How to Troubleshoot iPhone 14 Battery Draining While on Wi-Fi

Noticing your iPhone 14 losing battery life rapidly when connected to Wi-Fi can certainly be frustrating. You likely rely on Wi-Fi networks for calling, streaming, and using apps to conserve cellular data. But high battery drain, specifically on Wi-Fi, points to a fixable software, network, or settings issue.

With some informed troubleshooting, you can identify what factors are negatively impacting your iPhone’s battery life over Wi-Fi and resolve them for normal longevity per charge again. This guide covers common causes of Wi-Fi related power drain and actionable solutions to test on your device. Just a few tweaks can significantly improve battery efficiency.

Common Causes of Battery Drain on Wi-Fi

Some typical culprits for an iPhone 14 battery draining quickly while connected to Wi-Fi include:

• Excessive background activity – Too many apps refreshing data in the background consumes more power. Limit background activity.
• Weak Wi-Fi signal – Poor signal causes the iPhone to work harder, consuming more energy. Move closer to the router or boost signal strength.
• Location services – Frequent location check-ins eat battery, especially if GPS is also active. Disable location permissions for unnecessary apps.
• Too many open apps – Lots of inactive apps in the background use power. Remember to force quit apps after using them.
• Wi-Fi Assist – This feature uses cellular data to boost poor Wi-Fi connections, increasing power drain. Turn off Wi-Fi assist.
• Outdated iOS – Older iOS versions may have unresolved bugs affecting battery efficiency while on certain Wi-Fi networks. Update to latest iOS.
• Environmental factors – Bluetooth, NFC, and other connections can keep the iPhone active and quickly drain the battery over Wi-Fi.

Troubleshooting Wi-Fi Battery Drain on iPhone 14

If your iPhone 14 battery drains excessively while on Wi-Fi, try these troubleshooting steps to rule out software-related factors that might have caused battery battery-draining problem:

1. Toggle Airplane Mode On and Off

Sometimes, your device utilizes excessive power when faced with wireless connectivity issues. To rule this out, disconnecting all wireless connections is recommended.

To disconnect all the network connections on your device, you can turn on airplane mode. This will help you to identify if there is any active connection that is draining your battery. 

There are two ways to toggle Airplane mode on your iPhone 14:

A. Use the Control Center:

• Swipe down from the upper right corner of the screen to open the Control Center.
• Tap the Airplane Mode button.

B. Use the Settings app:

• Open the Settings app.
• Tap on General.
• Tap on Airplane Mode.
• Tap the toggle switch to turn Airplane Mode on or off.

You can turn off airplane mode after a few minutes to see if the battery drain issue is resolved.

When Airplane mode is turned on, all wireless radios on your iPhone are turned off, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular data. This can be helpful if you are on a plane or in a place where wireless signals are not allowed.

2. Limit Background App Refresh

On your device, you can adjust the settings of individual apps to disable background refresh for the ones that don’t require it. This will help save battery life and free up resources. 

Here’s how to limit background app refresh on your iPhone 14:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Background App Refresh.

By default, Background App Refresh is turned on for all apps. This means that apps can refresh their content in the background, even when you are not using them. This can drain your battery and use up your data.

To limit background app refresh, you can turn it off for all apps or for specific apps.

To turn off background app refresh for all apps:

• Tap on Off.

To turn off background app refresh for specific apps:

• Tap on the app that you want to disable background app refresh for.
• Tap on the toggle switch to turn off Background App Refresh.

You can also adjust the master background settings to control the behavior of all the apps running in the background. Doing so will let you optimize your device’s performance and ensure that the necessary apps keep running efficiently.

3. Turn Off Wi-Fi Assist

Wi-Fi Assist is a feature that helps maintain a stable internet connection by automatically switching to cellular data when the Wi-Fi signal is weak. However, this feature can also drain your phone’s battery by constantly using cellular data. 

To prevent this, you can turn off Wi-Fi Assist in your phone’s Cellular Settings. This will ensure that your phone only uses Wi-Fi for internet connection, which can help save battery life.

Here are the steps on how to disable Wi-Fi Assist on your iPhone 14:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on Cellular or Mobile Data.
3. Scroll down and find Wi-Fi Assist.
4. Tap on the toggle switch to turn off Wi-Fi Assist.

Note: If you disable Wi-Fi Assist, your iPhone will only use Wi-Fi when it is available. This can help to save your cellular data, but it may also cause your connection to drop if your Wi-Fi signal is weak.

4. Disable Location Access

Many apps require access to your device’s location in order to provide you with location-based services or recommendations. However, some apps may not need your location data all the time. 

In this case, it’s a good idea to review your location access settings in the device’s Settings app and turn off location access for any apps that don’t require active location tracking. This can help to improve your privacy and save battery life.

Here are the steps on how to disable location access on your iPhone 14:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on Privacy & Security.
3. Tap on Location Services.
4. Make sure that Location Services is turned on.
5. Scroll down and find the app that you want to disable location access for.
6. Tap on the app and select an option:

• Never: This will prevent the app from ever accessing your location.
• Ask Next Time: This will ask you for permission every time the app wants to access your location.
• While Using: This will allow the app to access your location only when you are using it.
• Allow Once: This will allow the app to access your location one time only.

If you want to disable location access for all apps, you can tap on All Apps and then select an option for all apps.

5. Move Closer to Router

Your iPhone’s battery may likewise drain faster when the Wi-Fi signal is weak or unstable.

To ensure a strong Wi-Fi signal, you can check the Wi-Fi bars indicator in your device’s Settings and see the strength of the signal. 

If the signal is weak, try moving closer to the router to get a better signal and reduce the strain on your device’s battery. This will help you to browse the internet and stream videos smoothly without any interruptions.

6. Forget and Rejoin Network

If you’re experiencing issues with your Wi-Fi network due to software conflicts, forgetting the network in your device’s Settings and then rejoining it can help resolve the issue. 

This process forces your device to register with the network again and can clear up any conflicts that may have occurred. 

• To do this, simply go to the Wi-Fi section in your device’s Settings, select the network you want to forget and tap “Forget This Network.” 

Then, reconnect to the network by selecting it from the list of available networks and entering the network password if required.

7. Update iOS Software

Your iPhone’s battery life can be affected by various factors, such as different Wi-Fi networks and varying weather conditions. 

To help your iPhone’s battery last longer in such situations, Apple releases regular updates to its iOS software. 

Therefore, it’s important to make sure that you have installed the latest iOS updates on your device. This will help your iPhone to handle different Wi-Fi networks and conditions more efficiently, thus improving your battery life.

To update iOS on your iPhone 14, you can follow these steps:

1. Make sure that your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
2. Make sure that your iPhone has at least 50% battery life.
3. Open the Settings app.
4. Tap on General.
5. Tap on Software Update.

If an update is available, you will see a message that says “Software Update Available.” Tap on Download and Install to start the update process.

The update process may take a few minutes to complete. Once the update is complete, your iPhone will restart.

8. Reset Network Settings

If you are experiencing persistent network issues on your device along with rapid battery draining, resetting the network settings to factory defaults can help resolve the problem. 

Here are the steps on how to reset network settings on your iPhone 14:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Transfer or Reset iPhone.
4. Tap on Reset.
5. Tap on Reset Network Settings.
6. Enter your passcode if prompted.
7. Tap on Reset Network Settings again to confirm.

This will reset all of your network settings, including your Wi-Fi passwords, cellular settings, and VPN settings. You will need to re-enter these settings after the reset is complete.

Once you reset to the default settings, you will be starting fresh, which can help eliminate any problematic settings. 

It’s important to note that this should only be done as a last resort after attempting other troubleshooting steps, as it will remove all saved Wi-Fi networks, passwords, and other network-related data.

With consistent optimization and testing, you should see excessive battery drain resolved and more normal battery efficiency over Wi-Fi restored. You can always reach out to Apple support if issues persist.

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