iOS 13 Battery Life Bad? Tips to Fix Battery Drain in iOS 13
How’s your battery life since updating to iOS 13? If you recently updated to iOS 13 and now feel like iPhone battery is worse or draining faster than usual, then you’re probably not alone. Every year, when a new iOS release comes out, with it comes a host of complaints about draining battery and reduced battery life, and with iOS 13 there is no exception with some users who feel their devices battery is much worse than before.
If you think battery life has decreased since updating to iOS 13, read on to learn why this might be, and what you can do about it to improve battery life in iOS 13.
10 Tips to Fix iOS 13 Battery Life Draining Issues
Here are ten tips and tricks to help resolve bad battery life with iOS 13 and ipadOS 13.
1: Just updated to iOS 13 and battery life is worse? Patience!
If you just now updated to iOS 13 (or sometime quite recently) and have discovered battery life is notably worse on an iPhone with iOS 13, there may be a good reason for that and it’s directly related to updating iOS system software, so don’t freak out because this will likely resolve on it’s own.
When you update to iOS 13, iOS will go through a variety of background tasks and maintenance activity, including things like indexing the device with Spotlight, Photos, finalizing restores with iCloud, other iCloud activity, amongst other system-level tasks. Not everyone notices any change in battery as a result of this background activity, but some users may feel like their battery is draining quicker than before.
Not to worry, the solution to this is as simple as can be: plug in the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and wait.
A great time to do this is just plug in your device that just installed iOS 13 and leave it plugged in to charge over night, and make sure it’s connected to wi-fi. Depending on how much stuff is on the iPhone or iPad, usually it only takes a few hours, but sometimes it may take a day or two for things to settle down, particularly if the device is restoring a ton of stuff from iCloud or syncing data from elsewhere.
2: Install New Software Updates to iOS and Apps
iOS 13 came out and was quickly followed by iOS 13.1 which may have been overlooked by some users due to their release proximity to one another, so be sure you check for and install new iOS system software updates when they arrive.
You can check for new iOS updates by going to Settings app > General > Software Update
Likewise, you might want to update apps as well, since some may have bugs that were patched. With iOS 13 and later, you can update apps by going to App Store > Click your profile icon in the corner > Updates
Software updates often contain bug fixes and improvements, and if something like a bug or known issue is impacting battery life it’s likely to be resolved in a future software update.
3: See What’s Consuming iOS 13 Battery Life
You can easily see what apps and activity is using your battery by going to the iOS Settings app:
- Open the Settings app and then choose “Battery”
- Look through the list to see what apps and services are using battery
You’ll often find that apps that use video or location drain a lot of battery, so things like social networks, video streaming, and games are often high consumers of battery power.
If you see an app that is draining battery but you don’t even use the app, simply deleting the app from iOS 13 is likely reasonable – why keep something you don’t use anyway?
4: Check if Battery is Healthy & Operating Properly
You can check iPhone battery health through Battery settings as well.
- Open the Settings app and then choose “Battery”
- Go to “Battery Health”
If the battery is not operating at peak performance it may need to be replaced to restore full functionality and expected battery life to the iPhone.
5: Disable Background App Refresh in iOS
Background App Refresh allows apps in the background to stay updated and refresh themselves, but doing so can have a negative impact on battery life because it means that inactive apps can still use resources on the iPhone or iPad.
- Open the “Settings” app, then go to “General”
- Choose “Background App Refresh” and turn this switch to the OFF position
Disabling Background App Refresh on iPhone or iPad is often used as an easy way to improve battery life on devices, and iOS 13 is no different.
6: Lower the Brightness of the Display
Having the display brightness up very high at or near 100% can look very nice but it also reduces battery life due to increased power consumption. If you’re indoors in particular, lowering screen brightness can make a notable difference in reducing batter drain.
- Open the “Settings” app then go to “Display & Brightness”
- Adjust the brightness slider to a lower level while still allowing you to see the screen well
How bright or dim you keep your iPhone is going to be different for everyone, so just mess around with it and find what works for you.
You can also access display brightness at anytime through Control Center in iOS 13.
7: Disable Raise to Wake & Tap to Wake
Raise to Wake uses the accelerometer on iPhone to determine if the iPhone is being lifted up and then wakes the screen accordingly, and it works quite well. But having this feature on can also cause the screen to be on more than it may otherwise be for some users, particularly if you walk or jog with your iPhone in your hand.
- Open “Settings” and go to “Display & Brightness”
- Locate “Raise to Wake” and turn it off
If you have disabled raise to wake and later wish to turn it back on again, it’s just a matter of toggling that same setting back on.
8: Use Low Power Mode on iPhone
Low Power Mode is an excellent feature that reduces activity and power on the iPhone to prolong the battery life, and it can offer a huge boost to battery life on iPhone in iOS 13 and other versions too.
- Open the Settings app, then go to “Battery”
- Toggle “Low Power Mode” to be ON
When Low Power Mode is on, you’ll notice the battery icon in your iPhone menu bar is yellow in color to indicate so.
9: Disable Unneeded Location Services for Apps
Location Services are undeniably useful but they can use a lot of battery life. Outside of apps like Maps for getting directions, there are tons of other apps that may want your location but don’t actually need it to function, so turning those off can be helpful and may improve battery life in iOS 13 for you:
- Open the Settings app, then go to “Privacy”
- Choose “Location Services”
- Scroll down to the app list an disable location access for apps that do not explicitly require location data for core functionality by tapping on them and choosing “Never” or “While Using the App”
You can also explore the “System Services” section and decide if you want some of those features to access your location or not.
10: Force Reboot the iPhone
Sometimes just forcing the iPhone or iPad to reboot can resolve battery issues, particularly if there’s some errant background app behavior or something else unusual going on. How you force reboot a device depends on the iPhone:
• Force rebooting iPhone XS, iPhone XR,iPhone XS Max, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus: Click the Volume Up button then let go, click the Volume Down button then let it go, now press and hold down the Power button and continue to hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears on the screen. This is how to force restart iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max (and iPhone 11 too).
• Force rebooting iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus: Hold down the Power Button and Volume Down button until you see the Apple logo on screen. This action will restart the iPhone 7.
• Force rebooting iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE: Hold down the Power Button and Home button together until you see the apple logo on the display. That is how to force reboot any iPhone or iPad with a clickable Home button.
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How is your battery life with iOS 13? Did the above tips help to resolve any battery life issues with iOS 13? Let us know what worked for you and what your experience has been in the comments below.
Did you get the battery swap your device is entitled to?
I’m so sick of dealing with iphone battery issues. I’ve been a iPhone user since they were born. Its a recurring issue – after a year, the battery takes a steep decline and im stuck trying to figure out what to do.
Honestly, after this last time, the iphone 5, i said screw it. i bought a 3rd party battery and replaced my battery. I was pretty nervous but felt like i had nothing to lose. I will say, those screws are TINY.
So far, havent looked back. its been about 6 months. thats my recommendation to others. or just keep getting a new iphone ever year or 2… lol
whose having problems with ISO 13.3
When my device eats battery, I feed it wall power until it completes the heavy bIt crunching.
SAVE THE BATTERIES!!!
Yeah, but my iPad Pro’s battery drains even while plugged into a charger! I used to be able to use it while plugged in and the battery would gain—-not lose—-charge. I can’t seem to find a solution to it, and I have done everything that’s suggested to cut down on anything that could drain it. I think something was introduced with the updates that we’re not being told about.
My 6s has actually gotten better I think apple engineers have pulled a giant step
One of the things I loved about my iPhone XS Max was the all day battery life. Now, it drains in a few hours. How can they F up something they aggressively advertise? Instead of advertising “all day battery life”, Apple should say “all day battery life only on a stable IOS release”
Same here Debra! I’ve tried to take it off but the directions don’t match my iPhone 7 Plus even though it says it does!
I’ve done every suggestion Apple recommends except low power mode which I’m doing now.
I’ve been unable to reach Apple support and I live an hour from the store.
I bought a new battery 2 months ago. I want this mess off my phone.
Ditto all the comments above….and particularly those from Alan on 10/24. My 6S battery goes from fully charged to shutting down in no time. So I plug the phone in to a wall or car charger and when it comes back on I get a random battery reading of 65-70% for example. This is driving me crazy.
I’m almost a week in from latest update. 6s. Battery life is erratic as all h***. This morning it drained half in 15 minutes. Yesterday, with same activities, it drained 15% in the same amount of time. I have rebooted, re-installed major app drains like Youtube and Facebook. Killed all of my background activity. If you want to make my phone unusable, just brick the phone and get it over with. And spare the mendacious repetitive same-as-it-ever-was bot responses to “solve” this problem. Either no one knows how and engineering are all morons, or it’s a deliberate percentage move to get people to dump old phones. Apple, your runaway ego is showing. Or is that your rear end?
Ditto your comments Alan. My iphone 6s has gone crazy since this update. Battery will go from 100% to 1-5% to shutting off inside of 30 minutes…very random. So I connect to a charger and when the power comes back on within a minute or two it now says IO have some random battery level of say 65-70% for example. I’ve tried all the recommended fixes and nothing works, and it’s driving me crazy.
Not deliberate to make people get off old phones but a horrible iOS 13 glitch. Having the exact same problems on my brand new iPad Pro ever since I updated to ios13. Tried everything! You need to fix this Apple!!
Time-sucking soul-draining nightmare caused by Apple. I used to be able to use my SE all day and be down to about 70% and now it drained overnight from 88% to 48% with the phone facing down in a dark place just because someone sent me a bunch of text messages with photos?! I’m about to leave on a business trip for a month and have “solved” the issue by buying a portable phone charger to keep with me all day. I so resent some corporation causing us stress and wasting our time. The suggested fixes don’t work and I live 75 miles from an Apple store and Verizon on the phone was USELESS and kept running me things that I’d already tried so I wasted an hour of precious time on that. I give up.
I UPDATED THE NEWEST IOS 13.1 AND NOW MY BATTERY IS DYING FAST I CANT CONNECT TO A WIFI HOTSPOT ANYMORE AND IT KEEPS TELLING ME MY BATTERY HEALTH IS AT 100% I DONT UNDERSTAND THIS I HAVE ALWAYS KEPT MY IOS UPDATED AND NOW I WISH I NEVER UPDATED PLEEEAAAASSSSEEEE HELP FIX THIS ISSUE APPLE
Hi JENNIFER,
Here are some tips to help the battery draining quickly on an iPhone with iOS 13.1:
https://osxdaily.com/2019/09/23/fix-ios-13-battery-life-drain/
Try those out and see how it works for you.
Apple do this every new major ios and iPhone release. Isn’t it strange that the battery life of old iPhones all sudden start to die quickly? It’s as if they’re trying to force consumers to update to their new phones.
Agree w/everyone here. I have an SE and used to go all day doing normal stuff (music; email; occasionally social; taking pics; work apps like Slack and Asana). Turned *everything* off :( Kind of defeats the purpose of having an iPhone just to save battery. I hope future updates fix this problem
I have an xs max, and my battery was peachy f* creamy on 12, this is the worst update they ever did….
Battery life had halved
Everything now takes more clicks
If i want to edit a word i cant see the f* letter or even the word. Even with autocorrect off, i used to click on a underlined red word and instantly change it to correct now i have to click select replace and go to correct word. Another click.
Photos are a shambles, more clicks to get to what you need… I don’t need weeks months days or years, i need easy access like they had before.
I can go on all day…
I tried android a while ago and hated all these extra clicks, so went back to apple camp… now I’m no better off.
Give me a nokia 3370 and a hp pda any day now…
Since updating to iOs 13..1.2 a number of my 3rd party charging cables will not work anymore. Has apple only allowed apple cables to be used with the new iOs?
Does placing your phone in “Dark Mode” help with battery life? My iPhone 7 battery life is non-existent with iOS 13.1.2.
Battery of my iPhoneX used to last 1.5 – 2 days (email, web surfing, Wifi always off). After iOS13 upgrade it went to 4 hours. With nothing running, background refresh off and screen off, the battery graph showed continuous drain down to fully discharged in 4-5 hours. Chatted with Apple support, remote battery diagnostic came clean. They recommended iOS reinstall. I went to Apple store last Friday to have them reinstall, left due to long line at Genius Bar, with an appointment a week later. Today(10/15), about 2 weeks after the upgrade, the battery issue just went away inexplicably! So, may be waiting a couple of weeks is a good advice. (I battery drain was such a hassle I considered trading iPhone X for a XR for $199 while waiting for Genius bar last Friday).
Using a 5SE with OS 13.1.2. Was on 4G today and in less than half an hour a 100% charged phone went down to 1%. Only listened to iTunes for that time and my battery would go down to 95%. I wish I could downgrade.
If this is Apple’s way of making me upgrade my phone, this is just wrong.
Same boat as all you trusting folks. Updated to 13. My 6s battery life, which lasted hours, changed instantly. It now drops between 1% and 2% per minute of use.
Battery health shows 92% of when new capacity.
None of the hopeful suggestions have had the slightest impact. I cannot work in the field, now, and I carry enough equipment to begrudge the addition of pounds of portable charging packs.
I cannot rollback as the previous iOS versions are “no longer signed” by Apple and thus ineligible for restore.
Compelling folks to replace functional equipment through OS based battery life deprecation is not an act worthy of Apple, and reprehensible in a company that purports to be environmentally responsible through products that are “Built to last as long as humanly possible” “Because the longer you use your device, the better it is for the planet.”
Shame on you Apple. Color me highly disappointed.
Still the same problems as others today-I updated to 13.1.2 2 days ago. I think Apple as a company are on the downturn as they haven’t fixed the issue yet. Their sales are slowing down. Macs will be next–their reliability/ security will get worse
My 6s has the same issue and it’s not a bad battery or user behavior. Currently on 13.1.2. Disabled all background refresh and raise to wake (annoying) long before the latest battery killing upgrade and is still disabled. Going to downgrade.
apple xr battery life is the worst i have ever seen since the 13.x.x updates . i would not have done the updates if i would known . battery lasted 2 days before and now lasts 6 hrs .
I’ve had a few battery issues with my ipad air 2, but since upgrading to ios 13.1.2 the issue has gotten quite bad. I’ve done all the things listed on how to save battery life and it makes no difference. There are a couple of really strange things though. First I notice the battery drains worse in mid to late afternoon, even when the thing is off. It can go from 85% in the morning to under 40% while it’s just sitting there. This does not happen at night. It only loses about 5% overnight. While I’m using it at night before bed, with the battery at about 60%, fine. When it drops to about 50%, it crashes. Pressing the home button long enough brings up the large battery needs recharging icon showing less than 20%. So I plug it in. Battery life shows at over 50%. The instant I plug it in. So something is off. It’s like at night the thing things 50% is 20%. And in the afternoon it’s like there’s some battery sucking energy thing happening that doesn’t happen any other time of day. Is there any help for this.
You’re not alone, but you’re the first complaint I’ve seen that’s identical to mine. Thank you for posting because it’s not our IPads. I get to 34% then crash!
Since updating to 13.1.2 my iPhone 6s loses battery power just sitting there doing nothing. I’ve done everything suggested to save power and nothing is helping. The lowest it ever got to was 75% at the end of the day. Now it’s down to 15% by 6PM after using it for about 10-15 minutes throughout the day. If anyone can tell me how to go back to iOS 12, I’d be very grateful.
Faith, I have the same issue. Did you get any resolution?
I have been using my iphone xs only 1,5 months, And today i had downloaded the new Ios 13.1.1 and the happened my battery capacity is getting -1% from 100% being 99%. I don’t know why that happened. Anw i using my iphone With very carefully. But that’s happened 😣
I had something similar happen. I’m on a 6s and was at 95% as of last weekend. I “upgraded” to ios 13.1.1 and am now at 85% battery health. It even went from 87% to 85% from yesterday to this morning and I am not a heavy user.
During a chat with Apple Support this morning, I was initially told it was just a coincidence, but dropping from 87% to 85% in less than a day after no change in user habits is ridiculous (and no excessive use), especially since I was at 95% a week ago. I was asked to monitor the situation and report back to them in a few days.
I updated my iPhone SE to 13.1.1
and after that battery drains a lot and just during 1.5 hours from a full charge, battery drops to 10%!!!
I had never had battery problem till last update.
Upgraded by 6s to ios13.1.1 over the weekend. Immediately noticed a drastic drain in battery life. Normally I listen to iTunes on my 25 min drive to work, and by the time I get to work, battery is around 90%. Today it was literally at 1% when I got to work. Crazy. Wish I could roll it back.
I wish I never updated.
My battery goes down 1% every minute.
I have 6s and 6+ iPhones.
Nearly noon time, battery drained more fast (10am – 6pm). My battery goes down 1% every 8-10 second from 95% to 8 -9%, then remain 7-8% in a hour, then down to 1% in 12-15 minutes. I am using I-phone SE upon ungrade to IOS 13.
same here, my 6S plus goes down 1% every minute after upgrading to 13.1.3. Tried DFU rest but didn’t work
That’s it, I am getting a Nokia 9210 Communicator.
whoever updated and having issues with iOS 13 and 13.1 just do a downgrade and everything will be fine. Ive done the same way too. I did an update and battery started to drain quickly on my iPhone 8 plus (i had this issue with my 6s when they published iOS 10 i guess. i ended up with a battery replacement within a recall process) and just quickly downgraded.
Hard reset worked. Photos appeared to hung up in the background after update and waiting almost 12 hours.
I wish I never updated. I send a text and my battery goes down 5-10% it’s insane.
you and me both mate :(
“Disable Raise to Wake & Tap to Wake”
Rather than completely disabling this useful feature I find that simply putting the phone upside down into my pocket prevents the ‘raise’ function from being invoked.
‘Upside down means with the home button at the lowest point.