Don't let your iPhone's battery run dry due to some rogue settings.
Apple revealed three tricks in a private note, urging people to adjust settings “if your iPhone's battery is draining too quickly.”
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They're all easy changes you can make, won't significantly impact your iPhone experience, and Apple says they will “extend battery life.”
So, if your iPhone keeps running out of power, try these settings as soon as possible.
iPhone battery modification No. 1
The first setting is auto brightness, which is a no-brainer.
Your screen is one of the most power-draining parts of your iPhone.
The brighter the screen, the faster the battery drains.
You can keep setting it manually to a very low brightness, but this will get tiring very quickly.
Instead, use automatic brightness, which will lower the brightness when you don't need it to high — and only raise it when you're in a bright place.
You can use automatic brightness by going to Settings > Accessibility > Display and Text Size.
Then simply turn on auto brightness.
iPhone battery modification No. 2
The second feature also concerns your screen: it's auto-lock.
Apple says this can be a big help if your iPhone is often idle.
This will lock your iPhone after a set period of time, as well as turn off the screen.
If Auto-Lock is not active, if you set your iPhone down and forget to lock it, it will continue to drain your battery.
The effect this will have depends on your habits. If you're already a fighter, it won't make much difference.
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To set it up, go to Settings > Display & brightness > Auto-lock.
You can then select the amount of time you want your iPhone to remain inactive before it locks itself.
Current options include:
- 30 seconds
- 1 minute
- 2 minutes
- 3 minutes
- 4 minutes
- 5 minutes
- never
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If you select the last option on the list, you will be warned: “Your iPhone may use more power with this setting.”
For best battery life savings, choose 30 seconds.
iPhone battery modification No. 3
Apple's final tip is to adjust which apps can access your location in the background.
There are a lot of reasons why you might want an app to be able to access your location.
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Sometimes, you might want an app to continue using your location even when you're not looking at it.
However, some apps may be monitoring your location in the background in a way that you may not be comfortable with.
In this case, you'll need to set these apps to only track your location “while in use.”
You can change this for specific apps by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
Why do batteries get worse over time?
Here's what you need to know
- Most devices run on lithium-ion batteries
- Over time, the amount of charge that this type of battery can hold decreases
- This means that you need to charge your device more often because it holds less charge
- Batteries have two electrode points – the cathode and the anode
- To charge a battery, the ions inside the battery are pushed from the cathode to the anode
- When the battery is used, it moves in the opposite direction
- This process corrodes the anode's structure, reducing its ability to function properly
- But this process also leads to the accumulation of a type of salt on the cathode when charging
- As this buildup grows, the battery will accept less charge over time
- It is estimated that between 500 and 1,000 full charging cycles will reduce the maximum battery capacity by approximately 20%
Image credit: Apple/The Sun
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You can also see which apps are consuming battery life in the background by going to your settings.
Just go to Settings > Battery and then look at the list of apps at the bottom to see which apps are using your juice in the background.
You can see battery usage and even background activity.
Use this information to determine which apps are worth revoking background location permissions for.
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Why does heat destroy batteries?
Here's what you need to know…
- Hot temperatures can cause permanent damage to batteries
- This is because batteries contain liquids, and work through chemical reactions
- When heat is applied to the battery, the liquid inside it begins to evaporate
- This damages the internal structure of the battery
- Components such as 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 the batteries heat up, the chemical reactions inside will occur faster as well
- Excessive chemical reactions can reduce long-term battery life
