These hidden power vampires could be cutting your iPhone’s battery life in half – here’s how to stop them
Your iPhone battery seems to drain faster every day, but it’s not always because your battery is aging. According to tech experts, several default iPhone settings are secretly consuming power in the background, even when you think your phone is idle. The good news? Turning off these battery-draining culprits takes just seconds and could extend your daily battery life by 20-40%.
“Most iPhone users don’t realise their devices are constantly performing tasks in the background that drain battery unnecessarily,” explains Sarah Chen, Senior Tech Editor at TechDaily. “These settings were designed for convenience, but they come at a significant cost to your battery life. Once you understand what’s happening behind the scenes, you can make informed decisions about which features are truly worth the power they consume.”
From apps refreshing content you’ll never see to location services tracking you around the clock, these five settings are the biggest battery vampires on your iPhone. Here’s exactly what they do, why they’re draining your battery, and how to fix them without losing essential functionality.
1. Background App Refresh: The Silent Battery Killer
What it does: Background App Refresh allows apps to update their content in the background even when you’re not actively using them. This means your social media feeds, news apps, and weather widgets stay current, so information appears fresh the moment you open the app.
Why it drains battery: “Background App Refresh constantly wakes up your iPhone’s processor and uses cellular or Wi-Fi data to check for new content across all enabled apps,” Chen explains. “Each refresh cycle consumes battery power, and with dozens of apps refreshing throughout the day, the cumulative drain becomes significant. Think of it like leaving multiple taps slightly open – each drip seems small, but together they empty the tank.”
Research from iFixit found that disabling Background App Refresh for non-essential apps can save up to 20% of daily battery consumption on iOS devices. The feature is particularly draining because it doesn’t just check for updates; it actually downloads content, processes it, and prepares it for display, all while your phone appears to be sleeping.
How to fix it: Navigate to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You have three options: turn it off completely, allow it only on Wi-Fi (which uses less power than cellular), or manually select which apps can refresh in the background. Chen recommends keeping it enabled only for essential apps like messaging, email, or navigation apps where real-time updates matter.
“The truth is, most apps don’t need to refresh in the background,” Chen notes. “Do you really need your shopping apps or games updating when you’re not using them? Probably not.”
2. Location Services Set to “Always”: Your GPS Never Sleeps
What it does: Location Services allows apps to access your GPS location for features like maps, weather updates, location-based reminders, and social media check-ins. When set to “Always,” apps can track your location 24/7, even when they’re closed.
Why it drains battery: “When apps have ‘Always’ location access, your iPhone’s GPS chip, cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth radios work continuously to pinpoint your location – even when the app isn’t open,” explains Chen. GPS is particularly power-hungry because it communicates with multiple satellites. It’s like having a torch switched on in your pocket all day; you might not see the light, but it’s still burning through battery.”
Apple’s own support documentation confirms that background location tracking is one of the most significant battery drains, with the company now including “Background Location” warnings in iOS 18’s battery settings to alert users when apps are using location services excessively.
How to fix it: Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Review each app and change permissions from “Always” to “While Using App” or “Never” for apps that don’t need constant location access.
“Only critical apps like Find My iPhone or family tracking apps should have ‘Always’ access,” advises Chen. “Weather apps, social media, and shopping apps work perfectly fine with ‘While Using App’ permission. You’ll still get location-based features when you open the app, but they won’t track you in between.”
For system services, tap System Services at the bottom of the Location Services menu and disable location-based ads, iPhone analytics, and other non-essential tracking features.
3. Push Email and Excessive Notifications: Death by a Thousand Pings
What it does: Push email instantly delivers new messages to your iPhone as they arrive on the server, while push notifications alert you to app updates, social media activity, and other events in real-time. Your screen lights up, sounds play, and banners appear with each notification.
Why it drains battery: “Push services maintain a constant connection to email and app servers, requiring your iPhone to stay partially awake and connected to the internet 24/7,” Chen explains. “Every ping from a server triggers your screen, processor, and network radios. If you receive 100+ notifications daily, that’s 100+ times your phone springs to life, consuming battery each time.”
The screen activation alone is significant – Apple notes that the display can account for up to 50% of total battery consumption. When notifications are allowed on the lock screen, the iPhone screen lights up with each one, compounding the drain.
How to fix it: For email, go to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data. Turn off “Push” at the top, then select “Fetch” and choose a schedule (every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or hourly) or select “Manual” to only check when you open the Mail app.
“Most people don’t need instant email delivery,” notes Chen. “Checking every 30 minutes or hourly is sufficient for most users and can significantly extend battery life.”
For app notifications, visit Settings > Notifications and be ruthless. Disable notifications for non-essential apps entirely. For important apps, consider turning off “Show on Lock Screen” to prevent the display from lighting up unnecessarily.
4. Automatic App Updates and Downloads: The Background Bandwidth Hog
What it does: This feature automatically downloads app updates, new app purchases made on other devices, and content like music or books without manual intervention. It’s designed to keep all your devices in sync and apps up-to-date.
Why it drains battery: “Automatic downloads can trigger large file transfers at unpredictable times, often when you’re on cellular data or have limited battery,” explains Chen. “Updating multiple apps simultaneously is processor-intensive and generates heat, which further accelerates battery drain. It’s equivalent to your iPhone secretly running a marathon in the background while you think it’s resting.”
App updates can be particularly large – sometimes hundreds of megabytes – and updating several apps at once puts significant strain on your processor, memory, and network radios. The heat generated during these updates also causes your battery to work less efficiently.
How to fix it: Navigate to Settings > App Store and toggle off “App Updates” under Automatic Downloads. You can also disable “App Downloads” if you don’t want apps purchased on other devices to automatically appear on your iPhone.
Update apps manually when you’re connected to Wi-Fi and ideally when your phone is charging,” advises Chen. “This gives you complete control over when these battery-intensive processes occur. You can batch updates for when you’re sleeping and your phone is plugged in.”
5. Screen Brightness and Auto-Brightness Disabled: The Obvious Culprit We Ignore
What it does: Screen brightness controls how bright your display appears, while Auto-Brightness uses the ambient light sensor to automatically adjust brightness based on your environment. Many users disable Auto-Brightness thinking they prefer consistent brightness levels.
Why it drains battery: “Your iPhone’s display is its biggest battery consumer, using up to 50% of total power,” Chen emphasises. “Running at maximum brightness is like driving with your high beams on constantly – unnecessary and wasteful. When Auto-Brightness is disabled, your screen often stays brighter than needed, particularly indoors, dramatically accelerating battery drain.”
With OLED displays on iPhone X and later models, the impact is even more pronounced during regular use, though these screens are more efficient when displaying black pixels. The new ProMotion displays on Pro models with 120Hz refresh rates consume even more power at high brightness levels.
How to fix it: First, enable Auto-Brightness by going to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and toggling on “Auto-Brightness.” This allows your iPhone to intelligently adjust brightness based on ambient light, often resulting in lower brightness indoors where maximum brightness isn’t needed.
Additionally, manually reduce brightness using Control Centre (swipe down from the top-right corner) whenever possible. Chen notes that “even a 25% reduction in brightness can extend battery life by 1-2 hours of screen time.”
For maximum savings, also reduce white point (Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Reduce White Point) which dims the screen further without affecting the brightness slider, and set Auto-Lock to 30 seconds (Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock) to ensure your screen turns off quickly when not in use.
Bonus Tips: Quick Wins for Better Battery Life
Beyond these five major culprits, Chen recommends several quick adjustments that can further extend battery life:
5G Settings: If you have an iPhone 12 or later, 5G connectivity can be a major battery drain, especially in areas with poor 5G coverage. Go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data and select “5G Auto” which uses 5G only when it won’t significantly impact battery life, or switch to LTE when you need maximum battery conservation.
“Hey Siri” Always Listening: The always-on “Hey Siri” feature keeps your iPhone’s microphone active and processing audio constantly. Disable it in Settings > Siri & Search > Listen for “Hey Siri” if you rarely use voice commands.
Widgets: Remove power-hungry widgets that constantly update, like stocks, weather, or news widgets. Press and hold any widget, then tap the minus sign to remove it.
Dark Mode: On iPhones with OLED displays (iPhone X and later), using Dark Mode can save significant battery since black pixels use no power on OLED screens. Enable it in Settings > Display & Brightness.
The Bottom Line: Small Changes, Big Results
“These five settings adjustments can extend your iPhone’s battery life by 20-40% without sacrificing essential functionality,” Chen concludes. “The key is being selective about which features truly need constant access to your phone’s resources. Start with the settings that affect apps you use least, then gradually optimise others based on your needs.”
Most users will see immediate improvements after disabling Background App Refresh for non-essential apps and switching location services from “Always” to “While Using App.” The cumulative effect of addressing all five settings can transform your iPhone from a device that barely makes it through the day to one that still has power left at bedtime.
Remember, you don’t have to implement all these changes at once. Try adjusting one or two settings and monitor your battery life improvement using Settings > Battery, which shows detailed usage statistics. You might be surprised at just how much battery life you’ve been wasting on features you don’t really need.
For readers wanting more battery-saving strategies and advanced optimisation techniques, visit TechDaily’s comprehensive guide at techtools.com/iphone-battery-guide, where Chen and her team cover 15+ additional tips and explain how to use iPhone’s built-in battery health tools to maximise your device’s lifespan.
