The most common reasons your iPhone loses battery quickly
Your iPhone's battery drains fast because of one or more of these things: apps running in the background, screen brightness set too high, location services turned on for apps that don't need it, or a battery that has straightforward aged and lost capacity. The culprit is rarely the phone itself—it's almost always software settings or an app you installed.
The second most common reason is that your battery has degraded over time. iPhones use lithium batteries that lose capacity with every charge cycle. After 500 full charge cycles (roughly two years of normal use), your battery will hold about 80 percent of its original charge. After three years, it may hold 70 percent or less. This is normal wear, not a defect.
The fastest way to know which is your problem is to check your battery health in Settings, then look at which apps are using the most power. Both take less than two minutes.
Key Takeaways
- Check your battery health in Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging to see if your battery has degraded; anything below 80 percent means age is part of the problem.
- Open Settings > Battery to see which apps used the most power in the last 24 hours or 10 days, and uninstall or restrict the ones draining the most.
- Turn off Background App Refresh for apps that don't need to update when you're not using them, and lower screen brightness or enable Auto-Brightness.
- Location services, push notifications, and mail fetch settings drain battery faster than almost anything else; turn them off for apps that don't need them.
- If your battery health is below 80 percent and you've had the phone for two years or more, a battery replacement is usually cheaper than a new phone.
How to check your battery health right now
Open Settings, tap Battery, then tap Battery Health & Charging. You will see a number labeled "Maximum Capacity"—this is what percentage of the original charge your battery can now hold. If it says 100 percent, your battery is new or nearly new. If it says 80 percent, your battery has aged normally. If it says 70 percent or lower, age is definitely part of your problem.
Below that, you may see a message about battery condition. If it says "Normal," your battery is fine. If it says "Degraded" or "Service Recommended," Apple is telling you the battery is wearing out faster than expected, usually because of heat exposure or a manufacturing defect. If it says "Service Not Available," the battery may be counterfeit or damaged.
Write down this number. You will need it to decide whether to replace the battery or the phone.
Which apps are draining your battery the most
Go to Settings > Battery. Scroll down and you will see a list of apps with a percentage next to each one. This shows how much of your battery each app used in the last 24 hours. Tap "Last 10 Days" at the top to see the pattern over a longer period.
Look for apps using more than 10 percent of your battery. Common culprits are social media apps (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), maps and navigation apps, streaming apps (YouTube, Netflix), and games. If an app you barely use is in the top five, that app is running in the background even when you are not looking at it.
Tap the app name to see a breakdown. You will see how much time the app spent on-screen versus in the background. If an app used 5 percent of your battery but you only used it for two minutes, the app is draining power in the background.
Turn off Background App Refresh for apps you don't need to update constantly
Background App Refresh lets apps update their content even when you are not using them. This is useful for mail, messages, and weather. It is wasteful for games, social media, and news apps that you check manually.
Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You will see a list of every app on your phone. Toggle off the ones you don't need to update in the background. Start with the apps that showed high battery use in the previous step.
This single change can cut battery drain by 10 to 20 percent if you have many apps with Background App Refresh turned on. You will still be able to open the apps and use them normally—they just won't update until you open them.
Lower your screen brightness and turn on Auto-Brightness
Your screen is the single biggest battery drain on an iPhone. A bright screen at full brightness can use 30 to 40 percent of your battery in a day of heavy use.
Go to Settings > Display & Brightness. Drag the brightness slider down to around 40 to 50 percent. This is bright enough to see indoors and in most outdoor light. Then toggle on "Auto-Brightness" below the slider. This will dim your screen automatically in low light and brighten it in sunlight, so you are never using more brightness than you need.
If you use your phone heavily outdoors, you may need to keep brightness higher. But if you mostly use it indoors, Auto-Brightness alone can add two to three hours to your battery life.
Turn off location services for apps that don't need your location
Location services use your phone's GPS, which is one of the most power-hungry features. Many apps ask for location permission but don't actually need it—they just want it in case they might use it later.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. You will see a list of apps with a colored arrow next to each one. A purple arrow means the app used location recently. A gray arrow means it has permission but hasn't used it. Tap each app and change the setting from "Always" or "While Using" to "Never," except for apps that genuinely need it (Maps, weather, ride-sharing, fitness apps).
This is especially important for social media and news apps, which often request location permission but rarely need it. Turning off location services for these apps can save 5 to 10 percent of your daily battery.
Check your mail fetch and notification settings
Every time your phone checks for new email or receives a push notification, it wakes up your screen and uses power. If you have many email accounts or apps sending notifications, this adds up quickly.
Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts. Tap each account and look at the "Fetch New Data" setting. If it is set to "Every 15 Minutes" or "Every 30 Minutes," change it to "Hourly" or "Manually." You will still get your email—it just won't check as often. For accounts you don't use much, set it to "Manually."
Then go to Settings > Notifications and review which apps are allowed to send notifications. Turn off notifications for apps that don't need to interrupt you—games, shopping apps, and news apps are good candidates. Keep notifications on for messages, calls, and calendar reminders.
When to replace your battery versus buying a new phone
If your battery health is below 80 percent and you have tried the steps above but your battery still drains in a few hours, a battery replacement is usually worth it. Apple charges between $50 and $100 for a battery replacement, depending on your iPhone model. Third-party repair shops often charge less.
If your battery health is above 80 percent but your battery still drains quickly, the problem is software, not hardware. The steps above should fix it. If they don't, a specific app may be broken, and you may need to uninstall it or contact Apple Support.
If your battery health is below 50 percent, your phone is old enough that a new battery may not be worth the cost. At that point, the rest of your phone's hardware is also aging, and you may be better off upgrading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does closing apps in the background actually save battery?
No. Closing apps by swiping them away from the app switcher does not save battery. iOS suspends apps automatically when you are not using them. Swiping them away just removes them from your recent list. The only way to stop an app from draining battery is to turn off Background App Refresh for it or uninstall it.
Will turning on Low Power Mode hurt my phone?
No. Low Power Mode reduces performance slightly and limits some features, but it does not damage your phone. It cuts battery drain by 15 to 20 percent. Turn it on when your battery is below 20 percent, or turn it on all the time if you don't mind slightly slower performance.
Why does my battery drain faster in cold weather?
Lithium batteries work less efficiently in cold. Your battery may show 20 percent charge, but the phone thinks it has less power available and shuts down to protect the battery. Warm your phone up indoors and the battery percentage will usually go back up. Cold does not permanently damage your battery, but extreme heat does.
Is it bad to charge my iPhone overnight?
No. Modern iPhones stop charging at 100 percent and hold the charge there, so leaving it plugged in overnight does not degrade the battery. However, keeping your phone plugged in constantly at 100 percent for months at a time does wear the battery slightly faster. If you charge overnight regularly, your battery will age normally.
Can I replace my iPhone battery myself?
You can buy a replacement battery online, but opening an iPhone requires special tools and risks damaging the screen, water seals, or logic board. Apple or a certified repair shop is safer and usually not much more expensive. If your phone is still under warranty or AppleCare, Apple will replace the battery for free if health is below 80 percent.