Good habits can make your iPhone — and its battery — stand the test of time. But bad tech habits, and there are many of those, will have the opposite effect. Without realizing it, the things you do on a daily basis with your phone, including how you charge it, which settings you have set, and even how bright you keep your screen, can slowly but surely diminish your battery power and the quality of your battery. Your best defense is a good offense — take a few minutes today to change a few of your worst phone habits so that your device works as effectively as possible.
Keeping Wi-Fi on at all times
Keeping Wi-Fi on all the time when you are not connected to a network can drain your battery, says Austin Farrington, vice president of Reloft. “This is because your iPhone constantly searches for available Wi-Fi networks, which can use up a lot of power,” Farrington says. Turn off Wi-Fi by going to Settings > Wi-Fi and toggling it off.
Using location services for all apps
“Some apps, like maps and weather, need to use your location to function properly,” Farrington warns. “However, allowing all apps to use your location can drain your battery because your iPhone needs to constantly use GPS to determine your location.” You can adjust this by heading over to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Pick and choose the apps that benefit from locations or turn them all off to save battery power.
Keeping your screen too bright
Your iPhone’s bright display is one of its most prominent features, but it’s also one of the biggest battery drains, says Tech Expert Jimmy Huh at ThinkWave. “If you’re trying to conserve battery life, be sure to reduce your brightness or turn on auto-brightness,” Huh says. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness and adjust the brightness setting so that it’s as low as you can tolerate.
Overcharging
Leaving your iPhone plugged in for too long can lead to overcharging, Huh warns, which can damage your battery and drastically reduce its lifespan. “To avoid this, be sure to unplug your device once it’s reached a full charge,” he says.
Too many apps
“If you’ve got a lot of apps installed on your iPhone, they’re likely running in the background and draining your battery,” Huh says. “To prevent this, delete any apps you’re not using and make sure to close out your apps when you’re done with them.”
Poor signal strength
“Poor signal strength can be a major drain on your battery, so make sure you’re in a good coverage area when you’re trying to conserve power,” Huh says. And if you’re not in a location that has a strong Wi-Fi signal, turn off Wi-Fi to keep your phone from struggling to find a connection, which eats up battery.
Failing to update your phone
Don’t sleep on updating your iPhone — you can actually be putting your security at risk.
“If you’re not keeping your device up to date, you’re likely missing out on important bug fixes and performance updates,” Huh says. “These patches can help your device conserve battery life, so be sure to keep your device updated.”
You can save time by setting your phone to Automatic Updates by going to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates.
A few great phone habits can make all of the difference when it comes to the longevity of both your phone and its battery.
