Why Does My iPhone Battery Die So Fast? 30 Real Fixes!

In this post, I’ve provided tried-and-true solutions for people who find their iPhone battery decreasing quickly and not keeping a charge for lengthy periods.

It’s not unusual for iPhone owners to wonder why their phone’s battery drains so quickly for no obvious reason. If your iPhone battery is draining quickly, and you’re wondering why it’s draining so quickly for no apparent reason, you’ve come to the perfect spot.

It’s very unusual for iPhone batteries to deplete overnight, leaving users unable to get through the day without charging their smartphones. I’ve heard a lot of complaints from iPhone 6 battery customers who say, “My iPhone battery life is suddenly depleting rapidly.”

If your iPhone battery is dying quickly for whatever reason, try the techniques listed below, which have been shown to work in most situations.

However, before you try the offered solutions for your iPhone battery draining quickly or ‘iPhone not retaining charge,’ it is recommended that you first follow Apple’s general performance suggestions, which are relevant to all iOS devices, including the iPad:

1. Extreme temperatures should be avoided. Ambient temperatures of 0° to 35° C (32° to 95° F) are ideal for iPhones, iPad, iPods, and Apple Watches. –20° to 45° C (–4° to 113° F) is the recommended storage temperature. Avoid exposing your smartphone to temperatures above 35° C (95° F), as this can permanently degrade the battery capacity.

2. During charging, remove your smartphone from its case. If you charge your gadget while it is still in its case, it may create too much heat, reducing battery capacity.

3. The surrounding temperature and the amount of charge on the battery when it’s shut down for storage may affect the overall health of your battery if your device is in storage for a long period.

As a result, it is suggested that,

1. You do not fully charge or drain your device’s battery when it is stored for a long time. In such instances, charge the battery to around 50% capacity. When you keep a gadget with a depleted battery, the battery may go into a deep discharge condition, rendering it incapable of retaining a charge. On the other hand, if you leave it fully charged for an extended time, the battery may lose capacity, resulting in lower battery life. 

2. Turn off the gadget to conserve battery power;

3. Keep your device in a cool, dry place at a temperature of less than 32° C (90° F).

4. Charge your smartphone to 50% every six months if you want to keep it for more than six months.

Why does my iPhone battery die so fast?

When your iPhone battery runs out rapidly, there are just two options. It’s possible that the battery is failing or something in the system is using much more power than usual.

You’ll need to investigate your device’s hardware and software elements to resolve the issue. We’ll start with the software component because clearing out hardware-related issues usually necessitates the assistance of an iPhone professional.

I sketched out the most prevalent culprits to offer you some feedback on which aspects to rule out, and they are as follows:

  • Updates: You’ve heard complaints about people’s batteries depleting after installing new upgrades. Rapid battery depletion is, in fact, one of the most prevalent post-update issues experienced by iPhone users. The problem appears to be caused by software defects in this scenario. Apple usually resolved this issue by releasing a follow-up update with a special remedy patch. Consider this the root of the problem if your phone begins to experience quick battery depletion after applying a new update.
  • Apps that go rogue: Stable programs will likely become rogue apps. Programs start acting up and cause many problems, including power depletion. Misbehaving apps are frequently not up to date, especially when a new iOS version is loaded. Some programs run in the background, forcing the CPU to keep functioning. As a result, electricity usage remains constant.
  • Misconfigured settings: How you set up your iPhone settings, particularly on the iPhone display, notifications, location services, wireless services, and other battery-draining iOS capabilities, are among the factors that might cause your iPhone’s battery to deplete quickly. As a result, optimizing and adjusting these settings in a way that decreases power consumption is highly suggested.

When fixing the iPhone battery dies rapidly issue, these are the primary elements to consider and rule out.

Why Does Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Battery Die So Quickly?

These are the main reasons for the battery draining issue in apple products.

  1. Push Mail
  2. Turn Off Unnecessary Location Services
  3. Don’t Send iPhone Analytics 
  4. Close Out Your Apps
  5. Notifications: Only Use The Ones You Need
  6. Turn Off The Widgets You Don’t Use
  7. Turn Off Your Phone Once A Week
  8. Background App Refresh
  9. Keep Your iPhone Cool
  10. Make Sure Auto-Lock Is Turned On
  11. Disable Unnecessary Visual Effects
  12. Turn On Optimized Battery Charging
  13. Turn Off 5G
  14. Turn On Dark Mode
  15. Turn On Limit Frame Rate
  16. Did You Recently Update Your iPhone?
  17. Restore From iCloud, Not iTunes
  18. Erase Your iPhone And Set It Up As a New
  19. You May Have A Hardware Problem
  20. Stick to Safari
  21. Turn on Low Power Mode
  22. Turn on Airplane Mode in Bad Signal Areas
  23. Disable Automatic Downloads and Updates
  24. Adjust Auto-Lock Settings
  25. Stop Apps From Using Bluetooth
  26. Restart Your iPhone
  27. Use Wi-Fi
  28. Adjust Podcast Settings
  29. Reset Factory Settings
  30. Stop Using Non-MFi Cables and Chargers

Let us go through the problems and fixes one by one:

1. Push Mail

When you set your mail to push, your iPhone keeps a persistent connection with your email server, allowing the server to push the message to your iPhone as soon as it comes.

When your iPhone is configured to push, it continuously asks the server, “Is their mail?” according to an Apple lead genius. Is there any mail here? Is there mail?” because this constant stream of info leads your battery to deplete soon. The worst offenders are Exchange servers, but everyone can benefit from adjusting this option.

Solution:

We’ll switch your iPhone from push to fetch mode to resolve this issue. You’ll save a lot of battery life by instructing your iPhone to check for new mail every 15 minutes instead of all the time. When you launch the Mail app on your iPhone, it will always check for new mail.

1. Go to Accounts -> Settings -> Mail.

2. Fetch New Data is a button that you may use to get new data.

Fetch New Data

3. Push the top of the screen to turn it off.

4. Under Fetch, go to the bottom and choose Every 15 Minutes.

5. If feasible, tap on each email account and convert it to Fetch.

Most people think that waiting a few minutes for an email is worth the huge increase in battery life on your iPhone.

2. Turn Off Unnecessary Location Services

Since Location Services are an important part of what makes the iPhone such a terrific device, most don’t advocate turning them off completely.

I’ll show you the secret services that deplete your battery regularly, and I’m ready to guess that you’ve never heard of most of them. Given the enormous energy drain and personal privacy risks that come with your iPhone right out of the box, I feel you must pick which applications and services have access to your location.

Solution:

1. To access Location Services, go to Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services.

Turn Off Unnecessary Location Services

2. To share your location, tap Share My Location. Leave this on if you want to be able to communicate your location with your family and friends through the Messages app, but be cautious; this is how someone may track you.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and choose System Services. Let’s start with a common misunderstanding: Most options are for transferring data to Apple for marketing and research purposes. Your iPhone will continue to work normally even after we turn them off.

  • Turn off everything on the page except Emergency SOS, Find My iPhone, and Motion Calibration & Distance. Your iPhone will continue to function normally. The compass will still operate, and you’ll still be able to connect to cell towers; it’s only that Apple won’t be getting data about your activities.
  • Important Locations should be tapped. Did you realize that your iPhone has been following you around the house? You can imagine the extra load on your battery due to this. Significant Locations should be turned off, in my opinion. To return to the main System Services menu, tap System Services.
  • Turn off all of the Product Improvement switches. These only provide data to Apple to help them improve their products, not to make your iPhone perform faster.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the page and enable the Status Bar Icon. When a little arrow shows next to your battery, you’ll know your location is being used. There’s probably something wrong if that arrow is always on. To return to the main Location Services menu, tap Location Services.

4. For apps that don’t need to know where you are, turn off Location Services.

  • What you should know: If an app has a purple arrow next to it, it is currently accessing your location. A grey arrow indicates that it has utilized your location in the previous 24 hours, while a purple-outlined arrow indicates that it is utilizing a geofence (more about geofences later).
  • Keep an eye out for apps with purple or grey arrows next to them. Do these applications require your location to function? If they do, that’s all great — ignore them. If they don’t, touch on the app’s name and choose Never to prevent the app from consuming your power unnecessarily.

3. Don’t Send iPhone Analytics

Here’s a battery-saving tip: Go to Settings -> Privacy, scroll down to Analytics & Improvements, and click it. 

Don’t Send iPhone Analytics

To stop your iPhone from automatically sharing data with Apple about how you use it, turn off the switch next to Share iPhone Analytics and Share iCloud Analytics.

4. Close Out Your Apps

It’s a good idea to shut off your apps once or twice daily. You would never have to do this in a perfect world, and most Apple staff will never tell you that you should. However, the world of iPhones isn’t flawless; else, you wouldn’t be reading this.

Solution

To access the iPhone app switcher, double-click the Home Button (iPhones without Face ID) or slide up from the bottom to the center of the screen (iPhones with Face ID).

The app switcher lets you see all the apps stored in your iPhone’s memory. Swipe your finger left or right to move through the list. You’ll be shocked at how many applications are now open.

Close all the apps which are open

To close an app, swipe up and push it off the top of the screen with your finger. You’ve effectively closed the app, which means it can no longer drain your battery in the background. Closing your apps does not erase data or have any negative consequences.

5. Notifications: Only Use The Ones You Need

When we initially launched an app, we’ve all seen the question “App Would Like To Send You Push Notifications,” and we’ve all chosen OK or Don’t Allow. Few people appreciate how crucial it is to be selective about the applications you provide permission.

When you give an app permission to send you Push Notifications, you’re giving that app permission to run in the background so that if something important happens (like a text message or your favorite team winning a game), that app may send you an alert.

Notifications are useful, but they deplete the battery. When we get text messages, we need to be notified, but we also need to pick which other applications may give us alerts.

Solution

You’ll find a list of all your applications under Settings -> Notifications

Notifications

You’ll see Off or the type of alerts the app is permitted to give you beneath the app’s name: Badges, Sounds, or Banners. Ignore the applications that indicate Off and browse the list instead.

disable notifications

To disable notifications, touch the app’s name and toggle the Allow Notifications switch off. Other alternatives are available as well, but they do not affect the battery life of your iPhone. It makes no difference whether alerts are turned on or off.

6. Turn Off The Widgets You Don’t Use

Widgets are little mini-apps that run in the background of your iPhone to provide you with quick access to current information from your favorite apps. Turning off the widgets you don’t use will save substantial battery life. It’s fine to turn them all off if you never use them.

Edit Widget

Press and hold on to a widget you wish to delete on your iPhone running iOS 14 or newer, then tap Remove Widget -> Remove.

If your iPhone is running iOS 13 or older, slide from left to right on the Home screen until you reach widgets. After that, scroll down and press the circular Edit icon to view a list of widgets you may add or delete from your iPhone. Tap the red minus button to the left of a widget to delete it.

7. Turn Off Your Phone Once A Week

It’s a simple suggestion, Once a week, turn your iPhone off and on again to tackle hidden battery-life concerns that accrue over time. Apple would never tell you that because it wouldn’t work in iPhone Utopia.

In the real world, turning off your iPhone can assist you in resolving difficulties with crashed applications or other more technical issues that might arise after a computer has been on for an extended period.

Solution

Press and hold the power button on your iPhone until “slide to power off” displays. If your iPhone supports Face ID, press and holds the side button and volume button simultaneously.

slide to power off

Wait for your iPhone to shut down by swiping the circular power symbol across the screen with your finger. It’s usual for the procedure to take a few moments. Then, turn your iPhone back on by pushing and holding the power or side button until the Apple logo appears.

8. Background App Refresh

Even when you’re not using your iPhone, certain applications are permitted to utilize your Wi-Fi or cellular data connection to download fresh material. Limiting the number of applications that may utilize this function, which Apple calls Background App Refresh, can help you save much battery life.

Solution

Go to Settings -> General -> Background App Refresh to refresh the background app. 

Background App Refresh

You’ll see a toggle button at the top that disables Background App Refresh completely. I don’t advise you to do this because Background App Refresh can benefit some apps. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be able to disable practically all the apps on the list.

9. Keep Your iPhone Cool

Keep Your iPhone Cool

Apple claims that the iPhone, iPad, and iPod are intended to function in temperatures ranging from 32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees to 35 degrees Celsius). They don’t often tell you that exposing your iPhone to temperatures exceeding 95°F might permanently destroy the battery.

Don’t worry if it’s a hot day and you’re going for a stroll; you’ll be OK. We’re talking about extended exposure to high temperatures. 

Low temperatures don’t harm your iPhone battery, but they have an effect: the colder it gets, the faster your battery drains. Your iPhone may cease operating completely if the temperature drops low enough, but your iPhone and battery level should return to normal after it warms up again.

10. Make Sure Auto-Lock Is Turned On

Auto-Lock

Making sure auto-lock is turned on is an easy technique to prevent iPhone battery depletion. Tap Display & Brightness -> Auto-Lock in the Settings app. Then choose any other option besides Never! This is the maximum time you can leave your iPhone turned on before it goes into sleep mode.

11. Disable Unnecessary Visual Effects

From the hardware to the software, iPhones are stunning. We grasp the basic concept of producing physical components, but how can the software show such stunning images? A little piece of technology called a Graphics Processing Unit (or GPU) embedded into the logic board inside your iPhone gives it the power to produce dazzling visual effects.

Disable Unnecessary Visual Effects

The issue with GPUs has always been their power consumption. The battery drains quicker as the visual effects get more complex. We can greatly extend the life of your iPhone’s battery by lowering the demand for its GPU.

Solution

Toggle the Reduce Motion option in Settings -> Accessibility -> Motion -> Reduce Motion.

You won’t notice any differences save for the parallax wallpaper effect on the home screen, and you’ll save many battery life.

12. Turn On Optimized Battery Charging

Optimized Battery Charging allows your iPhone to learn about your charging patterns, which helps extend your battery’s life. This feature should be enabled if you want to get the most out of your iPhone battery for longer.

 Turn On Optimized Battery Charging

Open Settings and select Battery -> Battery Health from the drop-down menu. Then, next to Optimized Battery Charging, turn on the switch.

13. Turn Off 5G

If you have an iPhone 12 or newer, you can preserve battery life by turning off 5G. 5G iPhones (and most Android handsets) have processors that aren’t built for 5G. Instead, a separate 5G chip consumes a lot of power.

Turn Off 5G

Furthermore, 5G infrastructure is still in its early stages. Compared to LTE, your iPhone will often require more power to connect and stay connected to 5G.

Tap Cellular -> Cellular Data Options -> Voice & Data in Settings. To switch off 5G, tap LTE. When a checkmark shows next to LTE, you know 5G is turned off.

14. Turn On Dark Mode

Turn On Dark Mode

With iOS 13, Dark Mode was eventually implemented. It looks great and can also help you save some battery life because darker-colored pixels require less power than lighter-colored pixels.

Open Settings and select Display & Brightness from the drop-down menu. Under Appearance, tap Dark at the top of the menu. Dark Mode will be enabled right away.

15. Turn On Limit Frame Rate

The iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max are the first phones to have ProMotion, which allows for variable refresh rates of up to 120Hz. While this improves the appearance of your display, it might also drain more battery life.

When you enable Limit Frame Rate, your iPhone’s maximum frame rate is 60Hz. The majority of individuals will not notice the change.

Turn On Limit Frame Rate

Open Settings and select Accessibility -> Motion from the drop-down menu. Limit Frame Rate is activated by turning on the switch next to it.

16. Did You Recently Update Your iPhone?

Your iPhone performs background processes to reindex its databases and caches after upgrading to a new version of iOS. This might take up to 48 hours, according to Apple. Because these background processes degrade battery life, you may notice an increase in energy drain right after upgrading your iPhone.

If your iPhone starts to die quicker after an update, attempt to wait it out. In a day or two, things should be back to normal.

If the battery drain persists, go to Settings -> General -> Software Update and check for a new update. When an iOS upgrade creates a widespread issue, Apple often issues a follow-up update to address the issue.

17. Restore From iCloud, Not iTunes

You’ve been waiting for a day, and your battery life hasn’t improved. It’s time to bring your iPhone back to life. If possible, restore from an iCloud backup after the restore is completed.

Let me clarify: Yes, you must restore your iPhone using iTunes – there is no other option. We’re talking about how to restore your iPhone’s data after it’s been reset to factory settings.

Some folks are unsure when it’s okay to unplug their iPhone from their PC. It’s perfectly safe to unplug your iPhone after seeing the ‘Hello’ screen on your iPhone or ‘Set Up Your iPhone’ in iTunes. Next, connect to Wi-Fi and restore from your iCloud backup using the options on your phone.

18. Erase Your iPhone And Set It Up As a New

If you’ve done everything and still can’t get your iPhone to work, you could have a serious software problem that can only be fixed by restoring your iPhone to factory settings and setting it up as if it were brand new.

It’s not all horrible, though. As you set up your iPhone, you’ll add your iCloud and other email accounts. Because your contacts, calendars, notes, reminders, and bookmarks are frequently kept in such accounts, everything should be restored.

You’ll need to reinstall your applications, adjust your Wi-Fi and other settings, and move your images and music to your iPhone. It isn’t a lot of effort, but it takes time to get everything back to where you want it to be.

Erase All Content and Settings

Open Settings -> General -> Reset -> Erase All Content and Settings to return your iPhone to factory settings. Open Settings and hit General -> Transfer or Reset iPhone -> Erase All Content and Settings if your iPhone runs iOS 15 or newer.

To confirm your selection, enter your passcode and then hit Erase iPhone.

19. You May Have A Hardware Problem

At the beginning of this blog, I stated that software is to blame for most difficulties with iPhone battery life, and I stand by that statement. There are a few cases when a hardware issue might create issues, but the problem is nearly always not with the battery.

Drops and spills might damage internal components involved in charging or maintaining the charge on your iPhone. The battery is extremely durable since if it is punctured, it might practically explode.

20. Stick to Safari

Safari

Chrome drains a lot of power from any device, even your iPhone. I understand that being able to sync everything from your other devices is convenient, but if you want to save your iPhone battery from dying too quickly, you should use Safari instead.

Apple’s apps, on average, perform better on your iPhone than third-party apps.

21. Turn on Low Power Mode

When your iPhone’s battery life reaches 20%, you’ll be asked to put it into Low Power Mode, which will give you anything from one to three hours before it shuts off.

You may, however, activate Low Power Mode at any time. When this option is enabled, retrieve mail, Hey Siri, and other battery-draining functions are disabled.

Go to the Battery section of the Settings menu and turn on low power mode.

Low Power Mode

Low Power Mode may be turned on and off from the Control Center after iOS 11. Toggle on and off effortlessly by sliding up the Control Center.

22. Turn on Airplane Mode in Bad Signal Areas

Turn on Airplane Mode

When you’re in an area with poor service, your iPhone consumes battery power while looking for a stronger signal.

Airplane Mode may be accessed through Settings or the Control Center.

23. Disable Automatic Downloads and Updates

If you turn it on, Automatic Downloads will occur if you buy an app on another device. You can also choose whether or not applications update automatically, which is generally best turned off if you’re concerned about your battery life.

To access the App Store, go to Settings -> App Store.

To stop both from occurring automatically, turn off Apps and App Updates.

24. Adjust Auto-Lock Settings

After a certain amount of time, Auto-Lock shuts off your screen. You’re burning your battery by leaving the screen on if it’s switched off or set to a longer time frame. Your iPhone battery will last longer if you choose a shorter period before the screen locks.

Go to Display & Brightness in the Settings menu. Set the time by tapping Auto-Lock.

25. Stop Apps From Using Bluetooth

Many applications utilize Bluetooth for location-based marketing, but you’re probably unaware of it. If you’re not using any Bluetooth peripherals, such as headphones or an Apple Watch, you can probably turn Bluetooth off altogether to save depleting your battery.

Stop Apps From Using Bluetooth

If this isn’t the case, go to Settings -> Privacy -> Bluetooth and turn off any apps that don’t require Bluetooth to work. You can press ‘Don’t Allow’ in the future if an app seeks Bluetooth connectivity that you believe is strange.

26. Restart Your iPhone

Restart Your iPhone

Many difficulties with your iPhone may be resolved by restarting it, including a fast-draining battery.

Suppose you have an iPhone X/XS/XS Max/XR or iPhone 11/11 Pro/11 Pro Max or iPhone 12/mini/12 Pro/Pro Max or iPhone 13/13 Pro/Pro Max by holding the Side button and either the up or down volume button until you see the shutdown screen on your iPhone. Swipe to switch off the iPhone.

Hold the Side button down for a minute before restarting.

Hold the Side button on an iPhone 6/6S/6S Plus, iPhone 7/7 Plus, iPhone 8/8 Plus, or iPhone SE (2nd Gen) until the slider displays. To turn it off, swipe the slider. Wait a minute before pressing the Side button again to restart.

27. Use Wi-Fi

A WiFi connection consumes less power than a cellular connection. Connect to WiFi whenever feasible to save your iPhone battery from dying too quickly and conserve data.

28. Adjust Podcast Settings

Podcasts, like Mail, update in the background and download new episodes as they become available.

Adjust Podcast Settings

Go to Podcasts under the Settings menu.

To stop your phone from downloading new episodes, turn off Background App Refresh.

You may also disable automatic downloads by disabling Enable When Following, allowing you to manually download episodes only when you have access to a charger.

Finally, as WiFi saves battery life, avoid downloading episodes through cellular data. Block Downloads Over Cellular is enabled.

29. Reset Factory Settings

If you’ve recently updated to a new iOS and are having battery problems, you should Reset All Settings.

Reset Factory Settings

This does not remove any data or material on your phone; instead, it resets network, privacy, and location settings.

You’ll have to go back and tweak your settings when your iPhone resets. Reset your device by going to Settings -> General -> Reset. Then press the Reset All Settings button.

30. Stop Using Non-MFi Cables and Chargers 

MFi, which stands for “Made for iPhone, iPod, or iPad,” is a licensing scheme that permits third-party firms to create accessories for Apple devices. Many people don’t bother, and these knock-offs may hurt your battery, causing your iPhone battery to deplete quickly.

Conclusion

Overall, there are several things that customers may take to extend their battery life. Apple has created a durable battery that can withstand a lot of use. Typically, software issues are to blame for batteries dying before the end of the day. Users may substantially increase their battery life by controlling how their phone operates, allowing them to stay connected all day.

FAQs

Why My iPhone Battery Is Draining Fast?

You may wonder why you notice your iPhone’s battery depleting quickly.
There might be two reasons for this. Either your battery is degrading, or something in the system is depleting your battery power faster than usual. Examine your device’s hardware and software elements to resolve the problem and apply the remedies advised in this article.

How Long Do iPhone Batteries Last?

According to Apple, a fully charged iPhone 5 can provide up to eight hours of conversation time and Internet usage on 3G, ten hours of internet use on WiFi, ten hours of video streaming, or forty hours of audio playback, as well as 225 hours of standby time. Earlier versions’ battery life will, of course, vary.

How Do I Know If My iPhone Battery Is Bad?

If your iPhone battery is draining rapidly and isn’t holding a charge as long as it used to, check the iOS settings. Go to Settings > Battery to do so.
If it’s in terrible shape, a message will appear at the top of the screen stating that your battery needs to be serviced.