3 iPhone Settings To Turn Off Right Now To Make Your Battery Last So Much Longer, According To Experts
March 20, 2025 by Lisa Cupido
You shouldn’t have to stop everything you’re doing three times a day to search for your charger and power up your iPhone. Your phone should be able to last more than a few hours without its battery depleting completely. If you find this happening, and your phone is not 10 years old with a battery that has never been changed, a few things could be going on. Make sure (for starters) that your software is always updated. Take note of which apps you use most frequently and make hard choices if necessary to delete any battery-depleting apps that are taking more than they are giving back.
And, finally, don’t neglect your settings. Some of your iPhone settings — including these three — are often to blame for killing your battery faster. Disabling these settings can help your battery last so much longer.
1. Push Notifications
Push Notifications are sent out to you by the apps you use to alert you of updates, events, and messages you’ve received. This can be convenient if you prefer to stay on top of new updates, but in order for them to work, notifications rely on keeping a connection to your internet. Your phone works harder to deliver these notifications, and this also takes up battery power. You can disable notifications for all apps and switch from “push” to “fetch” to save battery. Do this by going to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data and select Fetch instead of Push.
2. Background App Refresh
Background App Refresh offers another convenience: the second that you click on an app, it provides the most updated and current content. This means never having to wait for new updates and messages, which is great, but takes up your phone’s resources. Background App Refresh is a drain on battery, period. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and disable the setting.
3. Location Services
Location Services uses your phone’s GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular data to find your location. This can be helpful when you’re using certain apps, most notably Google Maps and Weather. But there’s a good change some of your apps are using your location and don’t really need it (social media apps are a good example of this). To lessen the effect Location has on your phone battery, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Turn off Location Services.