One of the common post-update issues affecting both iPhones and iPads is on rapid battery draining. It’s been a dreaded problem since the early iOS updates and continues to emerge on the recently rolled out iOS 13 update. Highlighted below are generic solutions to post-update battery draining issues particularly on iPhones. Feel free to refer to these walkthrough if your iPhone battery is suddenly draining faster after installing iOS 13 update.
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Why does my iPhone battery drain faster after an iOS 13 update?
There are many possible reasons as to why this happens. But rest assured, the problem is most likely attributed to a software errors unless hardware damage is already present on your device even before the recent iOS update implementation. Among the usual triggers are rogue apps, misconfigured settings, system data corruption and the like. Many apps, particularly those that are outdated would end up misbehaving or going rogue as they’re no longer able to meet the minimum system requirements to be able to run properly on the recent iOS platform. The same thing could happen if suspended apps (background apps) have crashed or became corrupted from the recent iOS transition.
Apps that were left opened or running in the background during the update are more prone to crashing or becoming corrupted following a major platform transition. As a result, they’re adversely affecting the battery/power system especially when they’ve triggered the processor to become exhausted.
Settings that were automatically changed or overridden from the update can also result in rapid power drain especially if network-related features like cellular data, location services, Bluetooth, background app refresh, and other online/network-based functions are automatically turned on. With that said, it is highly recommended to perform some basic troubleshooting procedures to rule out software-related factors that trigger post-update battery draining problem on your iPhone before rushing to a service center. You may start whenever you’re all set to troubleshoot your device.
First solution: Force close/end all background apps.
As mentioned earlier, rogue apps are usually the main triggers. You might have left some of your apps opened or suspended in the background while updating your iPhone to iOS 13. And that might have caused those apps to crash, act up and trigger the processor to constantly run until it gets exhausted. The processor/chip serves as the main engine for the iPhone to operate. And as the processor works, the device consumes power. The more exhausted the processor is, the faster the device consumes power until the battery is drained completely. To rectify this issue, force close or end all background apps with the following methods.
If you’re using an iphone x or later (no Home buttons), ending all background apps is carried out through these steps:
- Navigate to the Home screen, to get started.
- Then, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause slightly in the middle of the screen.
- Swipe right or left to navigate through app previews.
- Then, swipe up on the app’s preview to close it.
If you’re using an iPhone or iPad with a physical Home button, follow these steps to end all or force close background apps instead:
- Go to your Home screen and press the Home key twice to view recent applications.
- Swipe on an app preview upward to close individual background app.
- After clearing all background apps, tap the Home screen or press the Home key to go back to the Home screen.
Once you’re done clearing out all background applications, reboot or soft reset your iOS device to dump caches and temporary junk files from its memory. Any cache-triggered symptoms are likewise eliminated in the process.
- Press and hold the Top button and either Volume button until the Power Off slider appears.
- Drag the slider to power off your device completely.
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Top button again until the Apple logo appears
If you are using an iPhone or iPad that has a physical Home button, performing a soft reset is done through these steps:
- Press and hold down the Power/Top button for a few seconds until the Power off slider appears.
- Drag the slider to power off your device.
- After a few seconds, press and hold the Power/Top button until the Apple logo appears.
Wait for your iPhone to finish booting up and then try using it again as you normally do to test whether the battery is still draining so quickly or not anymore.
Second solution: Install pending app updates.
This can be deemed among other potential solutions to apps that have gone rogue and caused the device to overheat after an update. App updates pushed by software developers also embed fix patches to address in-app problems and errors. If you haven’t configured your apps to auto-update, then you might have probably missed some critical in-app bug fixes. If your iPhone still has sufficient memory space and battery, as well as stable internet access, follow these steps to check for and install pending app updates via App Store:
- From the Home screen, tap App Store. Doing so launches the Apple Store app.
- Scroll to the bottom of the App Store screen then tap on Updates. A list of apps with pending updates will appear.
- Navigate to the list of apps and then tap the Update button next to the name of the app to install individual update for your apps.
- If multiple app updates are available, tap the Update All button on the top-right corner of the screen.
Wait for your apps to finish updating and once all updates are successfully installed, reboot/soft reset your iPhone to implement the recent software changes and to refresh your apps.
See if that fixes the battery draining problem on your iPhone too.
Third solution: Reset all settings.
Some of your iPhone settings might have been changed automatically after the update and thereby resulted in rapid power consumption. To eliminate this from the underlying causes, try to reset all settings on your iPhone to erase recent settings changes including any settings overrides from the iOS 13 update that triggered the battery to drain so quickly. After the reset, original values and options are restored. You can proceed to this reset right away as it doesn’t affect any saved information on the internal memory. With that said, you won’t lose any important files stored on your iPhone. Here’s how to reset all settings on your iPhone:
- Tap Settings from your Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Choose Reset all settings from the given options.
- Enter your passcode when asked to proceed.
- Finally, tap the option to confirm all settings reset.
After the reset, your phone should reboot on its own and then loads up the original values and options. This means the need for you to re-enable features that are disabled by default so you can use them again on your device.
Fourth solution: Erase your iPhone and restore iOS to factory defaults.
Performing a factory reset is usually deemed among the last option and potential solutions to recurring issues. The recently rolled out iOS 13 update might have contained some tough bugs that could not be handled by the initial procedures. As a result, battery draining symptom continues on your iPhone. If you wish to troubleshoot further, then try performing these steps to erase everything from your iPhone system and then restore its factory defaults. By doing so, you can set up your iPhone as new and free from any system flaw. Before updating though, be sure to back up all your critical files to iTunes or iCloud so that none of them would be deleted permanently. Once you’re ready, jump to these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Reset.
- Select the option to Erase all content and settings.
- Enter your passcode to proceed.
- Tap the option to confirm full system reset or factory reset.
Follow the rest of the onscreen instructions to finish the factory reset. After the reset, your iPhone reboots automatically and then restores the factory default settings. To use your device again, you need to set it up first. For faster and easier setup process, follow the start-up wizard to configure necessary features using automatic settings.
Fifth solution: Restore from a recent iOS backup.
If the battery draining issue continues even after performing a factory reset, your next option is to restore your iPhone in recovery mode. By doing so, you can restore your device from a previous iOS backup or the recent backup you’ve created and saved before updating to iOS 13. Performing a recovery mode restore requires you to have a computer with fast and stable Internet connection and has ample storage. At least 50 percent battery life is also required. Once you’ve met all the said requirements, continue with these steps to put your iPhone in recovery mode and restore iOS through iTunes:
- On your computer, launch or open iTunes. Be sure to use the latest version of iTunes app on your device to avoid facing system conflicts.
- Then connect your iOS device to the computer using the original USB cable while pressing and holding down the Home button.
- Release the Home button when the Connect to iTunes screen appears.
- At this point, iTunes will prompt you with a message saying that it has detected your iOS device in recovery mode and that you can restore your device. If you see this message, just click the Restore [Device name] button to instigate recovery mode restore through iTunes.
If you’re using an iPhone without a physical Home button, entering recovery mode is carried out through these steps:
- Connect your iOS device to the computer using the USB/Lightning cable.
- When your device is connected, open iTunes on your computer.
- Then on your iOS device, quick-press and release the Volume Up button.
- Now, quick-press and release the Volume Up button.
- Finally, press and hold the Power button until the Recovery Mode screen (Connect to iTunes screen) appears.
Follow the rest of the onscreen commands to restore your device in iTunes.
To exit recovery mode, simply force restart your iPhone and it should switch back to its normal mode.
General power-saving tips for your iPhone
The above procedures are usually enough to deal with and eliminate software-related factors that caused your iPhone battery to drain faster after updating to iOS 13. To eliminate other factors like your iPhone settings, consider the following suggestions I’ve lined up for you.
Adjust screen brightness. Some updates are programmed to override settings automatically. This shouldn’t be an issue if all devices are configured in a way that’s not varying from the updates’ standard settings requisites. With that said, try to reduce screen brightness and see if that makes a difference when it comes to power consumption before and after making adjustments to screen brightness.
- Manage display settings and relevant features. Aside from screen brightness, there are also other features that can be turned on or off to reduce power consumption and to slow down power drain. Among the features that you should turn off are Bluetooth, Location service, Background App Refresh, apps notifications, and the like. If you’re in an area where network coverage is poor, turning Airplane mode on can help extend its power. When the signal is poor, the device struggles to search for other network signal sources available. This therefore results in faster battery draining. To stop your device from using up power for this purpose, turn Airplane Mode on while you’re out of your network’s coverage. Doing so disables all wireless features and system on your iPhone. Turning screen animations off can also help. The same thing when you turn off automatic email fetching.
- Enable Power-saving mode. If you badly needed to stretch power and battery life, then you can also put your iPhone in power-saving mode. To do this, go to the Home screen then tap on Settings. Select battery then toggle the Low Power Mode switch to turn it on. Some features and services are limited while in Low Power Mode so there’s nothing to worry if you wouldn’t be able to use some apps or features on your iPhone. You can always switch back to normal mode and disable Low Power Mode once you’re ready.
- Calibrate the battery. If you haven’t yet calibrated your iPhone battery, then this can also be considered among other possible solutions. Battery calibration on the iPhone is done by draining the battery completely and then charging the phone up until it gets fully charged. Once the battery fully charged, use your iPhone again until the battery drains completely. Then you charge it again until the battery gets full.
Is your iPhone battery still draining so fast?
The battery draining problem you’re dealing with is more likely attributed to a hardware issue like a damaged battery or other relevant components. Although the symptom had instigated from the iOS 13 update installation, it doesn’t always denote that the problem is inflicted by an iOS bug. If it were, then any of the above procedures should be able to address it. But since the battery draining issue continues after exhausting all prior solutions, the next attributes that you should look into and clear out are hardware components.
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