If you’re seeing faster battery drain than expected with iPhone 14 or 14 Pro you’re not alone. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a problem with your phone. Here’s a look at 7 tips and tricks to improve iPhone 14 battery life as well as why you might be seeing spikes in battery use.
The iPhone 14 lineup comes with what Apple says is roughly 1 hour longer battery for each model and the 14 and 14 Pro do feature larger mAh capacities (14 Pro Max capacity is ever so slightly less but battery life is up).
- iPhone 14 battery life: What to expect and how it compares to previous iPhones
- iPhone 14 battery capacity: Here’s how the numbers compare to iPhone 13
But you might not experience that performance all the time. Let’s dig into what could be going on and how to improve battery iPhone 14 battery.
Table of contents
What causes battery use spikes?
- Restoring a backup
- Downloading a large photo/video library is particularly draining
- iPhone creates more heat when restoring and uses more battery
- Using apps with constant location tracking
- High background app activity
- Using a new iPhone more than normal checking out new features, cameras, etc.
There are many other factors at play, but these four are notable ones.
If you just got your iPhone 14, even after you’ve restored from a backup, it takes time to fully download your entire photo library, all your apps/data, etc. Your iPhone is working harder and is hotter than normal so it’s using more battery than normal.
In the Photos app, you can pause syncing/downloading with iCloud until the evening. If it hasn’t done this automatically, open Apple’s Photos app > Library > All Photos > swipe to the bottom and tap “Pause.” Having that continue when you’re charging in the evening will help save battery.
How to improve iPhone 14 battery life
7 options instead of using a battery pack:
1. How are apps using battery?
Head to Settings > Battery to check out the details of your battery usage. “Last 24 Hours” is the default and shows which apps are using the most energy (including Home & Lock Screen and Siri).
- Tapping the “Last X Days” toggle on the right-hand side gives you a broader look at what’s eating up your power.
- Look for “Background Activity” under an app to learn if it’s been using energy behind the scenes.
- Also, take a look at battery life suggestions just above battery usage (near the top). This will give you quick, actionable ways to reduce battery drain.
2. Low Power Mode
Low Power Mode is a quick way to extend battery life. The feature works by suspending mail fetch, background app refresh, auto-downloads, and more with a single button. This isn’t an everyday-use feature, but it is handy.
You can turn on Low Power mode under Settings > Battery or ask Siri to do it. However, it’s useful to have quick access to Low Power Mode in Control Center. Navigate to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls, then tap the + icon next to Low Power Mode if it’s not already there.
- This is useful to stop all the background activity from apps when you’ve recently set up a new iPhone
3. Auto-Lock, screen brightness, and always-on display
If you notice “Home & Lock Screen” on your battery usage is higher than you’d expect, it’s good to check those settings.
Auto-Lock at 30 seconds will help you preserve the most battery life.
Navigate to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock.
Lowering your screen brightness will also help with battery life, but this will come down to personal preference. You can do that in Control Center (swipe down from the top right corner) or Settings > Display & Brightness.
With iPhone 14 Pro HDR brightness now going up to 1600 nits and outdoor peak brightness going to 2000 nits, this is something to keep an eye on to help keep battery life in check.
Always-on display
The iPhone 14 Pro always-on display doesn’t eat lots of battery since the refresh rate is very low. But if you’re looking to stretch out your battery as long as possible, turning it off can save just shy of 1% of drain per hour.
Head to Settings > Display and brightness > Always On at the bottom.
Another option is to leave always-on enabled but turn off colored wallpapers and/or notifications:
4. Hot and cold temps
Apple says the ambient temperature “comfort zone for iPhone is 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C). Temps above 95° F (35° C) have the potential to “permanently damage battery capacity.”
- Outside of keeping your iPhone from extreme heat, it’s good to remove your iPhone case if you notice it gets hot while charging or restoring from a backup.
- Meanwhile, temperatures below 32° F (0 ° C) can temporarily reduce battery life. If you live in a climate with cold temps, keeping your iPhone closer to your body in an inside pocket can help extend battery life by keeping it warmer.
5. Background app refresh
Low Power Mode turns off background app refresh across the board, but you can customize which apps use this feature for a more convenient experience as well as improved battery life. Head to Settings > General > Background App Refresh.
You can also opt to only use background app refresh on Wi-Fi in addition to Wi-Fi and Cellular or turn the feature off totally. However, most users will find leaving Wi-Fi and Cellular on while customizing which apps are used for background app refresh to be the best fit.
Turning off Background App Refresh prevents apps that you’re not actively using from updating (until you open them again).
6. Location services
Dialing in your location services settings is another way to extend battery life. (It can reduce cellular data use too). Head to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services to update the privileges for your apps.
- Look out for any apps that ask to Always use your location and switch to While Using, Ask Next Time, or Never.
7. Push and Fetch
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If you choose not to use Low Power Mode, you can manually control Push and Fetch for your email/internet accounts.
Head to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data. One approach is to leave your primary account(s) as push to receive new mail asap, and turn less important accounts to fetch every hour or even set them to manual.
Wrap-up on how to improve iPhone 14 battery life
While it’s no fun to have a bad experience with battery life, hopefully, these tips will reduce your iPhone battery drain.
If you find you’d rather not change many (or any) of the settings above, another option is to just pick up a power bank or MagSafe battery pack.
More iPhone 14 tutorials:
- Here’s how to use the full 48MP iPhone 14 Pro camera
- iOS 16 Lock Screen: Hands-on customizing iPhone with widgets, fonts, photos
- How to force restart iPhone 14, use recovery mode, and DFU
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