If you experience poor iOS 14 battery life after installing the latest software update, there are some steps you should take before contacting Apple customer service or taking your iPhone to a store.
iPhone users are reporting a number of issues with iOS 14. The list includes most of the usual suspects, including abnormal battery drain.
Some of these battery issues may be hardware related (e.g. a swollen battery), while others are likely related to Apple’s latest iOS 14 software update. In most cases, an app is causing problems.
If you are experiencing excessive battery drain after installing the latest version of iOS 14, you may be considering reverting to the old iOS software. This is definitely an option if the downgrade is on, but you should try to fix your issues before reverting to the old iOS 14 software.
Fixing iOS 14 battery life issues can be a little tricky, but we have some solutions that have worked for us and other iPhone users in the past.
This guide will guide you through bad iOS 14 battery life fixes and has a chance to help you fix your issues in a matter of minutes.
Restart your phone
If you start noticing abnormal discharge after installing an iOS 14 update, we recommend restarting your phone before doing anything else.
Turn off your iPhone, wait a minute, and then turn it back on. A quick reboot can have a tremendous impact on your device’s performance.
Update Your iPhone
Apple will periodically release new iOS 14 software. The company may not disclose battery life fixes in an update’s changelog, but new software always has the potential to help.
For more information on the latest version of iOS 14, check out our guide.
Control Your Apps
Apps, especially third-party apps, can trigger new software, so there’s a good chance that one of your apps is causing the problem on your phone.
Checking app performance is easy in iOS 14. Here’s how to do this:
If you use an app a lot, it will definitely consume more battery than apps you never use. Therefore, if you see something that doesn’t look right, you’ll want to investigate further.
If you notice that an app you rarely use is consuming an abnormal amount of battery, or an app you use regularly is consuming more battery than you think, try deleting the app from your device and see if that improves the situation.
If the app is required, we recommend downloading the latest update from the developer. If that doesn’t work and you really need the app to get around your day, you may need to revert to a previous iOS version.
reset all settings
If you determine that your apps are not the source of your problem, try resetting your iPhone’s settings.
Before doing this, be aware that it will cause your iPhone to forget known Wi-Fi networks (and Bluetooth connections); so make sure your passwords are written down or stored somewhere before you touch reset. Here’s how to do this:
Once the process is complete, you should reconnect your iPhone to your Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices.
Use Screen Time
iOS 14’s Screen Time feature can help save battery while eliminating bad habits.
Screen Time provides a set of controls that can help you keep addictive behaviors under control. If you’re not using your apps on your phone, you won’t be chewing up your battery life.
This feature allows you to set limits on how long you can use a particular app on a given day. If you approach the threshold, it will give you a warning.
You can also set these alerts for kids and link them to a ScreenTime Allowance. This allows you to set limits on games but keep important apps available.
Use Low Power Mode
iOS 14’s Low Power Mode helps save battery life by turning off services (Hey Siri, automatic downloads and mail fetch) that can drain your battery.
You can turn Low Power Mode on or off at any time, and your device will also prompt you to turn it on when it reaches 20% battery level.
Add Low Power Mode to your Control Center if you haven’t already. Control Center is the menu that opens from the top right corner of the screen when you swipe up from the bottom or if you’re using a newer iPhone model. Here’s how to do this:
The next time you open Control Center on your phone, you will see a battery icon. Tap this to enable or disable Low Power Mode.
You can also turn on Low Power Mode from Settings. Here’s how to do this:
Turn off Lift to Wake
iOS’s Raise to Wake feature is useful, but turning it off can help you avoid running out of battery.
If your iPhone’s screen doesn’t need to turn on automatically when you pick it up, go to the Settings app > Display & Brightness and turn off Raise to Wake.
Disable Vibrations
If your phone vibrates every time you receive a message or call and you don’t need it, try turning off the vibrations. Turning them off can help your iPhone save power.
To turn off your iPhone’s vibrations:
You also need to go into each Sound and Vibration and make sure that Vibration (located at the top of the screen) is set to “None”.
Stop Background Refresh
Background App Refresh refreshes apps in the background to show you the latest data when you open them. This is a useful feature, but it can also drain battery life. If you don’t need it, try turning it off.
To disable the feature, you need to:
Also, if you don’t want to go through your apps one by one, you can turn them off completely.
Turn Off Fitness Tracking
Your iPhone has a motion coprocessor that monitors your steps and other movements. If you’re using your phone for fitness-related activities, you’ll probably want to keep this feature turned on. If you don’t, try turning it off and see if it helps.
To do this go to your Settings Tap on app and Privacy. From there select Movement & Fitness and turn off the Fitness Tracking function.
You may also want to disable the apps listed under Fitness Tracking in the menu. If you don’t notice any gains, you can always turn everything back on.
downgrade
If you can’t find a fix and/or don’t want to wait for Apple’s next iOS 14 update, you can try downgrading your device if the path is clear.
For more information on the downgrade process, take a look at our step-by-step guides.
move to iOS 15
Apple will continue to release new iOS 14 software, but you will not receive new enhancements and features. The new iOS 14 software will almost certainly be limited to security patches. If we’re lucky, we might see bug fixes, but that’s not guaranteed.
If you’re having a lousy experience, you may want to exit iOS 14. iOS 15 is available now and has a chance to improve your phone’s battery life.
For more information on the latest version of iOS 15, check out our guide.
Buy Battery Box or Battery Bank
If you can’t fix your battery life issues and don’t want to replace your phone, purchasing a battery case or battery bank can help.
If you don’t know where to look, we’ve put together lists of the best iPhone 11 cases, best iPhone XS cases, best iPhone X cases, and best iPhone 8 cases to help you out.
We usually recommend going with a mophie battery caseHowever Apple’s official battery cases It’s a great alternative if you prefer to go with a first-party accessory.
If you don’t want to put a bulky case on your iPhone, you may want to buy a battery bank.
Battery banks are small, portable power sources. For example, RAVPower battery pack It can provide six full iPhone charges before you need to charge it.
There are loads of great options out there, but RAV’s device is Mophie’s. power station and Anker Powercore 2010 a few of our favourites.