There isn’t a single complaint I hear more about the iPhone than “The battery life sucks.” It’s the complaint that many fall victim to and some even end up selling an iPhone just because they didn’t change the device’s default settings and thought the battery was intended to be that bad. If you’re struggling from battery drainage, we may be a lifesaver. Check out our 9 tips to help save battery life below.
Don’t Quit Apps!
Possibly the biggest misconception people have about battery saving is quitting an app or apps you aren’t using any more. While it may make you feel like your device is less cluttered and able to breathe, you’re actually not saving yourself any battery life – you are actually probably hurting it. Once you quit an app, the next time you want to open it, your device is going to have to use more RAM and energy to actually boot the app back up. It’s best to just keep your apps open unless you’re going to sleep or won’t be using the apps for at least 6 hours.
Turn Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Off!
Here’s a common battery saving tip: don’t keep bluetooth or wi-fi on unless you are using it! If you are out and about, chances are you’re going to be using cellular data – so why keep bluetooth and/or wi-fi on? Your device will be using its energy to try and locate and connect to numerous different wi-fi networks and bluetooth devices, resulting in lost battery. This should be one of the first things you try when trying to diagnose battery drainage.
Disable Push Email
If you’re like me, you probably get constant emails at all times of the day – whether they’re business-related, a friend sending you a story, or just straight up spam. These emails are using power and data to send you that push notification and sound/vibration. This needs to be disabled immediately. Head to Settings > Mail > Fetch New Data > Flip the switch to OFF.
Disable Background App Refresh
All of the apps you have selected in this settings panel are using memory and energy. Disable every one of them unless you absolutely need to have them working in the background. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and flip the big kill switch to “off” or disable specific apps individually.
Disable Dynamic Backgrounds
The parallax effect and dynamic backgrounds were introduced when iOS 7 was released and sure, they were cool and all when they first came out, but why are you still using them? Nobody is impressed by your moving background or lock screen, and even worse, it’s costing you battery life. Disable this immediately by going to Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness > Choose Wallpaper. To disable the parallax effect, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion > On.
Reduce Brightness
This is an obvious, yet overlooked tip that can save you significant amounts of battery. Three words: Reduce your brightness! Simply go to Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness and move the bar below the 50% mark. Also, turn auto-brightness off and never turn it on again.
Unneeded Notifications
Are you getting unnecessary notifications on your lockscreen or while your doing something on your phone? Notification sounds and banners can cause a great amount of energy to be pumped out of your device. Disable unneeded notifications, like Craigslist, games, etc by going to Settings > Notification Center, then scroll down to “Include.”
Location Services
Your iPhone’s GPS functionality takes up a huge chunk of energy when in use, so why keep it on when you aren’t getting directions? The apps switched to “on” in this section are constantly using your location in the background, which isn’t usually necessary. Head over to Settings > Privacy > Locations Services and flip either the kill switch to “off” or just disable apps individually. You should also consider disabling “Frequent Locations” by going to the “System Services” panel within Location Services.
Watch Memory Usage
If you have 10mb of space left on your phone, there’s a good chance it moves like a snail and goes through battery power like
Implement these tips and we can almost guarantee you’ll see a difference in your average battery life. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment down below.