Whether you're new to Apple or a long-time user, understanding how to prolong your iPhone's battery life is essential for extending your phone’s lifespan. While slight battery performance declines are inevitable over time, understanding how to keep iPhone battery healthy ensures your phone remains dependable for years.

In this article:

• How to Prolong iPhone Battery Life: Understanding the Basics
• How to Keep iPhone Battery Healthy: Top 10 Tips
• What You Should Not Sweat About
• When to Replace the Battery
• Tips to Save iPhone Battery Life for Daily Use
• What Really Matters: Enjoy Your Phone, Don’t Stress
• Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s get started!

How to Prolong iPhone Battery Life: Understanding the Basics

Before diving into actionable tips, let’s explore the basics of how to keep iPhone battery healthy. iPhones use lithium-ion batteries, designed for longevity, but all rechargeable batteries naturally degrade over time.

Battery health is typically measured as a percentage, indicating the remaining capacity compared to when the battery was brand new. Over time, this percentage will naturally drop, but the key is how you handle your device to slow down this process.

Here are some key things to understand:

• Gradual Decline is Normal: Don’t be alarmed by a small drop in battery health percentage. It’s perfectly normal as the battery undergoes charge cycles.

• Heat is the Enemy: Excessive heat and extreme charging habits can lead to faster battery degradation.

• Everyday Use Matters: iPhones are engineered to handle daily use and minor declines in battery health, so you don’t need to stress over it.

Now, let’s explore the best practices on how to prolong iPhone battery life and help you manage it better.

How to Keep iPhone Battery Healthy: Top 10 Tips

Charging habits and heat management play a big role in how to prolong iPhone battery life. Below are 10 proven tips on what to avoid and how to keep iPhone battery healthy.

1. Don’t Fully Deplete or Overcharge Too Often

While lithium-ion batteries, like the ones in your iPhone, don’t have the "memory effect" (a condition where certain older battery types, like nickel-cadmium, lose their ability to hold a full charge if regularly charged before fully drained), it’s still important to avoid letting your battery repeatedly reach 0% or stay at 100% for long periods. Doing so can add stress to the battery and ultimately reduce its lifespan.

2. Charge Between 20% and 80% When Possible

Keeping your battery between 20% and 80% most of the time helps it degrade more slowly. A charge cycle occurs when you use 100% of the battery’s capacity, whether all at once or over multiple days (e.g., 50% one day and 50% the next equals one cycle). Staying within this range reduces full charge cycles, prolonging battery life and health.

3. Enable Optimized Battery Charging

This iPhone feature slows down the charging rate once your battery is about 80% full, preventing the battery from charging to 100% quickly. It’s ideal for overnight charging, as it helps protect your battery’s lifespan. You can enable it in Settings > Battery > Battery Health.

4. Avoid Intensive Tasks While Charging

Activities like gaming or streaming videos can heat up your phone. If you can, try to limit these tasks while your phone is plugged in, especially for extended periods.

5. Avoid Overheating

Never leave your phone in direct sunlight, like on the dashboard of your car or by a sunny window, as this can damage your battery. Unplug your phone immediately if it gets too hot during charging. Also, if your phone gets hot while charging, remove the case to prevent heat buildup. Remember, excessive heat can cause long-term battery damage, which affects how to prolong iPhone battery life.

6. Ideal Temperature Range

iPhones perform best when stored and used in a temperature range of 62°–72°F (16°–22°C). Avoid temperatures above 95°F (35°C) as this can permanently damage battery capacity. Use an insulated case to protect your phone from extreme temperatures.

7. Use the Right iPhone Charger

Chargers can vary significantly in quality. Low-grade or uncertified chargers may deliver inconsistent voltage, potentially harming your battery over time. To maintain your phone's battery health, it's best to use the charger included with your device or opt for a reliable third-party brand that aligns with your phone's charging requirements.

8. Fast Chargers vs. Regular Chargers

While it might seem convenient to use a fast charger, using a slower (5W–10W) charger reduces heat, which can help maintain how to keep iPhone battery healthy. Use fast chargers sparingly, like when you’re in a rush, to minimize heat generation.

9. Keep iOS Updated

Apple regularly releases iOS updates to improve system performance, battery optimization, and security. Updating to the latest iOS version is one of the simplest and most effective ways on how to prolong iPhone battery life.

• Check for iOS Updates: Go to Settings > General > Software Update to ensure your device is running the latest version.

• Install Updates Over Wi-Fi: Make sure your device is plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi during the update to avoid interruptions and ensure a smooth process.

10. Store Your iPhone Properly for Long-Term Health

Before storing your device, charge it to about 50% to prevent deep discharge. Every six months, recharge it to 50% to maintain battery health. Ensure you store your device in a cool, dry area, ideally below 90°F (32°C), and avoid hot environments that could damage the battery.

What You Should Not Sweat About

Some common habits don’t really make a big difference in battery life, so you can stop worrying about them:

• Don’t Close Apps Constantly: Unlike Android devices, iOS manages background apps efficiently. Continuously closing and reopening apps uses more battery than just letting them run in the background.
• Monitor Battery Health Without Obsessing: It’s normal for your battery health to drop gradually over time. If it dips below 80%, Apple offers battery replacements. The key is to use your phone naturally and focus on healthy charging habits.
• Worrying About Overnight Charging: iPhones have built-in protections to prevent overcharging. Most users find that charging overnight is convenient and doesn’t cause significant damage over time. If you’re not seeing major issues, you’re probably fine! However, if you want to go the extra mile:
• • Remove your case if it causes your phone to heat up while charging.

  • Consider enabling Optimized Charging to limit time spent at 100%.

When to Replace the Battery

Apple recommends replacing your battery when its health drops below 80%. At this point, you’ll likely notice shorter battery life and slower performance. Don’t stress as every iPhone battery will degrade over time—just schedule a replacement with Apple or a trusted repair service.

Tips to Save iPhone Battery Life for Daily Use

Simple changes in how you use your phone can significantly reduce battery drain. Here are some adjustments you can make to optimize your settings:

• Dim the Screen: Screen brightness is one of the biggest power drains. Either manually adjust your brightness or enable Auto-Brightness (Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size), which will adjust your screen brightness based on your environment.
• Use Wi-Fi Instead of Cellular Data: Wi-Fi consumes much less power than cellular data, so whenever possible, connect to a Wi-Fi network to save your battery.
• Enable Low Power Mode: When your battery is getting low, Low Power Mode (Settings > Battery) reduces background processes and adjusts settings like mail fetching and automatic downloads to help conserve battery life.
• Turn Off Unnecessary Notifications: Notifications, especially those that cause your screen to light up, can drain your battery. Review which notifications are essential and disable unnecessary ones in Settings > Notifications.
• Avoid No Cell Coverage or Low Signal Areas: In poor reception areas, your phone uses more battery searching for a signal. Turn on Airplane Mode in Control Center to save battery when you’re in such areas (note: you can’t make calls in this mode).
• Limit Background App Activity: Disabling Background App Refresh for apps that don’t need it can save battery. Head to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn it off for non-essential apps.
• Restrict Location Services: Apps that constantly track your location can use a lot of power. You can manage location services in Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
• Silence Unnecessary Notifications: Constant notifications drain battery life, especially if they wake your screen. Go to Settings > Notifications to customize which apps can send alerts.

What Really Matters: Enjoy Your Phone, Don’t Stress

At the end of the day, your iPhone is built for daily use to enhance your life, not something to stress over. While it's important to be mindful of your charging habits, remember that a little flexibility is okay. Follow our tips on how to prolong iPhone battery life when it’s convenient, but don’t obsess over battery health. Use your phone how you like, and when you need a replacement down the line, it’s all part of the journey.

Do you know some tips on how to keep iPhone battery healthy? Share them below—let’s help each other out!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to extend iPhone battery life?

To extend your iPhone's battery life, follow these tips:

• Dim the Screen: Reduce screen brightness or enable Auto-Brightness (Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size) for better power efficiency.
• Use Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi uses less battery than cellular data, so connect to Wi-Fi when possible.
• Enable Low Power Mode: When the battery is low, turn on Low Power Mode (Settings > Battery) to reduce background processes and conserve power.
• Turn Off Unnecessary Notifications: Disable non-essential notifications in Settings > Notifications to avoid battery drain.
• Avoid Poor Signal Areas: In low signal areas, use Airplane Mode to save battery while not using your phone for calls.
• Limit Background Activity: Turn off Background App Refresh for apps that don't need it (Settings > General > Background App Refresh).
• Restrict Location Services: Manage location tracking in Settings > Privacy > Location Services to save battery.
• Silence Unnecessary Alerts: Turn off notifications that wake your screen to preserve battery life.

What kills iPhone battery the most?

Several factors can significantly drain your iPhone’s battery:

• Poor Battery Health: As the battery ages, its capacity naturally declines, affecting overall performance.
• Apps: Power-hungry apps, especially those running in the background, consume a lot of battery.
• Charging Port or Cable Issues: Damaged cables or a faulty charging port can lead to inefficient charging, stressing the battery.
• Software Updates: While updates often improve performance, they can sometimes introduce bugs or inefficiencies that impact battery life.
• Settings: Incorrect settings, like high screen brightness or unnecessary location services, can drain power.
• Extreme Temperatures: Both hot and cold conditions can damage the battery, reducing its lifespan.
• Low Power Mode: While designed to save battery, frequently using Low Power Mode can be a sign of poor battery health.
• Push Notifications: Constant alerts from apps can drain battery life as they frequently wake up the device.

What weakens iPhone battery?

Several factors contribute to a weakened iPhone battery:

• Frequent Charging Cycles: Every time you charge your iPhone, the battery goes through a cycle. Over time, these cycles reduce the battery's capacity to hold a charge.
• Exposure to Heat: High temperatures, whether from external sources or heavy usage (e.g., gaming), can cause permanent damage to the battery's health.
• Old Age: All batteries degrade naturally as they age. After a couple of years, an iPhone battery will start to lose its ability to maintain a full charge.

• Intensive Apps and Settings: Running power-hungry apps or having certain settings, like high screen brightness, can drain the battery faster, contributing to wear.

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