iPhone mistakes draining your battery – including swiping your apps closed (2023)

IS your iPhone always running out of battery life? You might be making some obvious mistakes.

We reveal 9 ways to stop your iPhone running out of charge so quickly – and one is to STOP swiping your apps closed.

1. Stop 'quitting' your apps constantly

Closing iPhone apps constantly is a waste of time – and could actually hurt your handset.

Apple says you shouldn't bother unless an app has frozen.

"When your recently used apps appear, the apps aren’t open, but they're in standby mode to help you navigate and multitask," Apple explained.

Part of the problem is that it's tempting to think apps in your "carousel" are running.

But they're actually frozen by your iPhone, so they don't drain resources while you do other things.

Having to restart apps completely after being swiped away sucks up more battery life.

Also, the more strain you put on your battery, the faster it will degrade over time.

And that app will take longer to restart.

It's like loading a TV from standby, versus having the telly reboot completely.

2. Don't keep dodgy apps on your phone

Your iPhone has a built-in tool that lets you uncover exactly which apps are draining your battery life.

Head into Settings > Battery, and then wait for the page to load.

Next, tap on the 'Last 10 Days' option, which reveals battery usage for different apps from the past week-and-a-half.

If you scroll down, you can see the apps that have used the majority of your battery life, in percentage form.

So if an app has 20% next to it, that means it hoovered up a fifth of all battery life used in the past 10 days.

You can also toggle it to show the listed items by activity – keeping them ordered by battery usage.

So if you've spent very little time on an app but it's high on the list for usage, that means it's a battery killer.

This section also splits up the time that the app was running in the background.

Watch out for apps that use lots of battery and rack up lots of background usage time – they're particularly bad for your battery life.

3. Don't wait to get a battery swap

Head into your Settings app, then scroll down to the Battery section.

Tap into it and then choose the Battery Health option.

4. Don't forget about low-power mode

Low Power Mode will turn off some power-hungry features on your phone.

Sadly, it may mean that some apps, tools and features on your phone will no longer work – temporarily, anyway.

"When Low Power Mode is on, your iPhone will last longer before you need to charge it, but some features might take longer to update or complete," explains Apple.

"Also, some tasks might not work until you turn off Low Power Mode, or until you charge your iPhone to 80% or higher."

To turn Low Power Mode on, go into Settings > Battery and toggle the switch at the top.

iPhone tricks to try today

Here are some of the best...

Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen (or swipe left to right on an iPhone X or later model), then tap in the bar and type a currency (like $200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
Check if you're due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you're down to 80% capacity. If you're below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier

5. Don't miss out on auto-brightness

It can be tempting to leave your phone's brightness set on maximum – but it doesn't need to be on full constantly.

The brighter your phone's screen, the faster your battery life will drain.

So consider turning on Apple's Auto-Brightness feature, which will regulate the display brightness based on the ambient lighting wherever you are.

This can significantly improve your battery life over time, and is a handy way of keeping your brightness at the right levels automatically.

6. Don't ignore WiFi networks if they're available

Using the internet on a WiFi connection drains your phone's battery life.

But the energy cost grows even more when you're browsing with mobile data.

So if you've got the option to use a WiFi network, it's also worth switching to it.

It's a double bonus too, as WiFi is often faster than mobile data – and rarely has data caps.

7. Turn on Airplane Mode when you're not connected to any networks

Similarly, if you've got no hope of getting a signal – like when flying – you should whack Airplane Mode on.

This will stop your iPhone from constantly seeking out networks, which can hamper your battery life.

To turn Airplane Mode on, simply go into Settings and toggle the Airplane Mode button at the top.

8. Turn off power-hungry settings

Lots of different features on your phone will be sucking up battery life, so you can disable them to quickly reduce your battery drain.

9. Protect your battery from damage

Perhaps the best advice is to protect your iPhone battery from damage in the first place, to maximise its lifespan.

Extreme temperatures can cause major issues with your smartphones – and Apple's pricey iPhones are no exception.

"Low- or high-temperature conditions might cause the device to change its behaviour," Apple explains.

Cold temperatures can lead to temporary battery life shortening.

But high temperatures can mess up your battery life for good.

"Using an iOS device in very hot conditions can permanently shorten battery life," an Apple support post reads.

On hot days, it's very easy for an iPhone to exceed its normal operating temperature.

Apple has some specific warnings of things you definitely shouldn't do with your iPhone today:

Leaving the device in a car on a hot day
Leaving the device in direct sunlight for an extended period of time
Using certain features in hot conditions or direct sunlight for an extended period of time, such as GPS tracking or navigation in a car, playing a graphics-intensive game, or using augmented-reality apps

Why does heat damage batteries?

Here's what you need to know...

Hot temperatures can cause permanent damage to batteries
That's because batteries contain fluids, and work through chemical reactions
When heat is applied to a battery, the fluid inside starts to evaporate
This damages the internal structure of the battery
Components like the voltage indicator can be affected by heat
This can allow batteries to charge at too high a rate, which can lead to a loss of electrolytes
This can reduce battery life over time
As batteries heat up, chemical reactions inside will also occur faster
Excessive chemical reactions can reduce long-term battery life

There are ways to reduce your risk, even on very warm days.

For instance, don't put your iPhone in confined places, like under bed covers or in your pocket.

Also, if you feel your phone getting warm, stop using it – or even turn it off.

Avoid using powerful apps for long periods of time. This is particularly important for gamers, because game apps can cause a phone's processor to heat up very quickly.

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