Turn Off Optimized Battery Charging on iPhone

Optimized Battery Charging is an iPhone feature designed to slow battery aging by delaying charging past 80% until it predicts you need the phone. If you prefer a full charge immediately, or the feature is causing charging to pause overnight, you can turn it off in a few taps. Here is exactly how to do it on any iPhone running iOS 13 or later.

What You’ll Need

• Your iPhone (any model that supports iOS 13 or newer)
• The passcode or Face ID/Touch ID to unlock Settings
• About 30 seconds of time

Step-by-Step

1. Unlock your iPhone and go to the home screen.
2. Open the Settings app (the gray gear icon).
3. Tap on “Battery” in the third group of settings, near the top.
4. Tap on “Battery Health & Charging” (on iOS 16 and later, it may be labeled “Battery Health” or “Charging” depending on your model – the option is inside this submenu).
5. Find the “Optimized Battery Charging” toggle. It is a green switch. If it is green, the feature is on.
6. Tap the toggle to turn it off. The switch will turn gray.
7. Confirm your choice when a pop-up appears asking “Turn Off Optimized Battery Charging?” – tap “Turn Off” to confirm, or “Turn Off Until Tomorrow” if you only want to disable it temporarily (for example, if you need a full charge soon).
8. Exit Settings. Your iPhone will now charge to 100% immediately every time you plug it in, without pausing at 80%.

Common Mistakes

• Looking in the wrong place: Some users search for “Optimized Battery Charging” in the main Settings search, but it only appears under Battery > Battery Health & Charging. The search bar does work, but you must tap the result that says “Battery Health & Charging” – not just “Battery”.
• Confusing it with “Clean Energy Charging”: On iOS 16 and later, there is a separate toggle called “Clean Energy Charging” that also pauses charging, but it is based on your local grid’s carbon intensity, not your usage. Turning off Optimized Battery Charging does not turn off Clean Energy Charging – you must turn that off separately if you want.
• Not confirming the pop-up: If you tap the toggle but don’t tap “Turn Off” on the pop-up, the feature stays on. Make sure you actually confirm.
• Thinking it’s off because the phone is at 80%: If you turn off the feature while the phone is already at 80% and plugged in, it will resume charging to 100% within a minute or two. If it doesn’t, unplug and replug the charger – that forces it to resume.

Tips

• Use “Turn Off Until Tomorrow” for a one-time full charge (like before a long trip). This keeps the feature on for future nights, so you don’t have to remember to turn it back on.
• If you turn it off permanently, consider charging to 80% manually if you want to preserve battery health – the feature exists because lithium-ion batteries degrade faster when kept at 100% for long periods.
• For older iPhones (iPhone 11 and earlier), the toggle is in the same place, but the pop-up may say “Turn Off” only – no “Until Tomorrow” option. That’s normal.
• If you have an iPhone 15 or later, you may also see a “80% Limit” option under Battery Health & Charging. That is a separate feature that caps charging at 80% permanently – if you want to turn that off, tap it and select “Optimized Battery Charging” or “Full” instead.

Troubleshooting

• The toggle is grayed out and you can’t tap it: This can happen if your iPhone is in Low Power Mode (which disables the toggle temporarily) or if the battery temperature is outside the normal range. Turn off Low Power Mode in Settings > Battery, and wait for the phone to cool down or warm up, then try again.
• You turned it off, but the phone still pauses at 80%: First, check if “Clean Energy Charging” is on (Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging > Clean Energy Charging). If it is, turn that off too. If it’s not, unplug the charger, wait 10 seconds, and plug it back in – the phone should resume charging immediately.
• The pop-up doesn’t appear when you tap the toggle: On some iOS versions, the confirmation pop-up only appears if the feature was active. If you don’t see a pop-up, the toggle may have turned off anyway – check if the switch is gray. If it’s gray, it’s off.
• You can’t find the Battery Health & Charging section at all: This only appears on iPhone 11 and later, or on iPhone XS/XR and later with iOS 13+. If you have an older iPhone, the feature simply isn’t available – your phone charges to 100% normally.
• After updating iOS, the feature turned back on: Apple sometimes resets this setting after a major iOS update. Just repeat the steps above to turn it off again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off Optimized Battery Charging damage my battery?

Not immediately, but keeping your battery at 100% for extended periods (like overnight every night) can accelerate chemical aging over months. The feature exists to slow that aging. If you charge during the day and unplug soon after reaching 100%, turning it off is fine.

Why does my iPhone stop charging at 80% even after I turned off Optimized Battery Charging?

Most likely, “Clean Energy Charging” is still on (iOS 16+). That feature also pauses charging, but based on your local grid’s carbon intensity. Turn it off in the same menu. Also, if you have an iPhone 15 or later, check that you haven’t set a charging limit to 80%.

Does turning off Optimized Battery Charging affect fast charging?

No. Fast charging (using an 18W or higher adapter) works independently of this setting. Turning it off simply means the phone doesn’t pause at 80% – it will fast-charge all the way to 100%.

Can I turn it back on later?

Yes, at any time. Go back to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging and toggle it on. It will start learning your routine again from scratch, so it may take a few days to start pausing at 80% again.

Does this setting affect battery health percentage?

No. The Battery Health percentage (Maximum Capacity) is a measure of your battery’s physical capacity relative to when it was new. Turning off Optimized Battery Charging doesn’t change that number – it only affects how the phone charges.

Is there a way to temporarily disable it without going into Settings?

No, there is no Control Center shortcut or Siri command for this. You must go through Settings. However, the “Turn Off Until Tomorrow” option in the pop-up is the fastest way to get a one-time full charge without fully disabling the feature.

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