6 Everyday Habits That Drain Your iPhone Battery (And How to Stop Them)

Discover six common habits that secretly drain your iPhone battery and learn how to avoid them. This guide provides clear, actionable tips to help you maximize battery life and keep your device running at its best.

Adjust Screen Brightness

Excessive screen brightness is a significant drain on your iPhone’s battery. The brighter your screen, the more power it consumes. To optimize energy use, lower your screen brightness to a comfortable level. You can do this by swiping down from the top-right corner to access the Control Center and adjusting the brightness slider. Additionally, enable Auto-Brightness in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size. This feature automatically adjusts the screen brightness based on ambient lighting conditions, saving battery life without compromising visibility.

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Manage Background Apps

Leaving apps running in the background can significantly impact battery consumption. Even when you’re not actively using an app, it may still be running processes, checking for updates, or using location services, all of which drain your battery. To properly close unused apps, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or double-click the Home button on older models) to access the app switcher. Then, swipe up on each app’s preview to close it. This prevents them from consuming power in the background and helps extend your iPhone’s battery life.

Limit Notifications

Constant notifications can be a major drain on your iPhone’s battery. Each notification wakes up the screen and uses processing power, contributing to battery drain. Disabling unnecessary alerts can save power. Go to Settings > Notifications and review the list of apps. For apps that send frequent but non-essential notifications, turn off the ‘Allow Notifications’ toggle. Prioritize notifications from apps that are most important to you, reducing the frequency with which your screen lights up and your battery depletes.

Control Location Services

Location services can significantly drain your battery, especially if many apps are constantly tracking your location. To mitigate this, turn off location services for apps that do not require it. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Here, you can review each app’s location permission settings. Change the permission to ‘While Using the App’ or ‘Never’ for apps that don’t need constant access to your location. For system services, consider limiting location access to only essential functions to further conserve battery life.

Optimize App Updates

Frequent automatic updates and background app refreshes can quickly deplete your iPhone’s battery. To optimize updates, adjust your settings to manage when and how apps update. Go to Settings > App Store and disable ‘App Updates’ under the Automatic Downloads section. This prevents apps from automatically updating in the background. You can also disable ‘Background App Refresh’ in Settings > General > Background App Refresh to prevent apps from refreshing their content when on Wi-Fi or cellular data, further saving battery life.

Adopt Smart Charging Habits

Poor charging habits, such as letting the battery completely drain or overcharging, can negatively impact battery health and longevity. Avoid consistently letting your iPhone’s battery drop to zero, as this can damage the battery over time. Similarly, avoid leaving your iPhone plugged in for extended periods after it reaches 100%. Instead, adopt healthy charging routines by charging your iPhone in short bursts throughout the day and keeping the battery level between 20% and 80% to maximize its lifespan.