How to fix your Apple iPhone XS battery that is suddenly draining so quickly [Troubleshooting Guide]

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Battery draining in mobile devices usually occurs among other symptoms of hardware damage like bad battery or other relevant components. However, many cases of battery issues are attributed to software errors from bad apps or updates. Therefore, these problems can also transpire on new devices.

Mapped out below are potential solutions and workarounds that are used to deal with battery draining issue on the new Apple iPhone XS handset. Having paid for a very expensive iPhone with battery power that couldn’t even last for an hour or two is definitely a downer. Yet, you have no choice but to try something to get it fixed. Before rushing to a service center, you can try any of these workarounds to rule out software issues from the underlying causes. Read on and get some inputs on what options to try when dealing with battery draining problem on your new iPhone XS.

Before going further, if you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to your problem, then try to visit our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed most of the commonly reported issues with the phone. We’ve already provided solutions to some of the problems reported by our readers so try to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit.

First solution: Clear all background apps then reboot your iPhone XS.

Rogue apps are often the main triggers. When apps go rogue, there’s a chance that they would trigger the processor to continuously work until the power is drained. Apps that usually go rogue are those that are kept running in the background for longer periods. Thus, clearing all background apps is the first recommended solution to try on. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Then swipe your finger up and then pause.
  3. Swipe right or left to navigate through the apps preview.
  4. Then swipe up on an app preview to force stop/quit individual background apps.

After clearing all background apps on your iPhone XS, reboot the phone to dump junk files that are stored as cache on the phone memory. Here’s how a soft reset is done on the iPhone XS:

  1. Press and hold the Side/Power button and either Volume buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
  2. Release the buttons when the Slide to Power Off command appears.
  3. Drag the power off slider to the right.
  4. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power button or Side button again until the phone boots up.

If the usual reboot doesn’t help, then follow these steps to force restart your iPhone XS. Doing so forcibly clears out rogue apps that might have caused the battery to become overly exhausted. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
  2. Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
  3. Finally, press and hold the Side/Power button until the Apple logo appears.

None of these processes affects any saved information on the phone memory, so you don’t need to back up files beforehand.

Second solution: Check and review battery usage and manage apps on your iPhone XS.

The iOS 12 platform offers a new and easy way for users to review and manage battery usage on their iOS device. Among the important details is the battery usage for apps in a certain period. You can refer to this information to determine any unusual battery consumption on your iPhone. Here’s how to access this setting:

  1. Open Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Select Battery.
  3. Scroll down to the Battery Usage by App section to view a list of apps activities and battery consumption in the last 24 hours or 10 days.

If you see any unusual power consumption by certain apps, then you need to manage those applications to normalize or minimize battery usage. Updating the app can be considered a possible solution but if that doesn’t help then delete or uninstall the application for good.

Steps to install pending app update on your iPhone XS:

  1. Tap to open the App Store from your Home screen.
  2. Navigate to the Updates section. A list of apps with pending updates will then pop up.
  3. To update individual apps, tap the Update button next to the name of the application
  4. Otherwise, tap the Update All button on the upper right side of the screen to update all apps at once. This button however only becomes visible when multiple app updates are available.

Steps to delete bad apps on your iPhone XS:

  1. From the Home screen, tap and hold on an app icon until the icons start jiggling.
  2. Tap the X on the app icon.
  3. Read the warning prompt, and then select Delete to confirm deletion of the app.

Reboot/soft reset your iPhone XS after deleting bad apps to refresh iOS and to clear out cached files from the internal memory.

Third solution: Update your phone to the latest iOS version available.

Installing the latest iOS version on phone can also help to get rid of bug-inflicted symptoms. Should the battery draining problem on your iPhone is triggered by some bugs or malware, then updating iOS will fix it. Here’s how to check for and install new iOS update on your iPhone XS via over-the-air:

  • Navigate to Settings-> General-> Software Update menu.

Your device must have stable Internet access and at least 50 percent battery life to download and install OTA updates successfully. To avoid any power interruptions, you can plug your iPhone and install the update while charging.

Fourth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone XS.

Customized iPhone settings that result to massive power draining must also be rid of. This is usually needed if the problem started after making some changes to your device settings. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Select General.
  3. Scroll down and tap on Reset.
  4. Select the option to Reset all Settings.
  5. Enter your device passcode, when asked to proceed.
  6. Then tap the option to confirm settings reset.

After the reset, your iPhone should reboot by itself and then loads the default options and original configurations. This reset however, does not result to data loss as it won’t affect any saved information on the phone memory. You can enable only the necessary features to use them again on your phone.

Fifth solution: Erase your iPhone XS and restore factory settings.

A factory reset can be deemed among the last options if your iPhone XS battery continues to drain quickly after exhausting the previous solutions. The problem could be very complex that it requires a full system reset. Please note though that this reset will erase everything from your device. To prevent permanent data loss, creating backups to iCloud or iTunes is recommended. Once you’re all set, follow these steps to reset and restore your iPhone XS to factory defaults:

  1. Tap to open Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Select General.
  3. Scroll down and tap on Reset.
  4. Select the option to Erase all Content and Settings.
  5. Enter your device passcode, when asked to proceed.
  6. Then tap the option to confirm factory reset.

Follow the onscreen instructions to proceed with the initial setup process after the reset. This will lead you to setting up your iPhone XS as new. Software-related issues including those inflicting rapid battery draining are usually resolved afterwards unless hardware damage is present on the phone.

Seek more help

Consider escalating the problem to your device carrier for further support and recommendations. It could be more than just a complex system error that caused your iPhone XS battery to drain persistently. Should this be due to a bad battery, then your carrier should probably advise you to avail for service warranty or new unit replacement.

Alternatively, you can take your device to the nearest Apple service center in your place and have it carefully scrutinized by an iPhone technician instead.

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If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the Apple iPhone XS smartphone, feel free to visit our Tutorial Page. There you can find a list of how-to contents, step-by-step tutorials, as well as answers to FAQs regarding iPhone XS. If you have other concerns or encountered some troubles while using the phone, you can reach us through this form. Just be sure to tell us more details of the problem or device issue(s) you may have and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

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