Buzz
When you first get your hands on a new iPhone, its battery life seems fantastic. Even with heavy usage, you can go a few days before needing to charge it. This holds especially true for newer iPhone models, as battery life continues to improve with each new release.
Reasons why iPhone batteries drain quickly
As time goes by, you may start noticing that you need to charge your phone more frequently. While this could be due to battery degradation, it's more likely that new apps and different settings are causing the battery to drain faster. This article will highlight 5 reasons why your iPhone battery drains quickly and solutions to help extend its average battery life a bit longer.
Reason 1: Your screen auto-lock time is too long
When you don't interact with your iPhone for a while, the screen will automatically turn off. This could happen quickly after 30 seconds, but it could also never happen.
Your iPhone screen is a major culprit when it comes to poor battery life, so taking steps to minimize screen-on time when you're not using your iPhone is crucial. You can adjust the Auto Lock settings on your iPhone with the following steps:
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Display & Brightness.
- Tap on Auto-Lock.
- Choose your desired option from 30 seconds, 1 minute to 5 minutes.
Reason 2: Screen brightness too high
Another screen-related setting that can drain the battery is brightness. The brighter the screen, the more battery it consumes. You can reduce the screen brightness by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to open the Control Center. Then, drag the brightness slider down to decrease brightness.
You should also adjust the auto-brightness option. This setting will automatically adjust the screen brightness depending on the brightness of the room you're in. You can enable Auto Brightness as follows:
- Open Settings > Accessibility.
- Select Display & Text Size.
- Scroll down the page and turn on Auto-Brightness.
Reason 3: Too many widgets
It's quite surprising how easily you can access various menus and settings by simply tapping on the Home screen or swiping the screen in different directions. One of these main menus is the Widget screen, which you can open by swiping from left to right on the Home screen. Here, you can see several small rectangles providing information about various apps on your iPhone, such as Weather or Calendar.
But perhaps you don't really need these Widgets, and they could be draining your battery quickly. If you scroll to the bottom of the menu and tap the Edit button, you'll see the screen as pictured below. By tapping the red circular button to the left of each widget, you'll see the Remove button to delete widgets you don't use.
Reason 4: You receive too many notifications
Some notifications you receive on iPhone are for things you genuinely need. It could be text message notifications or updates for Amazon. But there are notifications that you probably don't need and may never even look at. Each time one of these notifications appears, it lights up your phone screen and drains the battery, leading to fast battery depletion. By adjusting or disabling notifications for unnecessary apps, you can minimize the number of times the screen turns on, thereby preserving battery life.
- Open Settings > Notifications.
- Select the app and you can either turn off Allow Notifications or enable Allow Notifications but adjust the notification settings.
Reason 5: Too many apps want to know your location
Many apps on iPhone require your location to function accurately. While some of these apps are improved when they constantly track your location, many of them don't need that functionality.
When many apps are configured to track your location all the time, it drains the battery. Fortunately, you can change how each app locates you, even configuring the app to only track your location when you're actively using it. You can adjust that setting with the following steps:
- Open Settings > Privacy.
- Select Location Services and tap on an app.
- Choose While Using the App or Never to prevent the app from tracking your location.
So, now you know exactly why your iPhone battery drains quickly and how to fix it. Of course, the cause could also be the operating system, and if so, you can revert to a previous OS version or wait for a new update. Additionally, you can refer to methods to fix iPhone not charging here if you're experiencing this issue.
