The batteries of smartphones are their most delicate part and the main cause of you wanting to buy a new phone. The iPhone battery is no exception. It may last more or less, but it is very likely that when you change iPhone it is because of this component. It is unavoidable. And although the current lithium-ion batteries offer good performance, their useful life and duration are diminished by each new functionality that each new model of device.
But if you want to extend that useful life and pay off your iPhone for a few more months, you should take into account certain tricks and habits that will hardly cost you to implement. In return, it will take longer to connect your iPhone to the power. And you will have little or nothing to sacrifice in terms of functionality or performance .
On its official page, Apple tells us that the useful life of the battery and its duration depend on the charge cycles and the care we have given it. You are not required to follow the following advice to the letter. But if you notice that your iPhone's battery is suffering, give them a try to see what happens.
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How is my iPhone's battery?
The first thing we have to do to remedy our potential iPhone battery problems is ask how it is. To do this we just have to take a look at Settings> Battery> Health . Since iOS 11.3 we find abundant information on the status of the battery. And it is useless to make changes to your iPhone if it is in the last.
To begin we will focus on the Battery Health . There you will see what is the maximum capacity to which you can charge your battery. If your iPhone is new it should indicate 100% . Over time it will decrease. Personal example: my iPhone is a first generation iPhone SE. I bought it more than four years ago. What does it say in Battery Health? Repair. And in maximum capacity, 79%. What's more, it warns me that I should change the battery “because it is very degraded.” Come on, in these four years I have lost 21% of the capacity of my battery.
According to official Apple help, “a normal battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after a cycle of 500 full charges under normal conditions. ”
What to do in my situation? Do calculations. Does your current iPhone work well enough to continue with it despite battery degradation? Is it worth changing the battery? Can you afford a new iPhone? Before breaking the piggy bank, try the following tricks. You won't work any miracles, but you may buy hours of time before recharging your iPhone. And if you have a brand-new iPhone and you want to extend its useful life to the maximum, it may also be a good idea to apply them.
Your iPhone does not like heat
First notification. Electronic devices don't like heat. In other words: if your iPhone heats up, the battery will last less. The colder you can keep it, at room temperature, the better.
In summer it is difficult for your iPhone not to overheat. But we can remedy it by ensuring that is not directly under the sun or on hot surfaces. Better in the shade. Come on, what feels good to you will do your iPhone good in terms of temperatures. Except throw it into the pool.
The software always updated
Apple recommends that you always have the latest version of iOS installed on your iPhone. This way, your iPhone's battery will perform under the best version of the software available. In addition, the update process helps to clean up your iPhone by deleting temporary files and closing open processes. The result, that your phone performs better and, therefore, puts less strain on the battery.
Although the update is usually downloaded automatically if you have your iPhone connected to the power, it is worth checking if there is a pending update from Settings> General> Software Update .
Brightness and wireless connections
The two main functions of an iPhone that consume battery are the brightness or illumination of the screen and the wireless connections (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mobile data).
First, we will dim the lighting . It is not necessary to have the maximum brightness to see the screen well. You can lower the brightness from Control Center or activate the option Automatic Brightness that you will find in Settings> General> Accessibility> Screen and text size . The automatic brightness level also learns from you. So if the screen is bright, try turning it down a bit. The next time you are in a similar environment, the iPhone will not shine as bright and consequently the consumption will be lower.
Regarding wireless connections. If you are at home or in a place with Wi-Fi, take advantage of it. But if you go out there and you're going to be without Wi-Fi coverage for a long time, turn off Wi-Fi. Your drummer will appreciate it. The same goes for Bluetooth. Why have Bluetooth activated all day if you can do it by pressing a button when you need to use AirDrop or connect a headset?
Use the Low Power Mode chart
Since iOS 9, your iPhone battery has a last-resort aid called Low Power Mode . It is a way to extend the battery life of your iPhone automatically. However, it is priced for your convenience.
Apple says that “Low Power Mode reduces screen brightness , optimizes device performance and minimizes system animations . Apps like Mail do not download content in the background , and features such as synchronization with iCloud, AirDrop and Continuity are disabled. You will be able to continue using the basic functions, such as accessing the internet or making and receiving calls, emails and messages ”.
A small sacrifice to extend your battery hours if you cannot connect your iPhone to the power or simply do not need those functions in the background that consume power. You will find Low Power Mode in Settings> Battery .
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Disable the update in seconds plan and remove location permits
In Settings> General> Background update you will see a list of apps that have the ability to update their data in the background, even if they are closed. If you want to maximize the battery of the iPhone, remove this permission from those applications that you do not need to have updated to the minute or that you hardly use. You can also remove this permission from all apps, if you prefer, or only do it when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Another interesting trick: enter Settings> Privacy> Location and check the permissions that each app has. Many apps may have permission to access your location even when you are not using them, which poses a risk to your privacy and also damages your iPhone battery.
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA – September 14 , 2021: AppleÕs Kaiann Drance showcases the new iPhone 13 during a special Apple event, as seen in this still image from the keynote video. (Photo Credit: Apple Inc.) Ê
Analyze Your Battery Activity
The first tip or tip that we have seen was to go to Settings> Battery to see the health of it. On that first screen we will also see the activity of your iPhone in the form of graphs. With this you can understand how the consumption of your phone evolves depending on the time of day, the day of the week or the apps you use.
In this section, you will also be able to detect if any of them are consuming excessively in the background. In that case, you will have to configure certain parameters of it or, in the worst case, uninstall it.
Half load if you are not going to use your iPhone
Apple usually recommends that you charge your devices at half load if you are going to stop using them for a season. It is not specific, but we are talking about weeks or months. Thus, when you use them again, your iPhone battery will have suffered as little as possible.
It is not something that is frequently done with an iPhone. It's more for an iPad or Mac. But if, for example, you change your iPhone and save your previous model for future use, try to save it at half load .
CUPERTINO , CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 13, 2020: Apple CEO Tim Cook talking about the value of 5G for customers during a special event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. (Photo by Brooks Kraft / Apple Inc.)
5G can affect your battery
The latest iPhone models allow to connect to 5G networks to enjoy online services at higher speeds. This has an advantage, speed, but it also has a drawback, and that is that being a recently implemented technology, it consumes more battery than previous technologies such as 4G. However, this is offset by the ever-increasing batteries that the new iPhone models incorporate and the increasing efficiency of other components.
In any case, in order to achieve further optimization, your iPhone can automatically manage access to 5G. From Settings> Mobile data> Options> Voice and data you can dial 5G automatic so that the phone itself decides whether to use 5G or 4G depending on what you are doing. In this way, most of the time it will be connected to 4G networks (with less consumption); and it will only go to 5G when it detects that we need the highest possible bandwidth.
