How to fix your iPhone 7 Plus battery that drains so quickly after installing an update to iOS [Troubleshooting Guide]

Surfacing among the most common issues encountered by iPhone 7 Plus owners after installing an iOS update is on rapid battery draining. This usually occurs when apps have gone rogue following the update installation. The same thing can happen if the new iOS update is programmed to override the phone’s current system settings. All these, including iPhone 7 battery life problem, are apparently attributed to software errors and therefore possible to fix.

In this article, I will guide you on how to troubleshoot your iPhone 7 Plus with quick battery draining issue. We will rule out each possibility until we can determine what the problem with your device really is and hopefully make it work perfectly again without battery life problems. So, if you’re one of the owners of this device and are currently having the same problem, continue reading as this post may be able to help you one way or another. 

Now, before anything else, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already provided solutions to hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Odds are that we may have already provided a solution to the problem you currently have so try to find issues that are similar with yours on that page and feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

First solution: Clear all background apps then restart your iPhone.

Background apps are usually the ones that are directly impacted by an update. Any of these apps can become corrupted after the new system changes are applied. To make sure this isn’t what’s troubling your iPhone battery, follow these steps to clear all background apps and refresh iOS:

1. Press the Home button twice quickly. Doing so will launch a new screen containing a list of recently used apps that aren’t closed.
2. Then swipe up on the app previews to close them.

After clearing all background apps, restart or soft reset your iPhone 7 Plus to clear cache and temporary data on the internal memory. This will likewise clear minor software errors inflicted by errant apps and random data corruption. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Press and hold the Power button for a few seconds until the Slide to Power Off command appears.
2. Then drag the power off slider to the right to shut down your iPhone completely.
3. After 30 seconds, press the Power button again until the Apple logo appears.

ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone battery that dies so fast, rapid battery drain

Alternatively, you can force restart your iPhone 7 Plus to quit errant background apps and refresh the operating system. A force restart is another way to soft reset or restart a frozen iPhone. It works the same as soft reset in terms of dealing with minor software issues without affecting any information saved on the internal memory of the phone. Here’s how it’s done:

• Press and hold the Power button and Volume Down button simultaneously for at least 10 seconds.

If the iPhone 7 battery life problem continues to bug you after doing this procedure, then move on to the next solution. 

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

Some rogue apps can trigger the processor to continuously work until it becomes exhausted. And this is when overheating and battery draining issues instigate. To find out which from your apps is acting up, check the battery usage on your iPhone 7 Plus and see which app has the highest power consumption. Here’s how to access this menu:

1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
2. Tap Battery.
3. Wait until the Battery Usage details populate.
4. Tap the button to Show Detailed Usage. Doing so will show up a breakdown of foreground and background power usage.
5. To get a broader view about power consumption over time, tap the Last 7 Days tab.
6. In iOS 12, the battery usage can be viewed through Settings-> Battery-> Show Activity menu. To view the usage details by percentage, tap Battery Usage. To view power consumption on your iPhone over time, tap Last 10 Days.

If you see any app with unusual power consumption, then that app must be glitching and is likely among the causes of rapid battery draining on your phone. In that case, you will need to manage the errant app.

ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone 7 Plus that is charging very slowly after iOS 11 update (easy steps)

Third solution: Install pending app updates on your iPhone 7 Plus.

Some of your apps may need to be updated to stay supported by the current iOS version on your iPhone. Note that every app must meet the minimum system requirements to become compatible with and work properly on your device. It’s possible that the system requirements have changed after installing the latest iOS version on your iPhone. As a result, some apps may no longer be supported. This is when app updates are needed. App developers are already aware of these matters and so they usually push new updates soon before or after a new iOS version is released. To manually check for and install pending app updates on your iPhone 7 Plus, follow these steps:

1. Tap the App Store icon from the Home screen.
2. From the App Store main screen, tap the Updates icon at the bottom right. A list of apps with pending updates then shows up on the screen.
3. To install individual app updates, tap the Update button next to the name of the app.
4. To update all apps simultaneously, tap the Update All button on the upper right of the App Store screen.

As soon as your phone is finished installing all pending app updates, restart to refresh your apps to apply the new changes. Then, try to see if the iPhone 7 battery life problem is fixed. If the device still drains the battery quickly, try the next solution. 

ALSO READ: Apple iPhone 7 Plus Not Charging Unless Phone Is Restarted Issue & Other Related Problems

Fourth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone 7 Plus.

Incorrect system settings on the phone can also conflict on the battery system and may eventually result to rapid battery draining problem. To clear this out, resetting all settings on your iPhone can help. Doing so will clear any settings error inflicted by the recent iOS update and then restores the default values. This allows you to re-configure individual options and enable only the necessary features on your device. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
2. Tap General.
3. Scroll to and tap Reset.
4. Select Reset All Settings from the given options.
5. If prompted, enter your passcode to continue.
6. Then tap Reset all settings again to confirm.

Allow your device to finish restoring the default system configuration and when it’s done, do a soft reset or restart. After the restart, you can start configuring settings and enabling features.

Fifth solution: Reset and restore factory settings on your iPhone 7 Plus.

This can be considered as the last resort if none of the previous methods is able to fix the problem and your iPhone battery is still draining rapidly. The recent iOS update might have caused more complex system errors that require a full system reset. But before you do so, be sure to back up all critical data stored on your phone because they will also be deleted in the process. Once you’re all set, follow these steps to factory reset your iPhone 7 Plus through settings:

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Scroll to and tap Reset.
4. Select the option to Erase All Content and Settings.
5. If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue.
6. Then tap the option to confirm factory reset.

Wait until your device is finished resetting and then reboots by itself. After the reboot, default settings are loaded. By then you can proceed with the initial setup process and set up your iPhone as new. Software-related issues including post-update battery draining problem should also be gone by now.

Other options to fix iPhone 7 battery life problem

If your iPhone 7 Plus battery is still draining so quickly after exhausting all previous means to clear software errors that might have caused conflict on the phone’s battery or power system, then you may have to consider escalating the problem to Apple Support. Doing so will let them make further assessments and if necessary, create a fix patch.

Alternatively, you can take your iPhone to the nearest Apple service center in your place and have it checked by an authorized iPhone technician for any signs of hardware damage. While the symptoms began after installing an iOS update, it’s also possible that your iPhone has already obtained some sort of physical or liquid damage on the battery or other relevant components. In that case, your iPhone needs service.

Why is my iPhone battery draining so fast?

Battery draining issues aren’t new. In fact, every week we received emails from our readers asking “Why is my iPhone battery draining so fast after just a few weeks of use?” And many bloggers already addressed this problem and the most common solutions are: disable this solution, turn off location services, uninstall that app, etc. It literally means to handicap your iPhone but that’s not the way it is.

The best way to address this problem is a reset. You should bring the phone back to its out-of-the-box configuration and without installing any app, observer your device to see if it’s draining the battery quickly. If it does, then it’s obvious that the problem is with the hardware. However, if the device works normally after the reset, then the quick battery draining issue must have been due to one or some of the apps you installed.

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