iOS 11 battery life not treating you nicely? Here's how you can turn certain features off in order to make things more sane again on iPhone, iPad.
How to Save iOS 11 Battery Life on Your iPhone or iPad in a Few Easy Steps
Luckily, iOS 11 battery life is not much of an issue for a lot of users. In fact, in my iOS 11 review I mentioned that I was getting battery life similar to what I was experiencing on iOS 10.3.3. But of course, I can't speak for everyone here, so your mileage may vary depending on what you have installed on your iPhone or iPad or what model you have. Fear not though, you can regain some lost iOS 11 battery life by turning certain features on or off.
Turn Off Background App Refresh
One of the oldest trick in the book which actually works. Navigate to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn off the feature entirely or select the apps which you don't want to refresh automatically.
Turn Off WiFi or Bluetooth
Keeping wireless sensors on can prove to be massive battery drainers. Make sure you turn off Bluetooth or WiFi from the Settings app since Control Center only disconnects you from an access point only and not turn off the built-in sensor itself.
Turn Off Location Services or Limit Them
There are apps and games that use your location in the background. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and turn the necessary options off from here. But be warned about one thing - some apps require Location Services in order to function to their fullest, such as Uber or Swarm.
Turn Off Motion & Fitness
If you are not into fitness tracking at all then it's best to turn off this feature completely. Go to Settings > Privacy > Motion & Fitness and turn off Fitness Tracking.
Use 3G or 2G Instead of LTE
4G LTE, while fast, can destroy your battery in a matter of hours, if not minutes. Therefore it's a good idea to stick with 3G or 2G while you're out and about. You can do so by going to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data. Select either 3G or 2G from here.
Turn Off Unnecessary Notifications
Unnecessary notifications can take a heavy toll on battery life. You can keep things under check by going to Settings > Notifications. Turn off the notifications for apps which you do not use.
Turn Off 'Hey Siri'
If you have one of the newer iPhones or iPads, then chances are high that you enabled the 'Hey Siri' hot word detection out of excitement. This takes up a small amount of battery. Turn it off by going to Settings > Siri & Search and turn OFF Listen for "Hey Siri".
Turn Off True Tone Display Feature
It looks cool, sure. But it takes up battery life in order to adjust the screen's tone according to your surroundings. You can turn this feature off by going to Settings > Display & Brightness and turn off True Tone from here. Also keep in mind that this feature is applicable to a handful of devices only. This includes the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPad Pro.
Keep Automatic Brightness Setting On at all Times
Contrary to popular belief, automatic brightness actually saves up a lot of battery life. You can turn the feature on by going to Settings > Accessibility > Display Accommodations and turn ON the Auto-Brightness feature.
Use Reduce Motion to Turn Off System Animations
If there are moving images on the display then your phone or tablet is using up the GPU to render them. This means you sacrificing battery life as well. So, in order to turn those system animations off completely, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion. Turn the toggle switch ON.
Turn Off System Haptics
I know what you're thinking - that Taptic Engine in your iPhone is so epic to feel. But it takes up battery life whenever it comes into play. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics, scroll down and turn the System Haptics option OFF.
Disable the Raise to Listen Option
Did you know that there's a sensor on the top of your iPhone's display that detects whether or not you're holding your phone to your face? You can use it to listen to voice messages like you're picking up a phone call. Disable this feature if you want to save battery life. You can do so by going to Settings > Messages and turn off the Raise to Listen feature.
Try a Hard Reset
Sometimes a hard reset can fix bad battery life. Just hold down the Home + Power buttons until the screen goes blank and you see the Apple logo. If you're an iPhone 7 or iPhone 8 user, then the key combination is Power + Volume Down.
Clean Install iOS 11 if All Else Fails
Over the air updates can prove to be a problem for users, especially in the battery life department. Take a backup of everything and do a fresh restore using iTunes. All the necessary guides are linked below.
- Download: iOS 11 Final IPSW for iPhone, iPad & iPod touch Now Available – Full Changelog Included
- How to Clean Install iOS 11 Final Version on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch – Detailed Tutorial
- How to Downgrade iOS 11 Final Back to iOS 10 / iOS 10.3.3 Right Now
- Apple iOS 11 Review: Packed with New Features & Really Dialed All the Way to Eleven