All good things come to an end, and that includes your iPhone’s battery. Luckily, a dud battery doesn’t mean the end of your iPhone, so don’t give up on it quite yet just because it doesn’t last a full day on one charge anymore.The truth is, the average iPhone battery lasts around 500 full discharge cycles, meaning from 100 percent full to 100 percent empty. If you haven’t been using your phone 24/7 for at least year and a half, then it’s not ready for you to give up yet. Take these steps to troubleshoot and fix your iPhone battery problems:
It’s entirely possible that your battery isn’t the problem at all. Some apps use a huge amount of battery power. Facebook is notorious for this, often using 30 to 40 percent of your total battery consumption just from idle browsing and occasional push notifications.Go to Settings > Battery and check Battery Usage, where you’ll get a clean breakdown of every app on your phone and how much battery power it uses. It also tells you whether the battery drainage is due to active use, or background use.If it’s background use, you can disable the app when it’s not in use to help extend your battery life. Do this by going to Settings > [App Name] > Fetch New Data and turn it off. Then, go to General > Background App Refresh and turn this off, too. Turning off push notifications is also a big help.
If you’ve checked battery usage and determined that apps aren’t the problem, then the next step is to start troubleshooting the battery.This is especially true if you find that your battery leaps around from 100 percent to 50 percent in a matter of minutes, or from 20 percent to totally dead. These are signs of malfunction, which could signal the end of the battery’s life, or could signal that it needs calibrated.Start by calibrating the battery. Let your phone’s battery drain completely to 0 percent. Once it’s dead, plug it in and let it charge until it’s at 100 percent, fully uninterrupted. Now, try using your phone and see if the performance is any different.Note that this doesn’t give you added battery life, but it does give you an accurate estimate of your battery’s current life, so you won’t see drastic changes from 50 percent to 20 percent anymore.If calibrating the battery doesn’t make a difference, then the battery has probably endured too many charge cycles and is on its last leg.
Luckily, a dead battery doesn’t have to mean a dead phone. The easiest way to add life to a tired battery is by adding a battery pack case to your phone. Battery pack cases tend to be bulky and heavy, but it’s worth it for having an entire fresh, brand-new lithium-ion battery attached to your phone whenever you need it. When your phone’s internal battery dies, it automatically switches over to the battery pack case as backup, buying you hours of extra time. Look for reputable brands such as Anker or Mophie, and choose a case that’s MFi-certified.
Alternately, you can opt to replace the battery altogether. Simply go to an Apple Store and ask for assistance replacing your battery. A new battery costs around $25, plus the labor the Apple Store charges to replace it for you. Altogether, that’s much cheaper than replacing your iPhone totally.
Not sure what’s going on with your battery and having trouble following these troubleshooting steps? You might need the help of a diagnostics app to solve your iPhone battery problems, such as PhoneCheck. A huge benefit is that if you’re planning to sell your used iPhone, you can also get your iPhone certified through the same app, assuring the buyer that it’s a legitimate iPhone in working condition.
