How to Fix Battery Draining Fast on iPhone (2026 Solutions)
How to Fix Battery Draining Fast on iPhone (2026 Solutions)
Your iPhone battery dying before lunch? I get it—there’s nothing more frustrating than watching your battery percentage drop like a stone when you actually need your phone.
The good news? Most battery drain issues on iPhone are fixable without replacing your battery. I’ve tested every solution below, and they actually work.
Why Is My iPhone Battery Draining So Fast?
Before we fix the problem, here’s what’s usually killing your battery:
- Apps running in the background you don’t even use
- Screen brightness cranked too high
- Location services tracking everything
- Push email checking constantly
- Widgets refreshing non-stop
- iOS bugs (yep, even Apple messes up sometimes)
- An aging battery that’s seen better days
Let’s fix it.
Check What’s Actually Draining Your Battery
Don’t guess—let your iPhone tell you what’s wrong:
- Go to Settings > Battery
- Scroll down to Battery Usage by App
- Look for anything using more than 20-30% that you barely use
Found a battery hog? Time to deal with it.
10 Fast Fixes for iPhone Battery Drain
1. Enable Low Power Mode
This is the fastest fix and works immediately:
- Open Settings > Battery
- Turn on Low Power Mode
Or just ask Siri: “Turn on Low Power Mode.”
Your iPhone will reduce background activity, lower screen brightness slightly, and disable some visual effects. You’ll easily get 2-3 extra hours.
2. Reduce Screen Brightness
Your screen is probably the biggest battery killer:
- Swipe down from the top-right corner (or up from bottom on older iPhones)
- Drag the brightness slider down to about 40-50%
Better yet, enable Auto-Brightness:
- Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Auto-Brightness (turn it ON)
3. Turn Off Background App Refresh
Apps updating in the background when you’re not using them? That’s wasted battery:
- Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh
- Either turn it Off completely, or
- Go through the list and disable it for apps you don’t need updated constantly
I keep it on for Messages and WhatsApp, but turn it off for everything else.
4. Manage Location Services
Location tracking is a massive battery drain:
- Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services
- Tap each app and change to While Using the App instead of Always
- Or turn it to Never for apps that don’t need your location
Facebook, Instagram, and shopping apps definitely don’t need to track you 24/7.
5. Disable Push Email
Having your iPhone constantly check for new emails kills battery fast:
- Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data
- Turn off Push
- Set Fetch to Every 30 Minutes or Hourly
Your emails will still arrive, just not instantly. Trust me, you won’t miss anything urgent.
6. Turn Off Raise to Wake
Every time you pick up your iPhone, the screen turns on. That adds up:
- Settings > Display & Brightness
- Turn off Raise to Wake
7. Limit Widgets
Widgets are cool, but they refresh constantly and drain battery:
- Long-press your home screen
- Tap the + button to see your widgets
- Remove ones you don’t actually use
Keep only the essentials. You probably don’t need 5 weather widgets.
8. Update iOS
Apple often fixes battery drain issues with updates:
- Settings > General > Software Update
- Install any available updates
Sometimes a new iOS version causes battery drain, but Apple usually patches it quickly.
9. Check Battery Health
If your battery is worn out, no software fix will help:
- Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging
- Check your Maximum Capacity
- Above 80%: Your battery is fine
- 70-80%: Battery is aging, consider replacement soon
- Below 70%: Time for a new battery
Apple recommends replacing batteries below 80%, but I’ve found you can usually squeeze more life out of them until they hit 70%.
10. Reset All Settings
If nothing else works, reset your settings (don’t worry, this keeps your data):
- Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone
- Tap Reset > Reset All Settings
- Enter your passcode and confirm
This won’t delete your photos, apps, or data—just resets things like Wi-Fi passwords and preferences.
Advanced Battery Saving Tips
Turn Off 5G When You Don’t Need It
5G is fast but drains battery like crazy:
- Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options
- Set Voice & Data to LTE instead of 5G
Switch back to 5G when you actually need the speed.
Disable Live Activities
Those live sports scores and food delivery updates constantly refreshing? Battery killers:
- Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID)
- Scroll down and turn off Live Activities
Stop Apps From Tracking You
Ad tracking drains battery too:
- Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking
- Turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track
Reduce Motion and Transparency
These visual effects look nice but use power:
- Settings > Accessibility > Motion
- Turn on Reduce Motion
- Go back and tap Display & Text Size
- Turn on Reduce Transparency
Your iPhone will feel snappier too.
Use Wi-Fi Instead of Cellular Data
Wi-Fi uses way less battery than cellular:
- Settings > Wi-Fi
- Turn it On and connect to available networks
Just make sure Auto-Join is enabled for your trusted networks.
Apps That Kill Your iPhone Battery
These apps are notorious battery drains:
- Facebook (use the website instead)
- Snapchat (constant camera access)
- Instagram (video autoplay)
- TikTok (infinite scrolling = infinite battery drain)
- Google Maps (when running in background)
- Spotify (especially with downloaded music syncing)
Check your Battery Usage settings and see which apps are the worst offenders for you.
Should You Close Apps in the Background?
Here’s something most people get wrong: Don’t force-close apps constantly.
Apple actually says this uses MORE battery because your iPhone has to reload apps from scratch every time. Just let iOS manage it.
The only time to force-close an app is if it’s frozen or acting buggy.
Charging Tips to Extend Battery Life
How you charge affects battery health long-term:
- Use Optimized Battery Charging (Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging)
- Don’t let it drop to 0% regularly—charge when it hits 20-30%
- Avoid extreme temperatures—don’t leave your iPhone in a hot car
- Use Apple-certified chargers when possible
- Remove thick cases while charging—heat is bad for batteries
Is It Time for a Battery Replacement?
Replace your battery if:
- Maximum Capacity is below 70%
- Your iPhone shuts down randomly
- It drains more than 10% per hour with light use
- Apple shows a “Service Recommended” message
Battery replacement at Apple costs around $89-$99 (varies by model), or you can find third-party shops for cheaper.
Quick Battery Saving Checklist
Use this when your battery is dying fast:
✓ Enable Low Power Mode
✓ Lower screen brightness to 40-50%
✓ Turn off Background App Refresh
✓ Disable Location Services for unnecessary apps
✓ Switch Push Email to Fetch
✓ Turn off 5G if you don’t need it
✓ Close any frozen or buggy apps
✓ Check Battery Health
These 8 things combined can easily give you 3-4 extra hours of battery life.
When Software Fixes Don’t Work
If you’ve tried everything and your battery still dies in a few hours:
- Check for rogue apps: Delete recently installed apps to see if one is the culprit
- Restore from backup: Sometimes a corrupted file causes battery drain
- Factory reset: Last resort, but it often fixes mysterious battery issues
- Visit Apple Store: There might be a hardware problem
My Personal Battery Saving Setup
Here’s what I keep enabled on my iPhone 15 Pro that gets me through a full day easily:
- Low Power Mode: OFF (I turn it on when I hit 20%)
- Auto-Brightness: ON
- Background App Refresh: Only Messages, WhatsApp, Gmail
- Location Services: “While Using” for everything except Find My
- Push Email: OFF (Fetch every hour)
- 5G: Auto (switches to LTE when not needed)
- Widgets: Only Calendar and Weather
- Raise to Wake: OFF
This setup gets me 6-8 hours of screen time per day with 80% battery health.
Bottom Line
iPhone battery draining fast is annoying, but it’s usually fixable. Start with the basics—Low Power Mode, lower brightness, and disable Background App Refresh. That alone will make a huge difference.
If you’re still struggling after trying these fixes, your battery might genuinely be worn out and need replacement. Check your Battery Health, and if it’s below 70%, it’s probably time.
Got a specific battery drain issue I didn’t cover? Drop a comment and I’ll help you troubleshoot.
