, that's the one to investigate.
For normal use, leave apps alone. They'll pause themselves. Closing them repeatedly is busywork that doesn't extend battery life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth save battery?
Turning them off saves a small amount — maybe 5 to 10 percent — but the savings are minimal compared to screen brightness or background app refresh. Keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on if you use them regularly. Wi-Fi actually uses less battery than cellular data, so leaving Wi-Fi on when you're home saves battery compared to using cellular.
Should I charge my iPhone to 100 percent every time?
Modern iPhones are designed to handle daily charging to 100 percent without damage. However, if you want to extend battery lifespan over years, keeping your phone between 20 and 80 percent most of the time slows degradation. For everyday use, charge however is convenient. If you're keeping your phone for five or more years, occasional charging to 100 percent is fine, but avoid leaving it plugged in at 100 percent overnight regularly.
Does dark mode save battery on my iPhone?
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 a newer model and use dark mode, the savings are real but small — usually 3 to 5 percent. Screen brightness matters far more than dark mode.
What's the difference between Low Power Mode and Battery Saver mode?
Low Power Mode is Apple's official feature on iPhones. There is no separate "Battery Saver" mode — Low Power Mode is what you're looking for. Some Android phones have a Battery Saver mode, but iPhones use Low Power Mode exclusively.
Can I use Low Power Mode all the time?
Yes, you can leave Low Power Mode on permanently if you don't mind the slight slowdown. Many people do this and only turn it off when they need full performance for gaming or video editing. There's no harm to your phone from running Low Power Mode constantly.