Have you been charging your iPhone wrong? Tips to extend battery life

For many iPhone users, figuring out the best way to maintain battery health can feel like a never-ending puzzle. You start off with a shiny new device, only to find yourself clutching a power bank a year later as your battery just doesn’t last like it used to.

However, tech expert Tyler Morgan, known for his TikTok channel @hitomidocameraroll, has shared some straightforward yet often overlooked tips to help you keep your iPhone battery in good shape for the long run.

Forget 100% iPhone battery – stick to 80%

Most of us assume the goal is to keep our phones charged to 100 per cent as much as possible, but Tyler’s advice flips that logic on its head. He suggests keeping your iPhone’s charge between 20% and 80% to maximise battery lifespan.

“Basically, don’t charge it above 80%”, Morgan advises, explaining that lithium-ion batteries, like the one in your iPhone, degrade faster when fully charged or frequently drained to 0 per cent. He recommends charging once your phone hits 20 per cent and avoiding letting it drop below that threshold.

It’s a small tweak that might be tricky to implement at first (especially if you’re used to charging overnight), but it can pay off in the long run. Morgan admits, “It’s hard to do”, but he recommends turning on Low Power Mode when your phone reaches 20 per cent to help manage battery usage more efficiently.

Turn off background app refresh

If you really want to give your battery a break, another key tip is disabling the background app refresh function. Tyler explains, “If I were you, I would either set that to Wi-Fi only, or better yet, turn it off completely.” Apps constantly refreshing in the background are a silent battery drainer. Disabling this feature means fewer apps will be silently working in the background, helping to preserve your phone’s battery life.

To turn off Background App Refresh, head to your iPhone’s Settings > General > Background App Refresh, and either set it to “Wi-Fi” or switch it off entirely. This simple adjustment alone can extend your phone’s battery life without compromising performance.

No need to fully close your apps

Another common misconception is that swiping away apps from your screen saves power. According to Morgan, this is a myth. In reality, iPhone apps that are not actively in use are “basically frozen” and don’t consume energy. In fact, force-closing apps and reopening them repeatedly could actually use more battery than simply leaving them open.

Enable dark mode

Dark Mode isn’t just easier on the eyes – it also helps conserve battery, especially on iPhones with OLED screens, like the iPhone X and later models. When your screen displays darker pixels, your phone uses less power, a small but effective way to stretch out your battery life.

Check up on your iPhone battery’s health

If you’re curious about how your phone is holding up, it’s easy to check your battery health. Simply go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. Here, you can see a percentage indicating your battery’s maximum capacity compared to when it was new. Ideally, after a year, your iPhone’s battery health should still be in the 80-90 per cent range, although many users have found it can dip faster than expected.

By adjusting your habits a little, like avoiding that overnight charge and turning off Background App Refresh, you can keep your iPhone battery healthier for longer.