Apple
How to Fix Bad iOS 10 Battery Life
Severe battery drain continues to plague devices on iOS 10 and today we want to show you how to fix bad battery life on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch if you’re running iOS 10.3.3 or an older version of iOS 10.
Apple won’t release any new iOS 10 updates which means those who own devices stuck on iOS 10 are on their own when it comes to fixing software issues.
One of the biggest iOS 10 problems is abnormal battery drain. Abnormal battery drain is a common iOS problem and it pops up every time Apple releases a new update for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
iOS updates aren’t supposed to have a negative effect on your device’s battery life so we’re not surprised to see some iPhone and iPad users expressing their frustration to Apple and its customer service representatives.
I like how iOS 10.3.2 has made my phone seem (?) faster. Although it drains the battery faster too. :/
— Christian Rillera (@CDRillera) July 15, 2017
Just realise that IOS 10.3.2 is causing my battery to drain fast!!
— Af|qah (@afiqaha_) July 13, 2017
@AppleSupport Just letting you know that I hate iOS 10.3.2. It has turned my iphone 7 plus into a burning hot, battery draining £819 brick.
— Ruby Robbins (@IamRubyRobbins) July 12, 2017
How to Fix Bad iOS 10 Battery Life
There are more than a few potential remedies for bad iOS 10 battery life issues.
This guide will show you how to potentially fix bad iOS 10 battery life on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Battery drain issues can be tricky but these fixes have worked well for us, and others, in the past.
These fixes will work with all versions of iOS 10 including the company’s final version of iOS 10, iOS 10.3.3.
Check Your Apps
Before you blame iOS 10 for your battery troubles, note that there’s a very good chance it’s something else causing the battery drain on your iPhone or iPad.
If your battery life starts acting up with iOS 10 on board, the first place to look is at your collection of applications. There’s a very good chance an app, or apps, is hogging your device’s resources and causing the problem.
The first place you’ll want to look is your Settings. Go into Settings > Battery and get familiar with the Battery Usage tool that arrived with the company’s iOS 9 update in 2015.
This tool will show you what apps are eating the most battery and when. Look for something out of the ordinary.
If you do see something odd, check the App Store for an update. Developers are rolling out bug fixes and iOS 10 support updates that could improve performance.
If an update fails to cure the issue, try reinstalling or uninstalling the app completely to see if that helps settle your device’s battery.
Check Your Widgets
Widgets are extremely prominent in iOS 10. And if you have a ton of widgets active, they could be sucking up a bunch of power in the background.
If you’re experiencing terrible battery life, try getting a handle on your widgets.
To get started, swipe to the right while on your device’s home screen. Scroll all the way to bottom of your widgets and select Edit. It’s a little circle icon.
You should see a long list of services and apps. To remove a widget, tap the red circle with the white line and tap Remove.
Remove as many as you desire and see if it has a positive effect on your battery’s performance.
Use Low Power Mode
If you haven’t been using iOS’ built-in Low Power Mode, now would be a good time to get familiar with this important feature.
The iOS 9 update delivered a new feature called Low Power Mode. It’s important because it allows you to stretch out the last 10-20% of battery life on your device without having to make a bunch of manual changes.
To enable Low Power Mode on your device go to Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode > On. This feature will help you conserve a few hours of battery life.
Start using this feature on a regular basis.
Use Airplane Mode
If you suddenly start experiencing rapid battery drain, it might be because you’re in an area with poor cellular coverage.
When you are in a bad service area, your iPhone or iPad will work hard to try and find a signal. This can cause your battery to drain rapidly. This is a perfect time to flip on Airplane Mode.
Airplane Mode is found at the very top of your Settings and it will kill all of your connections when turned on. If you’ve done any air travel recently, you’re probably familiar with the feature.
Once you’ve entered a new service area, turn Airplane Mode off and you should notice an improvement to your device’s battery life.
Disable iCloud Keychain
If you don’t use iCloud Keychain, try disabling it to see if that improves battery life. This has worked for a number of people in the past.
To disable iCloud Keychain on your device, you’ll want to go into Settings > iCloud > Keychain > Toggle iCloud Keychain off.
If it doesn’t have a positive impact on battery, you can always toggle it back on when you need it again.
Limit Background App Refresh
Do you need your apps to automatically refresh in the background? No? Well then you might want to try disabling the Background App Refresh feature on your device. It could help you conserve battery life.
Background App Refresh is handy because it will allows your apps to show you the latest data once you open them. It can also be a resource hog.
If you don’t use or care about this feature, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh > and turn it off for each app that is using too much power. It’s going to be an extremely tedious process for some of you but it could help your battery life.
You can also turn the feature off completely if you don’t want to go through your list of applications one by one.
If this doesn’t help, you can turn the feature back on for all of your apps or some of them.
Turn Email Auto-Fetching Off
If your phone is continuously monitoring your email accounts, it’s probably sucking up your battery life. If you don’t need push turned on for all or some of your email accounts, try turning it off.
To do that, head into Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data. Switch your accounts from Push to Manual.
You’ll now have to manually check for new email but this little change could save you a few battery percentage points.
Manage Your Display
Apple’s mobile devices use sensors to adjust the screen automatically in certain lighting environments. Sometimes these sensors work, sometimes they’re a little off. A bright screen can eat up battery life so we recommend getting a handle on your device’s display.
First, try turning Auto Brightness off. To do this, go into Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Brightness > Off. Once you shut it off, you’ll have to adjust your screen brightness manually. This is easy with iOS 10.
You can adjust it in your Settings in the Display & Brightness menu or you can simply swipe up from the bottom of the screen to bring up Control Center.
Swipe up and you’ll see a bar that stretches across the length of the first Control Center card. Use it to adjust screen brightness.
Turn Off Raise to Wake
iOS’ Raise to Wake feature is handy but turning it off could help you save battery life.
To turn off the Raise to Wake, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and then toggle the Raise to Wake function off.
You can always turn it back on if you don’t see any gains.
Restart Your iPhone or iPad
If you’re looking for a quick fix, try a simple restart.
Hold down the power button for a few seconds and swipe to shut the device down. Hold down the power button again to boot the device back up. Sometimes, this dislodges battery life issues.
You can also try a hard reset. To do that, hold down the home button and the power button (volume down and power button on an iPhone 7/iPhone 7 Plus) for about 10 seconds. The device will restart itself. This won’t remove any data.
Reset All Settings
If none of these fixes help, it’s time to take more drastic measures to fix your bad iOS 10 battery life.
The first solution we recommend is a reset of your settings. To do this, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings and then enter your passcode. If you don’t have a passcode enabled, you obviously don’t need to replicate that step.
This process should take five minutes or more and it will restore your settings to their factory defaults. So, make sure you have all of your Wi-Fi passwords handy because your phone or tablet will forget them.
Upgrade to a Newer Version of iOS 10
If you’re running an older version of iOS 10 and you’re noticing abnormal battery drain, you might try upgrading to the final version of iOS 10.
There’s no guarantee the iOS 10.3.3 update will solve your problem but we, and many others, saw improvements.
Upgrade to iOS 11
If your device is compatible with iOS 11, think about upgrading to iOS 11.4.
iOS 11 delivers a wide range of improvements, fixes, patches, and features. It’s running well on most devices and it could have a positive impact on your device’s battery life.
If your device is compatible with iOS 11 it’s compatible with Apple’s upcoming iOS 12 update as well. iOS 12 is focused on performance and it’s worth a try if your device continues to struggle on iOS 11.
Restore from a Backup
If you have a bunch of free time on your hands you can try a restore on your iPhone or iPad.
This step should only be used as a last resort because it will temporarily erase everything on your device and could take awhile to complete.
You can try restoring from your backup after you install iOS 10. If your iOS 10 battery life issues return after the restore, you will want to try this method again without restoring from your backup.
Here’s how to do this on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch:
- Plug in and backup to the computer or to iCloud.
- Turn off Find My iPhone – Settings -> iCloud -> Find my iPhone -> Off.
- In iTunes Click Restore.
- Follow the prompts and the iPhone will reinstall iOS 10 from scratch.
- When it completes click Restore from Backup to put your information back on the iPhone or Choose to set up as a new iPhone.
Get in Touch with Apple Support
You should also get in contact with Apple support via its website or via Twitter.
The company runs a Twitter account that takes questions about iOS problems and could help point you in the right direction.
You can also get in touch with Apple Support via Apple’s website.
Take Your Device Into an Apple Store
If nothing on here works for you, and Apple’s online support fails, you could try taking your iPhone or iPad into an Apple Store to have a Genius run some diagnostics.
Your issues could be related to a bloated battery, it could be something else entirely. If your device is still under warranty, they might even offer you a replacement.
To find your closest Apple Store, head here.
Buy a Battery Case
If your device’s battery life still feels underwhelming, it might be time to invest in a battery case.
Battery cases can be bulky but they can also be lifesavers, particularly when you’re out traveling for work or pleasure.
There are a ton of battery case options out there and our list of the best iPhone cases will help you get pointed in the right direction.
Buy a Battery Bank
If you don’t want to strap a bulky case to your iPhone consider buying a battery bank for your device.
Battery banks are small and extremely lightweight and some, like the RAVPower battery pack, can give you six full iPhone charges.
The RAVPower battery pack is an excellent choice but there are plenty of others including Mophie’s powerstation plus mini and the Anker Powercore 20100.
Install iOS 12.5.6 for Better Security | |||||||||||||||
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If you're on the fence, here's one of the best reasons to install iOS 12.5.6 right away. iOS 12.5.6 has a vital security patch on board and it will protect your device(s) from harm. If you want the details, head over to Apple's website. If you missed the iOS 12.5.5 update, it brought three security patches to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. You can learn more about the trio on Apple's security site. If you missed iOS 12.5.4, you'll get that update's important security upgrades with your iOS 12.5.6 update. If you're interested in the particulars, head on over to Apple's website for more. If you skipped iOS 12.5.3, you'll get its security patches with your upgrade. Both of its patches were related to WebKit. If you want to learn more about them, head on over to Apple's security site. If you skipped iOS 12.5.2, you'll also get its security patch with your upgrade. You can read more about it over on Apple's website. If you also skipped iOS 12.5, you'll also get its patch with your upgrade. Apple's outlined the update's patch in detail on its security site. If you missed iOS 12.4.9, you'll also get its four security patches with your upgrade. You can read more about those right here. If you skipped iOS 12.4.7, you also get the update's three security patches (two for the Mail app and one for Wi-Fi) with your upgrade to iOS 12.5.6. If you're running software that's older than Apple's iOS 12.4.4 update, you'll want to download iOS 12.5.6 in the near future because it brings iOS 12.4.4's security patch to your device. You can read about it right here. If you're running software older than iOS 12.4.2, you'll get an its patch with your upgrade. You can read about the security contents of iOS 12.4.2 right here. If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.4.1, you'll get iOS 12.4.1's security patch with your iOS 12.5.6 update. You can read about that patch right here. If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.4, you get iOS 12.4's patches with your iOS 12.5.6 update. iOS 12.4 brought 19 security patches to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. If you're interested in the specifics, you can read about them on Apple's security site. If you're running software older than iOS 12.3, your iOS 12.5.6 update carries iOS 12.3's security patches on board. The iOS 12.3 update brought 23 patches and you can read about all of them right here on Apple's site. If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.2, you'll get iOS 12.2's security patches with your version of iOS 12.5.6. iOS 12.2 brought a whopping 41 security patches to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. You can read more about the iOS 12.2's patches over on the company's website. It's important to note that Apple's iOS 12.2 update patched up an exploit that allowed websites to use motion sensors to "fingerprint" devices. The exploit, discovered by researchers in Europe, uses JavaScript to snag data from a device's accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer when the user visits an infected website. If the attack is successful, a device can be tracked around the internet. Fortunately, Apple's patched up the issue. If you skipped it, you'll probably want to move to iOS 12.5.6 soon. If you're on software older than iOS 12.1.4, you get four important security patches including fixes for a widespread FaceTime eavesdropping bug that lets you call someone via FaceTime and hear the audio coming from their phone before they pick up the phone. If you're on software older than iOS 12.1.3, you get some additional patches with your version of iOS 12.5.6. Again, they're baked into your upgrade. Apple lists a grand total of 23 patches on board iOS 12.1.3 and you can read about all of them over on Apple's website. If you're on software older than iOS 12.1.1, you should install the iOS 12.5.6 update on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch today. The iOS 12.1.1 update brought 17 patches for potential security exploits. They'll will help protect your phone. You can read about them here. If you're running software older than iOS 12.1, you'll get 24 patches from that update with your version of iOS 12.5.5. If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.0.1, your iOS 12.5.6 update brings two additional patches. Both patches are for potential lock screen exploits. Long story long, if you store sensitive data on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you have some really good reasons to upgrade to iOS 12.5.6 today. | |||||||||||||||
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tug
09/13/2016 at 7:26 pm
this is stupid.. if previously u dont have much issue having all the same settings.. all the same cellular coverage.. the problem is the iOS 10 itself..
asking someone to switch off this and that is not exactly the solution
Z
09/14/2016 at 12:33 pm
For me the battery status shows that Messages app took 51% of battery in the background. Ridiculous. Turned imessage off and swiped up messages app from the background and i see a better battery.
Leo
09/22/2016 at 12:01 pm
I play a lot of games when i was on the 9.3.5 firmware and battery wasn’t that bad but when I do it on IOS 10 it drains so fast. So obviously theres a problem with it.
We're The Phucarwe
10/04/2016 at 9:36 pm
Silly. Nothing in here addresses the inherent battery-draining qualities of yet another Apple downdate. Most of the “enhanced” features are aimed at improving apple’s bottom line rather than your device performance. I’m beginning to think more and more about abandoning a ship I’ve been sailing since the 80’s. C’mon, Apple.
SUZANNE HAMOOD
10/06/2016 at 11:51 am
there need to be yet another update to the IOS10. we should NOT be paying 700.00 for a phone that wont hold a battery charge for 8 hours. I have noticed a HUGH difference and I am not a big phone user. I could usually start off the day with a 100% and if not used much that day end the day with more than 50% Its 2:30 in the afternoon and I haven’t Hardley touched my phone today its at 34% WTF!!!
Steve miller
10/07/2016 at 2:10 pm
My 6s battery dies so fast with as much shut off and manual fetch email setting have helped a little but at 1% it seems to last for hours for some reason. I think the battery is still fine but something is ip with the battery indicator
Jonas
10/08/2016 at 8:50 am
Same apps, same settings and the difference is 9% battery drain over night compared to not even 1% on IOS 9. By % that is ridiculous and nearly and insane difference…. As other mentioned, this guide does not have much to do with battery tuning iOS 10, although in general terms it may work, but not for we who haven’t changed anything…
Elle
10/09/2016 at 7:53 am
for some reason my 6 drains at night after i upgraded the ios. Now every time I turn on my phone, instead of my lock screen I see my music screen and I’ve turned off that app. I went form 86% right before bed and woke up to 21%.
Brian
10/10/2016 at 5:09 am
My 5c says the battery life is fine, 50% plus, then without warning the phone will power down. When I try to power it back up, it shows the battery as being dead as a post. So I plug the phone in, and the phone immediately powers up, and shows the battery life as being where it was before it powered down…that was 57% this morning.
Mark
05/12/2017 at 2:46 pm
Other than the specific percentages you cite, this is exactly what my iPhone 6 is doing.
Rene Girardin
10/10/2016 at 12:05 pm
Here is a link to interesting discussions about iOS 10.0.2 and Fast Battery Drain on all iPhones. All the bla bla about how to lower battery usage is OK but there is a bug introduced in Network Settings.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7685072?start=30&tstart=0
Matthew Grimsley
10/11/2016 at 6:09 am
same with my ipone 6S. happened twice over the weekend.
Ann
10/13/2016 at 5:20 am
I think it’s so funny how our phones have a good battery life until an update comes along, but then it goes to poop and we are informed “Oh it’s probably dat app you using and not iOS 10” seriously???
Colin Nias
10/13/2016 at 9:52 am
Even the staff in the Apple shops are reluctant to admit there is a problem, even though its plastered all over the internet. My 6 plus has the same issues, 100% in the morning, by 6pm I’m down to 25%. Loads of apps are still working in the background, Facebook and Mail seem to be the main culprits on mine.
Apple really need to up their game and stop messing around with things.
Listen, if it aint broke, don’t fix it. Simples!!!
RB
10/13/2016 at 11:29 am
Worthless article … “If you previously did not have issues wiith battery power and now do after installing iOS 10, the problem is likely something else and not iOS 10.” Makes perfect sense.
Luigi
10/16/2016 at 3:43 am
Guys I too have the same problem! I am angry!! But is it possible that these Apple release an update that sucks the battery like a ferrari to 240km / h ??? !! But crazy stuff !! It lasts less than half the time of use which I did with iOS 9. But what the heck !!! Apple immediately solve this problem !! Otherwise I swear that I buy an iPhone no longer !!
jamie pollock
10/18/2016 at 1:41 pm
full charge at 7am… 3:30pm my iphone 6 shows 90% avail. Nothing special about my setup, I check email and send Texts during the day. I just don’t talk on it much nor use GPS. IOs 10 too. I must be lucky
Mike
10/19/2016 at 5:42 pm
ISO 10 is a joke we pay to much and for the phone and service to have to go through this on every major update now it’s the worse it’s ever been I also have a iPhones 5 that says 33% and it just turns off and I have to plug it in and it comes back on with the same amount of power 33% wtf is the deal it’s like the older the phone the worse like they are trying to force everyone to buy the newest phone apple is about to have another class action law suit how many can they take at on time I love my iPhone but there seriously pushing me away and it seem like there doing it to a lot of customers bad business they need to do there homework before they release another update load it to a few different phones and models before you release shit
Curtis S
10/24/2016 at 3:10 am
Privacy > Location Services > System Services
Turn off everything except Emergency SOS and Find My iPhone.
Greg M
10/24/2016 at 9:38 pm
Hi I have updated my Ipad and now not only at first most of my Apps disappeared, Now it wont even charge to let me check things
Surely an outfit like yours has have some accountability for this, this is a disgrace , I had been using this for my business, NOT Happy at all.
Kai
10/28/2016 at 10:53 am
Do not update to IOS 10…I repeat do not update. 10.1 does not help either. Battery life 10 mins if not plug into a charger. Constantly crashes and get stuck in reboot loop. Apple genius swear there is nothing wrong with the software when I brought my iPhone 6 in. Battery life performance at 80% when ran diagnostics, genius solution was to have it replaced. My only solution is to have the phone plug in a portable charger all day and remain plugged everywhere I go. Just waiting on the 7 to be in stock…if same problem arrives, I will be officially done with apple.
David Harfst
10/31/2016 at 8:20 am
This is not a problem with the apps draining the battery. It’s a bug, in my opinion, with how iOS monitors the battery. I’ve had my phone at 80% and all of the sudden it shuts off, and won’t power back on saying the battery is dead. Once I hook it up to power, it comes back on, still says it’s at 80%, and I can then disconnect from power again and it’s fine. This is happenning all the time since upgrading. The latter versions of iOS 9 did this too, but it would have to be down at 20 or 30%. I believe iOS 10.0.1 was better, but since going to 10.0.2, it’s worse again. This is a real pain.
TS
11/03/2016 at 12:08 pm
Nothing listed here is a fix. These are all kluge-y awkward workarounds, none of which should be necessary with a properly-functioning OS.
Mark Clulow
11/20/2016 at 10:37 pm
TOTALLY Shouldn’t have to go through all this though, this in nonsense. BOOOOOO!
Kenneth Wilson
12/31/2016 at 8:12 pm
The problem is definitely the OS. IT seems Apple is trying to push people into buying new phones. Went to Apple. Did the whole reset thing.. no change. The y then suggest it was probably the because it would not charge in their kiosk and to replace it would be $300.00. Take the phone home and the phone charges without any issues. Changed every setting possible with no change. The IPhone 6 would last about 2 hours without doing anything on it.
Changed the battery out. still no change.
Ended up downloading the Public beta 10.2.1 Beta 2.
Phone went from 2 hours to 8 hours with not really using the phone.
It still has problems, but at least this helped, But Apple is definitely hiding something.
pete
01/08/2017 at 11:46 am
This is ridiculous. How is this a fix for the iOS battery drain problems? Clickbait.
robert walker
01/25/2017 at 3:36 pm
bob, after installing ios 10.0.2 on my iphone5 after recharging and with 100% recharged,without using the phone at all it lost 40% of the charge ,something wrong big time apple .
Stacey
01/28/2017 at 12:45 pm
I started with 100% battery life when I went to bed. Played a game for about 15 min and turned that off. Set the alarm, went to bed. Woke up wondering why my alarm didn’t go off on my phone. My phone was dead with only 2% battery life. I deleted the game, thinking it may have caused trouble, but it was only using 30% of my battery. Today after 100% charge and not using my phone, it’s already lost over 20% charge. Something is draining my battery and came here looking to see if I was the only one with an abnormally draining battery after 10.2.1 update. I use an iphone 7. Think I’ll go with Samsung galaxy for my next phone. Had troubles with iphone 6 with updates and I lost cellular connection with iphone 6, now having troubles again. Been one thing after another. I’m losing 1% of battery life every few minutes. I don’t have app refresh on either. Hope this gets fixed!
Tim
02/11/2017 at 2:15 pm
Since upgraded to IOS 10, my Iphone 6 shuts off left and right with plenty of battery life left. Sometimes shuts off at 90% battery. This is messsed up!
Rosemary
02/12/2017 at 9:15 am
Since I upgraded to iOS 10.2 my battery has been draining up to 30% overnight & lasts no time at all throughout the day. I bought apple iPad Air as the battery life was 10 hours. Now I’m lucky to get 2-3hours. I’m really annoyed by this. I’ve had to follow online advice about switching off apps & conserving battery life by basically not using my iPad! Even with all this, there’s no great improvement. Is Apple going to fix this situation? It’s like they’ve bugged their own customers’ devices! Not the smartest move. I’m frustrated & let down.
Karen Parker
03/08/2017 at 12:55 pm
“There’s no guarantee the iOS 10.2.1 update will solve your problem but we, and others, have noticed improvements.” I disagree as I did not have the battery drain issue until I installed 10.2.1. I have made all your recommended changes, turned off all notifications, and still getting less than 8 hours on a charge. If you go to Apple support they just keep up with the same old recommendations and will not even take ownership of the issue. So fed up I am ready to switch to Android if Apple doesn’t fix this nonsense soon.
Nicole Seiler
03/12/2017 at 5:15 am
2 weeks after my 2 year contract ran out, by end of December 2016, I started to have serious battery problems on iPhone 6. It came suddenly, just like that. I hadn’t done any update. I am still on IOS 9.3.2. I didn’t risk to update on IOS 10, afraid issues will get worse.
Example: I leave the house iPhone charged 100%. 1,5 hours later: 75%. I was maybe 15 minutes on Facebook in those 1,5 hours. One hour later I got a phonecall. I noticed that battery now showed just 57%. The call didn’t last more than 2 minutes. The iPhone shut down after the call. I hang it on an extern battery, it showed again 47%.
Susan Griffiths
04/26/2017 at 1:19 pm
Hi my name is Susan, what l want to know about l have a old iPhone 4s what’s happened the battery life dead there no life in it at all
what can l do to get it working
Donald Trump
07/27/2017 at 6:46 am
lol – These are the “solutions” to get a phone to perform up to the advertised specs? Shut features off, go into airplane mode and dim the screen? Crapple innovation.