How to Get Better Battery Life on iPhone | Top 30 Tips to Save Battery Life

The average iPhone battery can last up to 10 hours. However, depending on how you use your iPhone, you’ll rarely be able to achieve 10 hours on a single charge. If you are like most iPhone users with battery-intensive apps, you know what I’m talking about.

But there are some quick fixes you could do to save battery life on iPhone. Knowing about these will help you save your battery when you really need it. Going on a trip? Have a long day outside? Follow these 30 smart tips to make your battery last longer.

1. Lower the brightness level

This is the first, and the most obvious one on our list. Your iPhone screen eats up a lot of power to light up. So, lower your brightness level to the minimum if you want to make your battery last. Another thing you could do is to activate auto-brightness. This will keep your brightness really low in a shady area or during the night. And, if you are constantly viewing your phone in the dark, this is good for eye health as well.

However, make sure to turn auto-brightness off when in a sunny area. When there’s more light, the feature will automatically set your brightness level to the highest level, draining more battery. To turn on auto-brightness in iOS 11 or higher, go to accessibility settings and use the toggle switch.

2. Set your phone to auto-lock in a short time

You already know that the screen consumes more power. So, it is important to make sure that your screen goes to sleep when it’s not in use. This can be done by setting the auto-lock to a very short time, preferably around 15s or 30s. The feature will put an end to unnecessary power wastage. Plus, setting the auto-lock is a good idea to protect your privacy, especially if you constantly forget to turn off the screen.

3. Restrict notifications

Ever experienced annoying notifications that turn the phone up from sleep constantly? Other than being extremely frustrating, these notifications can also drain your battery as they wake the screen up. So, to save battery, you may need to restrict notifications as much as possible. You can either shut off notifications on the lock screen or go to app settings and limit apps that are allowed to show you notifications.

4. Manage vibrations

Normally, notifications are accompanied by a vibration. While the vibration sure is convenient, the motor that creates it drains a load of battery power. So, try to completely turn off, or manage vibrations to save battery life on iPhone.

5. Stay informed about app-by-app battery usage

The best way to cut down battery usage is by analyzing the impact of apps. You can find battery usage by going to battery settings. Chances are, you’ll already have two or three apps that are eating out a larger chunk of battery life. Some apps naturally need a lot of power and those running in the background may have an effect on battery life as well. After identifying the main culprits, you can stop using them whenever you are low on battery and need to save power. Or, if you don’t really see the point of wasting all your battery power on one app, just remove them from your phone. It’s clean and simple.

6. Turn off / limit background apps

Even when you are not using any apps, there are still some you recently opened running in the background. These background apps are convenient while switching through apps. And, they keep things updated and looking fresh whenever you go back. However, some apps in the background may have a large effect on your battery. If you find a battery-intensive app running in the background, remember to close it down after use. You can also change app settings so that background apps only refresh when you go there.

7. Turn off auto-downloads

Updates and downloads are super important. However, they also drain the battery quickly. So, limit these auto-downloads as much as possible. If updates and downloads are not that important for some apps, set your settings to manual so you can update/ download when you need to.

8. Stop relaunching apps often

Some apps can be too battery-intensive to keep them running in the background. But closing down all background apps is actually not a good thing if you want to save battery. This is because your phone will use up more battery power to relaunch apps. So, keep frequently used apps running in the background to save battery.

9. Limit apps that track locations

Most apps track location to give relevant results to users. This is extremely convenient. But, if you want to save battery life on iPhone, this has to be limited. It takes a lot of battery power for your phone to keep track of the location. As a solution, set location settings on apps to “while using the app”. This setting was not available in older iOS versions. But now almost every version lets users choose this option. When you set this, your location will only be tracked when you are using the app.

10. Set flashlight to the lowest level brightness

Just like your screen, the flashlight eats up a lot of battery power. So, if you use the flashlight frequently, set the brightness to the lowest level. This level is still plenty bright and will save battery as well.

11. Reduce motion effects

Motion effects are one of the coolest features on iPhones. However, these slowly drain battery power. So, it is highly recommended to reduce motion effects to save battery. To do this, navigate to Settings> Accessibility> Motion> Reduce motion and turn on the toggle switch.

12. Avoid using dynamic backgrounds

While stationery wallpapers stay still, dynamic wallpapers are always moving according to the movement of your phone. These also have more impact on your battery compared to live photos. So, avoiding dynamic backgrounds and putting still or live wallpapers is much better to save battery life on iPhone.

13. Disable Siri

Siri sure is very convenient to have around. However, when Siri is turned on, your iPhone is constantly listening until you utter the magic words ‘Hey Siri’ to jump into action. This can burn a lot of battery power. So, if you want to optimize your battery usage, you might have to say goodbye to Siri.

14. Use Wi-Fi

Using mobile data is unavoidable, especially when you are in a place with no wi-fi connections. But, as you probably have noticed, mobile data has a big impact on battery life. Using wi-fi is not a revolutionary solution. But wi-fi is far more effective for saving battery life compared to mobile data. As a good measure, always turn off mobile data after you’re done using it.

15. Turn off Bluetooth and AirDrop

Having Bluetooth on is convenient because you get to connect with devices easily. But, at the same time, Bluetooth can slowly drain your battery life. So, turn off Bluetooth when not in use to make sure that you’re not wasting battery life unnecessarily.

AirDrop uses a combination of technologies to connect with other Apple devices. It uses Bluetooth to find the device and creates a private wi-fi network between the receiving devices to send files. AirDrop feature is designed to automatically look for devices to connect with. So, when this feature is on, it consumes a lot of power. You can disable this by swiping up from the bottom and tapping on the AirDrop icon in the control center.

16. Turn off iCloud

iCloud is a nice feature to have in case your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged. This automatically uploads your photos to cloud storage thereby eliminating the possibility of a loss. However, uploading to iCloud can have a slight impact on your battery life. So, if you are going outside and want to save battery, disable this feature via Settings> Photos> iCloud.

17. Set mail settings to manual

Mail application is designed to automatically update and fetch new emails. So, when you are connected to the internet, the mail application is always seeking new emails in the cloud. While you will receive every email as they are sent, this will drain a considerable percentage of battery life. You can change fetch email settings by navigating to Settings> Accounts & Passwords> Fetch new data> Manually. Now, your phone will stop fetching new data until you manually trigger the search for new emails.

18. Limit hotspot usage

When using hotspot, your phone essentially works as a center for relaying data to other connected devices. This is more power-intensive when compared to how normal internet usage impacts battery power on your iPhone. So, limit your usage of the mobile hotspot as much as possible.

19. Switch to airplane mode

Switching to airplane mode helps preserve at least a smaller percentage of your battery life. This is because it turns off many features that drain the battery. You can switch to airplane mode when you really want to extend your battery life. Airplane mode can also come in handy when you want to charge your phone faster. If you are in a rush, simply turn on airplane mode and plug in your phone.

20. Turn off fitness tracking

Fitness tracking is a lot of work for a phone. It involves several different functions including GPS tracking, accelerometer, Wi-Fi/ mobile data, and more. This intense work burns up a large chunk of the battery. So, if you want to save battery life on iPhone, turn off fitness tracking. Go to Settings> Privacy> Motion & Fitness and disable fitness tracking using the toggle switch.

21. Turn off the equalizer when listening to music

Equalizer is a great tool. You can make any kind of music sound good by using this feature. However, applying an equalizer has an effect on battery life and should be avoided if you are running on a low battery. To turn the feature off, navigate to Settings and turn off EQ in the music section.

22. Disable cellular calls through other devices

This feature allows you to answer calls through other devices using Wi-Fi. It involves a lot of work for a phone and will drain the battery fast. So, we recommended limiting this feature if you want to save battery life.

23. Turn off iPhone analytics sharing

If iPhone analytics sharing is turned on, your phone will share anonymous performance reports to developers periodically. Compiling and sharing this information requires considerable battery power. So, make sure that this feature is turned off on your phone.

24. Avoid battery intensive activities

If you are low on battery, avoid intensive activities such as listening to music, streaming videos, web browsing, downloading apps, or uploading content to the internet.

25. Turn on Low power mode

This can be done as the last resort to save your battery. Low power mode will limit or disable battery-intensive features such as excessive screen brightness, wallpapers, mobile data, and so on. This mode will extend battery life for at least 3 or 4 hours.

Long term methods to save battery life on iPhone

All tips we mentioned above are quick fixes that you can do when you are running on a low battery but want to keep the power as long as possible. Here are some tips to make sure that you are getting the best out of your battery in the long-term.

1. Avoid frequent charging

The more you charge, the less energy your battery will hold. This rule is true for almost all chargeable devices. If you are frequently charging your phone, it won’t get to reach low battery percentages. This will cause the battery to deteriorate. So, let the battery capacity drop to at least 10% before charging.

2. Minimize the amounts of time the battery spends at extreme charges

It’s okay to wait until your battery capacity hits 10% before charging. However, at the same time, spending more time on a 10% charge is also not good for your battery. Too much time in a 100% charge is also detrimental. Therefore, these extreme charges should be avoided as much as possible.

3. Avoid charging your phone in extreme temperatures

Extreme temperatures, both too hot and too cold can affect the battery capacity of your iPhone. Try to charge your phone in neutral temperatures. 0° to 35° C (32° to 95° F) is the ideal range to charge an iPhone.

4. Remove certain cases when charging

If you feel that your phone is too hot while charging, your case might be generating excess heat. This can affect the battery capacity negatively. Removing your case while charging will help bring down the high temperature.

5. Avoid fast chargers

These chargers are a revolution for those who really need to charge their phones fast. However, fast charging can degrade your iPhone battery twice as fast as it would on a normal charger. So, use your normal charger more frequently and keep the fast charger only for emergency situations.

Bottom line

We hope that these 30 tips helped you to figure out how to optimize power and save battery life on iPhone. Did we miss your favorite tip to reduce battery wastage? Leave it down below in the comments section for everyone!