How to Find What’s Draining Your iPhone Battery

This guide shows you how to see exactly which apps and features are using the most battery on your iPhone, and what settings you can adjust to make it last longer. You’ll use the built-in Battery settings, so no extra apps are needed. We’ll walk through reading the battery usage graph, checking background activity, and tweaking a few key settings that usually have the biggest impact.

What You’ll Need

• An iPhone running iOS 16 or later (the steps are similar on older versions).
• Your iPhone’s passcode (to change some settings).
• About 10 minutes of your time.

Step-by-Step

1. Open Settings. Tap the gray gear icon on your home screen.
2. Tap Battery. It’s usually in the third group of settings, near “Privacy & Security.”
3. Look at the Battery Usage graph. You’ll see a bar chart showing battery level over the last 24 hours or last 10 days. Tap the tabs at the top to switch between them. The graph shows when your phone was charging (yellow/orange) and when it was in use (blue).
4. Scroll down to the App Battery Usage list. This is the key section. You’ll see a list of apps and the percentage of battery they’ve used in the selected time period. The list is sorted from highest to lowest usage.
5. Tap the clock icon (top right of the list) to see the usage breakdown for each app. This shows two numbers: On Screen (time the app was open and visible) and Background (time the app was running in the background). This tells you if an app is draining battery even when you’re not using it.
6. Identify the biggest offenders. Look for apps with high background activity or high overall percentage. Common culprits are social media apps, navigation apps, and games.
7. Tap on an app name to see more details. You’ll see options like “Background App Refresh” and “Location”. These are the main settings you can adjust.
8. Turn off Background App Refresh for specific apps. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You can turn it off entirely, or toggle it off for individual apps. This prevents apps from updating content in the background, which saves battery. For most apps, you won’t notice a difference.
9. Check Location Services. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Scroll through the list and tap each app to see its location access. Change apps that don’t need your exact location to “While Using” or “Never” instead of “Always”. This is a big battery saver.
10. Adjust Screen Brightness. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness. Lower the brightness slider, or turn on Auto-Brightness (scroll to the bottom) so your phone adjusts it automatically. The screen is one of the biggest battery drains.
11. Turn on Low Power Mode. Go to Settings > Battery and toggle on Low Power Mode. This reduces background activity, mail fetch, and some visual effects. You can also add it to Control Center for quick access.
12. Check your screen-on time. In the Battery screen, the “On Screen” time for each app shows how long you’ve actually used it. If you’re spending hours in a single app, that’s the reason your battery is low—not a bug.

Common Mistakes

• Looking at the 24-hour view only. The 24-hour view can be misleading because it includes overnight charging. The 10-day view gives a better overall picture of your usage patterns.
• Assuming the top app is the problem. An app that uses 40% battery might just be the one you use the most. That’s normal. Focus on apps with high background activity or that you use very little but still show high usage.
• Turning off Background App Refresh for everything. This can break some apps (like email or messaging) that need to check for new content. Instead, turn it off only for apps that you don’t need to update in the background.
• Ignoring the “On Screen” vs “Background” data. An app with 5 minutes on screen but 2 hours of background activity is a much bigger problem than an app you’ve used for 2 hours.
• Not updating iOS. Apple frequently fixes battery drain bugs in software updates. Always keep your iPhone updated.

Tips

• Use Wi-Fi whenever possible. Cellular data uses more battery than Wi-Fi, especially in areas with poor signal.
• Turn off Push for email. Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data. Set it to “Fetch” or “Manual” instead of “Push” to save battery. You can still check mail manually when you open the app.
• Reduce motion effects. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion and turn on Reduce Motion. This reduces the parallax and animation effects, which saves a small amount of battery.
• Use Dark Mode. On OLED iPhones (iPhone X and later), Dark Mode can save battery because black pixels are turned off. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness and select Dark.
• Check your battery health. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. If your maximum capacity is below 80%, your battery is degrading and may need replacement. This is a hardware issue, not a software one.

Troubleshooting

If you don’t see the Battery section in Settings: This is extremely rare and usually means you’re running a very old iOS version. Update your iPhone to the latest iOS if possible.

If the battery usage list is empty or shows “No Usage”: This can happen if your phone has been off or in Low Power Mode for the entire period. Wait a few hours of normal use and check again.

If an app shows high background activity but you’ve already disabled Background App Refresh: Some apps (like music players) can still play audio in the background. Check if the app is playing audio by looking for the red or blue indicator at the top of your screen. Also, check Location Services—an app can use location in the background even if Background App Refresh is off.

If your battery still drains fast after adjusting all settings: There could be a hardware issue. Try a full restart by holding the side button and volume button until the power off slider appears. If the problem persists, contact Apple Support or visit an Apple Store for a battery diagnostic.

If you can’t find a specific app in the list: The list only shows apps that have used at least a small percentage of battery. If an app isn’t listed, it’s not a significant drain. Also, the list resets when you charge your phone to 100%.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my battery drain so fast even when I’m not using my phone?

This is usually caused by background activity. Check the Battery usage list and look for apps with high “Background” time. Turn off Background App Refresh and Location Services for those apps.

Should I close all my apps to save battery?

No. On modern iPhones, apps in the app switcher are frozen and use almost no battery. Force-quitting them can actually use more battery because the app has to reload from scratch when you open it again.

Is it bad to use my phone while it’s charging?

No, it’s not bad for the battery. It might charge slower, but it won’t damage the battery. Modern batteries are designed to handle this.

What does “Low Power Mode” actually do?

It reduces background activity (like mail fetch and background app refresh), disables some visual effects, and can reduce screen brightness. It also stops automatic downloads and some iCloud features. It’s a great way to extend battery life when you’re running low.

How do I know if my battery needs replacing?

Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. If “Maximum Capacity” is below 80%, or if your phone unexpectedly shuts down even with a decent charge, it’s time to consider a battery replacement.

Will turning off 5G save battery?

Yes, 5G can use more battery than 4G/LTE, especially in areas with weak 5G signal. Go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data and select “LTE” to save battery.

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