If you run into battery life problems on your new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max, there are some steps you should take before you get in touch with Apple support.
We haven’t seen widespread complaints about iPhone 15 battery life yet, but some users are saying their new phone’s battery is draining faster than it should be.
iPhone battery life issues are common, particularly after Apple releases new iOS software. 5G can also drain batteries faster than LTE so complaints about battery drain aren’t surprising to see.
If you start noticing severe battery drain on your iPhone 15 you’ll obviously want to try and fix the problem immediately. In this guide we’ll take you through some fixes that might help you fix bad iPhone 15 battery life.
These are fixes that have worked for us over the years and they might help you solve your battery issues in minutes and avoid a conversation with customer service.
Restart Your iPhone 15
If your iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro’s battery starts draining quicker than you think it should be, we always recommend a quick restart before doing anything else.
Power your iPhone down, wait a minute, and power it back on. If it’s still draining quickly, move on to the other steps below.
Update Your iPhone 15
Apple will periodically push new iOS 17 software updates for the iPhone 15 series. Point updates (x.x.x) are typically focused on fixing bugs while milestone upgrades (x.x) usually provide a mix of features and fixes.
The company might not call out battery life fixes in an iOS 17 update’s change log, but new firmware always has the potential to help alleviate battery drain issues.
For more on the latest version of iOS 17, take a look at our guide.
Turn Off 5G
The iPhone 15 series supports 5G connectivity and, again, it could drain your phone’s battery much faster than LTE. If you don’t need to use 5G or you don’t need to use it all the time, head into your iPhone 15’s settings.
There are a few 5G settings you’ll want to commit to your memory bank. To find these, you’ll want to head into the Settings app, then Cellular, then Cellular Data Options, then Voice & Data.
Here you’ll notice three options:
5G On means your iPhone 15 will use 5G whenever it’s available, even if it could suck up your phone’s battery life.
The 5G Auto option only uses 5G only when it won’t significantly drain your phone’s battery. 5G Auto is the default and the option most people should select.
Check Your Apps
Apps can sometimes have a negative impact on your phone’s battery life and you’ll want to investigate them if your battery is draining rapidly.
Checking app performance is extremely easy on the iPhone 15 series. Here’s how to do it:
- Head into your Settings app
- Select Battery
- Scroll down to the Battery Usage tool
This battery usage tool shows you the apps draining your phone’s battery and when they’re doing so.
If you use an application a lot, it will obviously drain more battery than an app you never use. If you see an app you rarely use sucking up a ton of power, you’ll want to investigate further.
If that’s the case, try deleting the app from your device and see if your device’s battery life improves. If the app is essential to your day-to-day, we recommend downloading the latest update from the App Store.
If that doesn’t help, you might need to downgrade back to a previous version of iOS 17 if the option is available.
Use Low Power Mode
Low Power Mode helps conserve battery life by shutting off services that could drain your battery.
You can turn Low Power Mode on and off whenever you want. Your iPhone will also prompt you to turn it on whenever it reaches 20% battery.
If you haven’t done so already, add Low Power Mode to your Control Center. Control Center is the menu that pops up when you swipe up in from the top right of the screen. Here’s how you add it:
- Head to Settings
- Tap Control Center
- Tap Customize Controls
- Tap the green plus sign next to Low Power Mode
The next time you open up Control Center on your device you’ll notice a battery icon. Tap it to enable, or disable, Low Power Mode on your device.
You can also turn Low Power Mode on via your Settings:
- Go into the Settings app
- Tap Battery
- Tap Low Power Mode
- Toggle it On
Turn Down Screen Brightness
If you constantly have your phone’s display at maximum brightness, it’ll drain the battery. We recommend enabling Auto-Brightness on your iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro to help prevent battery drain. Here’s how to do this:
- Go into the Settings app
- Tap Accessibility
- Tap Display & Text Size
- Make sure Auto-Brightness is toggled on
Turn Off Always-On Display
Always-On Display is a useful feature, but it has the potential to drain your phone’s battery life.
The feature is on by default, but if you don’t need it, you might try turning it off to see if your phone’s battery life improves. Here’s how to do that:
- Go to Settings
- Tap on Display & Brightness
- Scroll down to Always On and turn Always-On display off or on
Manage Location Services
We recommend getting a handle on apps utilizing location services because it can help extend your iPhone 15’s battery life.
In order to do this, follow these steps:
- Go into the Settings app
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Tap Location Services
Here you will find apps taking advantage of location services. Location services uses cellular data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS to determine your approximate location.
You can turn it off completely by toggling it off at the very top of the screen or you can go down your list of apps and decide which apps deserve permission.
In particular, look for apps that are set to “Always” because these are likely the apps putting the biggest strain on your iPhone 15’s battery.
Reset All Settings
If all else fails, try resetting all of your iPhone 15’s settings.
Before you do this, note that it will cause your device to forget known Wi-Fi networks so make sure you have your passwords stored away somewhere.
- Head into the Settings app
- Tap General
- Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone
- Tap Reset
- Tap Reset All Settings
- Enter your passcode if you have one enabled
Once the process is complete, you’ll need to reconnect your iPhone 15 to your Wi-Fi network(s) and Bluetooth devices.
Downgrade iOS
If you can’t find a fix for your issue, and/or you don’t want to wait for Apple’s next iOS 17 update, you can try downgrading your iPhone 15’s software if the option is available.
For more on the downgrade process, take a look at our walkthrough.
4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 17 & 11 Reasons You Should
Install iOS 17.0.2 for Better Security |
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If security is important to you, think about installing Apple’s iOS 17.0.2 update right away. iOS 17.0.2 itself doesn’t have any security patches on board. However, if you missed older versions of iOS, it will bring the patches from the updates you missed to your iPhone. iOS 17.0.1 delivered three important patches to iPhone. If you’re interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple’s security website. As for iOS 17 itself, it brought 40+ new security patches with it. A staggering number to say the least. If you want to learn more about them, head over to Apple. If you skipped older versions of iOS, like iOS 16.6.1, you’ll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 17.0.2 update as well. In addition to those patches, iOS 17 brings some additional enhancements to privacy and security including improvements to Communication Safety beyond Messages. It now includes content sent by AirDrop, Contact Posters in the Phone app, FaceTime, and the systemwide photo picker. You now have an option to blur out sensitive photos and videos before you choose to view them. There’s also an expanded Lockdown Mode which will help protect you against cyber attacks. Apple’s also improved sharing permissions and you now have more control over what you share with the apps on your device. The company also notes that starting in iOS 17, Voice Memos encrypts the titles of recordings stored in iCloud, in addition to the recordings themselves. |
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