The most common reasons your iPhone battery empties fast
Your iPhone battery drains quickly because of one or more things running in the background, using your screen at high brightness, or keeping location services and wireless radios on constantly. The single biggest culprit is usually a single app—often one you use rarely—that is refreshing data, playing audio, or tracking your location even when you are not looking at it. The second most common cause is your screen brightness set to automatic or high, which can drain 20 to 30 percent of your battery in a few hours of active use.
Unlike a computer, your iPhone does not show you a straightforward list of what is eating power. Instead, you have to check the Battery Health settings to see which apps consumed the most energy in the last 24 hours or the last 10 days, then decide whether each one needs to run in the background. This takes five minutes and usually points directly to the problem.
Key Takeaways
- Check Settings > Battery to see which apps used the most power in the last 24 hours or 10 days, which usually reveals the culprit when ready.
- Background app refresh—the setting that lets apps update data when you are not using them—drains battery on apps you may not need to run constantly.
- Screen brightness on automatic or high, location services running for multiple apps, and Bluetooth or Wi-Fi left on drain significant power even when you are not actively using your phone.
- Turning off background refresh for specific apps, lowering screen brightness, and disabling location for apps that do not need it are the fastest ways to extend battery life.
- Battery health degrades over time; if your iPhone is more than three years old and drains quickly even after these changes, the battery itself may need replacement.
How to check which apps are draining your battery
Open Settings, then tap Battery. You will see a graph showing your battery level over the last 24 hours. Below that, tap Battery Usage by App. The list shows every app and the percentage of your total battery it consumed. The app at the top used the most power. If one app is using 30 percent or more of your battery and you barely use it, that is almost certainly your problem.
You can also tap Last 10 Days at the top to see a longer pattern. If the same app appears at the top every day, it is running constantly in the background. If different apps appear each day, your battery drain is spread across multiple sources—which usually means background refresh, location services, or screen brightness is the issue rather than one misbehaving app.
On iPhone 15 and newer, you can also see Battery Health under Settings > Battery. This shows the maximum charge your battery can hold compared to when it was new. If it is below 80 percent, your battery is aging and will drain faster than it did originally, even if no single app is the problem.
Turn off background app refresh for apps that do not need it
Background app refresh is the setting that lets apps update their data, check for messages, or refresh content even when you are not looking at them. Mail, Messages, and Maps need this to work properly. Most other apps do not. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You will see a list of every app on your phone with a toggle next to it.
Turn off the toggle for any app you do not need to update constantly. Social media apps, news apps, games, and shopping apps are safe to turn off—they will still work normally when you open them, they just will not refresh in the background. Mail and Messages should stay on if you want notifications. Maps should stay on if you use it for navigation. After you turn off background refresh for five to ten apps, check your battery drain over the next day. Most people see a 10 to 20 percent improvement.
Lower your screen brightness and turn off automatic brightness
Your screen is the single largest power consumer on your iPhone. If you have brightness set to automatic, your phone is constantly measuring the light around you and adjusting the screen, which itself uses power. If you have it set to high, you are powering a very bright display all day.
Go to Settings > Display & Brightness. Turn off Auto-Brightness. Then set your brightness slider to around 40 to 50 percent—low enough that you can still see the screen indoors and in dim light, but not so low that you strain your eyes. You can always raise it temporarily when you are outside in bright sun. This single change often cuts screen power use by 30 to 40 percent.
If you have an iPhone 12 or newer with an always-on display, that feature also drains battery. If your battery is draining very quickly, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Always-On Display and turn it off temporarily to see if it helps. You can turn it back on once you have solved the main drain problem.
Check location services and disable it for apps that do not need it
Location services use your phone's GPS, which is a power-hungry radio. Some apps need it—Maps, weather apps, and fitness apps that track your route. Most do not. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. You will see a list of every app that has asked for permission to use your location, with an icon showing how often it has used it in the last 24 hours.
For each app, tap it and choose Never instead of Always or While Using. Apps like Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, and most games do not need your location. Weather and Maps should stay on. Fitness apps should stay on if you use them for running or cycling. After you disable location for five to ten apps, your battery drain should improve noticeably within a day.
Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you are not using them
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios stay on and searching for devices or networks even when you are not actively using them. If you are not connected to a Bluetooth device or a Wi-Fi network, these radios are wasting power. Swipe down from the top right of your screen to open Control Center. Tap the Bluetooth icon to turn it off, and tap the Wi-Fi icon to turn it off. You can turn them back on whenever you need them.
If you use Bluetooth headphones or a smartwatch regularly, leave Bluetooth on—the power savings from turning it off are small compared to the inconvenience. The same applies to Wi-Fi if you are on a home or work network most of the day. But if you are out and about and not using either, turning them off for a few hours will noticeably extend your battery life.
When your battery itself is the problem
If your iPhone is three years old or older, the battery itself may be degraded. Lithium batteries lose capacity over time—every iPhone battery can hold less charge after 500 full charge cycles (roughly one year of normal use). After three years, most batteries are at 70 to 80 percent of their original capacity. After four years, many are at 60 to 70 percent.
Check your battery health by going to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. If Maximum Capacity is below 80 percent and you have already turned off background refresh, lowered brightness, and disabled location services, your battery is aging and will drain faster no matter what you do. Apple offers battery replacement for a fee at any Apple Store or authorized service provider. The cost varies by iPhone model but is typically between $50 and $100. If your iPhone is still under warranty or AppleCare+, the replacement may be covered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my battery drain faster in cold weather?
Cold temperatures slow the chemical reactions inside your battery, making it deliver power less efficiently. Your iPhone may show a low battery warning or shut down even though the battery is not actually damaged. Warm your phone up indoors and the battery will recover. If it drains quickly in normal room temperature, the problem is not the weather.
Does closing apps in the app switcher save battery?
No. Closing apps does almost nothing to save battery because apps that are not on your screen use very little power. The only exception is if an app is actively playing audio or video in the background—in that case, closing it helps. For everything else, focus on turning off background refresh and location services instead.
Will turning on Low Power Mode help?
Yes, but only temporarily. Low Power Mode reduces screen brightness, limits background refresh, and slows down your phone's processor. It can extend your battery by a few hours, but it is a band-aid. If your battery drains quickly even in Low Power Mode, you have a deeper problem—either an app that is misbehaving or a battery that is aging. Find and fix the root cause instead of relying on Low Power Mode every day.
Can a software update fix battery drain?
Sometimes. Apple occasionally releases updates that fix bugs in apps or the operating system that were causing excessive power use. If your battery drain started suddenly after an update, wait a few days—your phone may be indexing files or running background tasks from the update. If it continues after a week, the problem is not the update itself.
Is it bad to charge my iPhone every night?
No. Modern iPhones are designed to charge overnight. Lithium batteries degrade from charge cycles (full drains and recharges), not from sitting plugged in. Charging to 100 percent every night is normal and will not significantly shorten your battery life. The battery will still last three to four years before you notice a real decline in capacity.