How To Fix Your iOS Battery Issues

There could be two reasons why your battery is draining so quickly; one is a hardware issue, while the other is software.

Since fixing software issues is the most manageable and most likely to be the problem, we’ll start there. If, after trying out these software fixes (and a few hardware), your iPhone battery is still draining fast, we’ll look at some hardware options.

If you’ve just updated to a new version of iOS, then you might just need to wait for the next version to fix the issue.

Before you update your iPhone in the future, check online a few days after its release to see how other iPhones are faring with the new version. I’m offering this advice after I decimated my beloved iPhone 4 with an update back in 2011 😢. Even minor bugs can majorly affect your user experience and make you want to throw your phone at the wall (I never did this).

1. Check Your iPhone Battery Health

After the iOS 13 update, Apple introduced several ways to check your iPhone’s health, including its overall capacity and performance.

To check your iPhone battery health, go to Settings – Battery – Battery Health.

Here you can check two main sections: Maximum Capacity and Peak Performance Capability.

Ideally, your Maximum Capacity should be above 80%. Once it gets below that, you’ll start experiencing lag and unexpected shutdowns just when you’ve discovered Cyan is the imposter.

Peak Performance Capability tells you if your battery is experiencing any problems.

If you see statements such as:

‘Your battery is currently supporting normal peak performance’ or

‘Built-in dynamic software and hardware systems will help counter-performance impacts that may be noticeable as your iPhone battery chemically ages’

Then you’re good as gold.

Other notices, such as:

‘This iPhone has experienced an unexpected shutdown because the battery was unable to deliver the necessary peak power.’

And

‘Your battery’s health is significantly degraded. An Apple Authorized Service Provider can replace the battery to restore full performance and capacity.’

mean you might be in trouble battery-wise and might consider replacing your battery.

Bonus Tip: Turn On Optimized Battery Charging

As it says in the option area, this function learns your charging schedule to only charge above 80% when you’re going to be using the phone, saving your battery from aging.

2. Is Your iPhone Charging Properly?

To check to see when your iPhone is charging, go to General – Battery and scroll down to reach the graph.

Here you can see your battery levels throughout the day, when you last charged and for how long as well as your app activity.

The green hatch marks shows when the iPhone is charging. If your device is charging properly, you should see the battery level rise within the hatch marks. If this is not happening, check your charger and charging cable for faults and foreign stuff that might affect functionality.

3. Are There Apps Draining Your iPhone Battery?

If you scroll further down you’ll see Activity. This measures when and how you’re using your device. Specifically, which apps are running in the background.

If you have apps secretly sucking away at your iPhone battery, there might be an issue with the app, and you’ll figure out why does my phone battery die so fast.

If you’ve downloaded a new app and experienced a noticeable iPhone battery drain, you might need to delete the app until developers release an update.

4. Disable Background App Refresh

While most apps work in the background, retrieving new data, if some look a little dodgy, test them by disabling Background App Refresh.

Go to Settings – General – Background App Refresh and select the app/apps you want to disable to prevent the battery from going down fast.

You can disable all apps from refreshing in the background, or just those that are bleeding your iPhone battery dry, which is one of the reasons why does your phone lose battery so fast. Turning off Background Refresh won’t affect your app notifications.

You can also turn Background Refresh off completely, or set it to WLAN only, saving you data and some battery.

5. Stop Using Non-MFi Cables and Chargers

MFi or ‘Made for iPhone, iPod, or iPad’ is a licensing program that allows third-party companies to make accessories for Apple devices. There are plenty who don’t bother, and these knock-offs might be damaging your battery, thus, leading to your iPhone battery draining so fast.

6. Change Location Services

Location Services allow specific apps to track your location in order to provide you with the most relevant information. You might want to leave this on for Maps, but most other apps can be changed to ‘While using the app’.

Go to Settings – Privacy – Location Services.

Scroll down to see all the apps that allow for location access.

Tap to change the permissions of each.

You can also toggle Precise Location on and off for apps that don’t need to know exactly where you are, which by the way, is super creepy.