How to Save Battery Life in iOS

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How to Save Battery Life in iOS

If your iOS device battery is less than optimal, try these few tweaks to maximise it! You may have to sacrifice some features, but it may be worth it! Any suggestions, please comment!

Conor Bradley

24.4k Views

Step 1 of 13

Turn off notifications for apps you don't need...(settings>notifications)

Step 2 of 13

Turn push off for mail, and set mail to fetch data at a set interval...(settings>mail,contacts,calendars>fetch new data)

Step 3 of 13

Turn off unused iCloud features...(settings>iCloud)

Step 4 of 13

Turn location services off when not used...(settings>locations services)

Step 5 of 13

If using location services, turn off diagnostics and usage, setting time zone and location based iAds...(settings>location services>system services)

Step 6 of 13

Use aeroplane mode when you don't need/want texts, calls or Internet connection, for example at night...(settings)

Step 7 of 13

Use Wi-Fi more when available, as opposed to 3G...this may seem counter intuitive, but it works...if you don't use 3G and don't need Wi-Fi, switch it off! (settings>wifi)

Step 8 of 13

Turn the brightness down...(settings>brightness)

Step 9 of 13

Turn music EQ off...(settings>music>EQ)

Step 10 of 13

Turn off Bluetooth...(settings>general>Bluetooth)

Step 11 of 13

Set auto-lock to 1 minute...(settings>general>auto lock)

Step 12 of 13

Once in a while (about every month), let your battery drain to near 1%, then charge to 100% without pause (may take a while). This will improve the health of the lithium ion battery

Step 13 of 13

Make sure your software is up to date! Each update will aim to fix bugs and improve battery life! (settings>general>software update)

You're Done

Follow this author & check out some other guides!

Conor Bradley

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North East US/ Ga/ UK

An iOS 5 device

Tennille Rehm 8 months ago

Those location services options were really hidden for me, nice tip!

Sinu Ar 9 months ago

Thanks! Maybe my phone won't die twice a day anymore!

Ben Corson 11 months ago

If your battery life is still poor after using these tips, you can restore the iOS device from backup, which may help. If this still does not help, and your are still within 1 year warranty, take it back to apple and tell them the battery is dying, they should replace it. Alternatively, you can buy new batteries on eBay and install it yourself (search YouTube for guides), but this will void warranty. Unfortunately batteries just gradually lose charge with years of use :(

Conor Bradley (author) 12 months ago

Loved all your tips!

Karen G last year

A thing that no one mentioned is how the battery works and what is best for it to keep working as we all want it to... These phones should be charged at least once a day.. Batteries have a number of life cycles.. They are designed to last for almost 5 years assuming you use a 100% battery cycle in a week! A cycle is the sum of the percentage you use until they add up 100%... and iphones, ipods, ipads and macs should be almost drain once a month... That's what apple says in it's website!!! 👍📱 so take good care of it and it will last!! 😉

Cinthya Toledo last year

Great guide. 👍

Jake Spurlock last year

😱😱😱😱

Maelynn Colborn last year

Gone*

Hussain Kadhim last year

...I already posted a post like that with the same subject,u stole my guide -.-(i wanted to see if my guide gone popular(I posted it a long time ago)and then I gone to explore,I found ur guide,I thought it mine,and when I figured it's not mine,I one to write this comment -.-)

Hussain Kadhim last year

Helpful indeed.

Jay Costan last year

Glad to be of service dude!

Conor Bradley (author) last year

Extremely useful, and you know what you're talking about. Thanks for this guide!

Alfredo Martin last year

True Conor. And is appreciated.

Ryan Collier last year

👆 👍

Maelynn Colborn last year

Yeah Ryan I suppose that would be an option but that would require a change in the daily schedule which may not suit some people. This guide lays out some options to sacrifice user experience for battery life. People seem to get upset that this turns off some features; to those people I say only turn off the things you don't need or want. I think people are expecting a miracle, but the poor battery life in smart phones is a direct consequence of the nature of the phone and the poor current battery technology; I am just suggesting a few tweaks to improve this, that is all anyone can rationally expect.

Conor Bradley (author) last year

I think people are frustrated in this issue and never had to micromanage their iOS device. All people seem to do is tell them to turn off everything that makes it a smart phone to save battery. I'd rather just charge it often.

Ryan Collier last year

Can't please everyone lol, thanks for the back up Maelynn!

Conor Bradley (author) last year

Conor wasn't saying you HAD to turn off all of those things to make it save battery life. He is simple saying if you don't use those features then you could turn them off for improvement.

Maelynn Colborn last year

I agree raul

Dan Henson last year

Hi Sophia, thanks for the support! I have left a comment in the comment section below that slide on the guide which explains it a bit! Hope that helps

Conor Bradley (author) last year

Agreed 👆👍👍👍

Maelynn Colborn last year

Oops, I meant "he". Sorry Conor!

Sophia D last year

Yikes! Didn't realize that I had so many things in my notification center that I don't need! Also, can you elaborate on the items you suggest turning off in the locations services? What do they do exactly? As for the people complaining that you're "turning the whole phone off", that is so ignorant & judgmental. The features that she is suggesting you turn off/adjust, are ones that presumably, you don't use or need that often. If you actually try it it, I bet you would find more than one item that is unnecessary. The number of people that agree should be a sign to you that this is true!

Sophia D last year

Thanks bud

Jaelin Peterson last year

Thanks 4 the tips!

Joe Brooks last year

Thanks

love Sniper last year

Thanks. You missed one though... Don't play Draw Something it eats your battery life!

Michael Pegg last year

Great information on saving battery life, but the most important thing you can do is NOT leave the phone plugged in when it has more than a 50% charge and, as mentioned, cycle the power by letting it discharge full as often as possible.

Evan Lugo last year

These are great tips! Thanks for sharing!! Great how-to!

Erin Sales last year

Damn why don't u just turn the whole phone off!

Sean Aj last year

Good tips!

Annette Stutzman last year

Good stuff. Thanks!!

Mike Bates last year

Nice, thanks

Yujing Li last year

Why do you bought smart phone?

Jackie Chen last year

👆 👍

Maelynn Colborn last year

For people with some extra cash look up mophie iPhone cases. Between $100-120 and acts as a protective case/ battery charger all in one. The cheaper one ( the one I have) effectively doubles my battery power while the more expensive one gives even more. Definitely worth a look for people like me who listen to a LOT of music (car trips, etc.) and don't always have a charger handy. I got mine at best buy but maybe they can be found cheaper online, haven't checked. Thought I would share.

Eric F last year

Great thanks for sharing

Nancy Cirillo last year

These are great tips

Derek K last year

Great post!

Amanda Neubauer last year

Top rope material ol bugga! Gnah! Just foolin with yer!

Sir Godley last year

Cheers!

Vishal Chhabra last year

Another way to improve your battery life is by double clicking the home button and a bar of opened apps should appear at the bottom of your screen. By holding down one of the apps until they all wiggle you will find little minus symbols on the left side of each. Click the minus symbol to "close" opened apps thus saving battery life from keeping them running 😊 when finished click the home button again and the bar should go away

Sarah Sorensen last year

Another way to improve your battery life is by doubly

Sarah Sorensen last year

Thanks Conor. This will be a lengthy process for me. Lol

Lawyer Milloy last year

Hi lawyer, unfortunately battery technology just isn't good enough to power smart phones adequately these days, so I suggest if your battery life is suffering and you don't use some of these features, to turn these off. But if you use them all a lot then don't, it's up to you of you want to sacrifice features for battery life!

Conor Bradley (author) last year

You basically want me to turn off all the features?

Lawyer Milloy last year

Extremely helpful!

Danial Waseem last year

👍

Liz P last year

Thanx

Katsuhiro Yamakawa last year

Thanks! This really helped!

Cassie Bridges last year

Great guide, thanks man

Obinna Nnaji last year

thanks a lot!

Mafe Santiago last year

Good guide

Perciun Vitalie last year

Thanks!

Sidra Khan last year

Did all of it thanks

Sayida Lodin last year

Nice tips... Well done

Jose Mata last year

Thanks!! Was much in need of this!

A. O'Leary last year

Very nice guide. Lots of tips and tricks I didnt know about :)

Daniel Danielsson last year

Yes the brightness drains the most battery in my opinion on iPhone 4 and 4s

Rob Nicola last year

Very helpful!

Liam Hanley last year

No way I'll use all these. Maybe on road trips.

James Kurz last year

This was very helpful!

Jessica Llantada last year

Very useful!!

Farhan Khan last year

Wow! Thanks so much!

Lisa Frederick last year

Nice

Dalei Li last year

Not necessarily every day Evelyn, but about once every few weeks! If you take a look on the slide about draining to 1%, I've left a link in the comments section with details (apple website)

Conor Bradley (author) last year

So am I right to say that if I drain my batt to 1% everyday before I charge, my battery is more healthy?

Evelyn Hu last year

Thanks, good remind

Anastasio Carreira last year

Thanks ... I know that but thanx for remind me :)

Dipak Bose last year

Very helpful, thanks

Jason Aaron last year

thanks for the tip my phone always dies now I know why =)

Cristal Perez last year

Thanks!

Derek Munson last year

Aweso

Derek Munson last year

Soo, then (here is your proof) when asked by my 7th grade student why his iphone was constantly dying. I look in the multitasking tray....uh OK.....it took me the rest of the 45 min lunch period to kill everything in the tray!!!!!!! Once i did and charged his phone completely....he said he kept doing and never lost his battery life like that ever again. Are you people serious???!!! Jack wagons. Why do you think i switched from Droids???!! Why do think that was THE first question I asked Apple rep when getting my iphone!!! Morons. You go on believing you don't need to empty that tray...and my itouch, ipad, & iphones will outlive yours!!!!

Maureen Montemurro last year

I'll try it! Thanks for the tips

Marley Lin last year

Thanks!

Isaac Martinez last year

Yeah I agree with darrin, iOS is designed to manage apps on the background, and does not use true multitasking (except some apps e.g. Mail). But there is an overwhelming majority of people on the web reporting benefits of killing apps regularly...maybe some third party apps could be poorly designed, or there are bugs in the software, which will drain battery in the background...but we need a "scientific" study to investigate this. I think that in normal circumstances apps dont need killed in the multitasking tray! http://speirs.org/blog/2012/1/2/misconceptions-about-ios-multitasking.html

Conor Bradley (author) last year

^she knows things. I agree.

Ukaia Rogers last year

Killing the multitasking actually does save the battery life...and if you don't think so...then you aren't as "smart" as your phone. I do it throughout the day and im constantly on my phone doing everything and my battery life doesn't slip below 85% by the time 4pm rolls around. So, if that's all im doing....you still want to say it's a waste of time??

Maureen Montemurro last year

You can also not buy an smartphone since you are removing pretty much everything that makes it "smart". It would also save battery to never use it for more than 2 mins every 2 hours, but that is not ideal

Raul Riera last year

Thanks Conor. I didn't know about the location services issue either. Really helpful.

Del Brown last year

Thanks. !!!!!

Susana Juarez last year

I'm with Darrin.

Lalita Mendiratta last year

Yee, looks like downgrading to iOS 3.0 will be easier or just get yourself old Nokia phone if you are looking for battery life .... I don't have trouble using my 4s for 24 hrs with new a iOS 5.1 without any recharging

Mike S. last year

Brilliant

Matthew Edwards last year

Darrin's got it right.

Scott Coates last year

Killing apps in your multitasking bar may help occasionally on older phones or when an app needs to be force quit, but quitting them constantly is a waste of time. The "multitasking" bar lists every app you've ever used not apps that are running in the background. Constantly killing them is overkill, like force quitting every app on your laptop every time you use it.

Darrin Allen last year

Welcome 😃

Maelynn Colborn last year

Didn't know about the location services thing! Thanks!!

Sherri Fox last year

Thanks I implemented those!

Conor Bradley (author) last year

Also another thing that helps save your battery … 'Double Tap' (quickly) the home button, along the bottom edge of the screen all of the apps you have in use will show up, press and hold your finger on any app until the apps start to shake. They will then have a - symbol in the up left hand corner if the app simply click the - so that the app is no longer in use or using the battery life 😄

Maelynn Colborn last year

Amazing! That's all I can say 😄

Maelynn Colborn last year

Nice! I learned something today...😃👍

Louis Chamberland last year

A good thing is to have it in 30-60 degree tempature.

Audrey Beck last year

Great tips! Especially the hidden things in Location Services!

Denton Chua last year

Can do all of them but brightness

Hasooon Al-lawati last year

Bluetooth

Lev Dergachev last year

Actually, after I took some apps from the notification center I did notice my phone running a bit smoother

Alfredo Martin last year

I think your battery only drains when you actually receive notifications. So if you have notifications on for an app that rarely actually sends them, it's not sapping battery power.

Tucker Weinmann last year

Push doesn't actually increase battery wear because the server pushes it to the device. Although I still recommend mail being set to manual.

Debra Bush last year

Ok thanks! This saves a lot of battery.

Albert G. last year

Yeah if you set manual, you will have to open the mail app each time you want to check for mail...the phone won't check for mail by itself in other words

Conor Bradley (author) last year

If I set it on manual, push does not do anything, right?

Albert G. last year

Be first to comment on Step 3.

How will this affect your map navigation?

Lisa Lin 6 months ago

Nice tips, yeah would also like to know what iAds does?

Ph Dankov last year

Aahh... Thanks! And iAds?

Sophia D last year

Diagnostics and usage turns off info sent to apple for their records/surveys etc. turning off setting time zone turns off location based changes to your clock I.e if you get a plane and enter a different time zone, the iPhone will change to the correct time since it knows where you are. It has been suggested that there could be a bug in this which drains battery life ( at least before ios5.1)

Conor Bradley (author) last year

Be first to comment on Step 6.

Not to mention you would use less cellular data and save money by dropping to a lower plan.

Debra Bush last year

Here is the evidence to back this up! On apples website..." Note that if you frequently use your iPhone to browse the web, battery life may be improved by using Wi-Fi instead of cellular data networks...". This has also been reported in forums etc, and I personally find it useful! http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

Conor Bradley (author) last year

Be first to comment on Step 8.

Be first to comment on Step 9.

Be first to comment on Step 10.

Be first to comment on Step 11.

I charge my phone at work... Ps. I always work behind desk..

Lili Yodan last year

I still don't understand, is it wrong to let your iPhone charge for the hole night?

Alex Ferdean last year

I never fully knew about this. I need to do that from now on. My battery is still pretty good though.

Daniel Bernard last year

Although it shows 100% when left charging, the phone actually let's the power drop a per cent or two then charges to 100% again continuously. Read this in an article quoting Apple. This preserves the battery.

Harry Cannon last year

I heard that if you charge your phone at night and you're asleep while it's already charged to 100% it kills your battery as well

Ilian Roudev last year

My iPhone 4 does this almost every day

Adam Field last year

I see it now! Sorry still kinda new to Snapguide! Didn't know there are comments here too! Thanks Conor. :)

Evelyn Hu last year

Yeah Ukaia your right, apparently it helps the health of the battery! This is from apples website..."Use iPhone Regularly For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down)....". http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html. Hope that helps

Conor Bradley (author) last year

It helps cycle the lithium ion battery for maximum full charges

Ukaia Rogers last year

Hmmm. Never would have thought of that.

Dennis Brown last year

My iPod touch dies every night and unplug it every morning so this is an always for me. And I found out if you let it totally die at least once a month it will help the battery life.

Nebmagic98 . last year

How does this help? I almost always let it get that low. Haha

Dennis Brown last year

Be first to comment on Step 13.

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