Based on the actual battery specs, Apple’s new iPhone X device sports a 2716 mAh battery which could normally last up to 21 hours of talk time or 2 hours longer than the iPhone 7 with 1960 mAh. But despite the increase in power capacity, some users are still complaining about rapid draining on the iPhone X battery. These claims have even augmented following the release of minor updates to iOS 11. And because of that, many people couldn’t get to wait much longer for the official release of the iOS 11.3, which Apple has claimed to be the most significant iOS upgrade in years. It turned out that prior software released since iOS 11 have somehow slowed down the iPhone X and that forced Apple to make an official apology and thereby promised to rollout an ultimate solution very soon.
As what Tim Cook recently revealed, Apple will embark on the Big One –something which has not been done before. The beta version is up for release next month and it is said to address the iPhone X battery health issue. And the final version should be available in March. But for those who are facing the same dilemma on quick battery draining issue on iPhone X and can’t wait for the big one to arrive, this post highlights some helpful recommendations and workarounds that can help save and extend battery life. Read on to find out what are these and might as well give them a try, if necessary.
Before we move on, if you have other issues with your iPhone, visit our iPhone X troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most commonly reported issues with the device. Browse through the page to find issues similar with yours. If you still need our assistance after that, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire to contact us.
Helpful ways to extend battery life on your iPhone X
One of the first recommendations when dealing with rapid battery draining issue in mobile devices is to install the latest software update as it likely contains system enhancements and/or bug fixes to address power issues. But if you already did update your iPhone X to the latest iOS version and unfortunately ended up having an even worse battery life, just skip this method unless iOS 11.3 beta is already starting to rollout. You should take your chances in getting that key update (as what Apple has claimed) on your iPhone.
First method: Optimize display settings on your iPhone X.
Reducing the screen brightness to a lower or average level can help make the battery last longer. A quicker way to do so is through the Control Center. Here’s how:
- To open the Control Center on your iPhone X, swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Then locate the Brightness icon (it looks like a grey sun image).
- Tap on this icon then drag the brightness control down to adjust or lower the brightness of your display.
- To close the Control Center, swipe up from the bottom of the screen or simply tap the screen.
You can also adjust the screen brightness through your iPhone Settings menu. Here’s how:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- Drag the slider to the left or right to adjust the brightness level of your display.
Second method: Configure network services Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Network connectivity features and services like Wi-Fi Bluetooth, Maps and Location services (GPS) usually consume a significant amount of power when enabled as they trigger the processor to keep on searching, scanning for, or stay connected to the network or satellite channels. Turning these features off when not in use can therefore help you save much power on your iPhone. These features are usually accessible through the Settings menu or the Control Center. If you prefer the latter method, open the control center (refer to the above steps) then tap the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other relevant icons to turn off.
- To turn off Wi-Fi through your iPhone X settings menu, go to Settings-> Wi-Fi-> then tap the switch to turn off.
- To turn off Wi-Fi through your iPhone X settings menu, go to Settings-> Bluetooth-> then tap the Bluetooth switch to turn off.
Third method: Turn off these settings on your iPhone X.
Background app refresh
This is an iOS feature that is used to control which apps can refresh in the background. When this feature is turned on, your apps automatically update in the background while multitasking. While this may serve some benefits, it also consumes a lot of power and resources. You may opt to turn off background refresh for all your apps or just for certain apps that aren’t really that important to you. Here’s how to turn off background app refresh on your iPhone X:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Tap Background App Refresh.
- Tap the switch to turn it off. You will see the switch is greyed out when the feature is off or disabled.
- To turn off Background App Refresh for certain apps on your iPhone X, go to Settings-> General-> Background App Refresh-> then tap to turn off the switch next to the app you wish to disable the feature for.
Location and background location services
For location services to work, a GPS, Bluetooth, crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspots and cell tower locations are required in order to determine your approximate location. If you set to allow permission, Location Services will grant Apple and third-party apps and websites access to information based on your phone’s current location thus providing a variety of location-based services. While this can be beneficial at certain instances, enabling this feature can likewise drain your iPhone battery faster than normal. That said, turning this feature off is recommended especially if not really needed. Aside from saving power, disabling location services is also one way of protecting your privacy as your location becomes unavailable or inaccessible.
- To turn off location services and GPS on your iPhone X, go to Settings-> Privacy-> Location Services-> then tap the switch to turn off. To turn off location services for specific apps, scroll down to find the app then tap and select an option to allow location services for an app.
Turn off push notifications for an app
Notifications are there to let you know of something new that occurs or comes in to your iPhone. A notification sound could mean some missed calls, new messages, and appointments.
While this feature offers some benefits especially when it comes to keeping you updated of any new emails you receive, keeping it push notification enabled can also contribute to battery draining. Your device needs to be connected to the servers like Gmail for instance, to fetch new data and notify you on it. What happens is that your iPhone will fetch new data in the background for as long as your phone is turned on and connected to the Internet.
- To manage or turn off push notifications on your iPhone X, go to Settings-> Notifications-> Show Previews-> then select Never from the given options. Doing so will turn off notification preview. To enable push notifications for certain apps, tap the Left Arrow to go back to the Settings menu, tap the desired app, then tap the Allow Notifications switch to enable push notifications for the selected app.
Turn off spotlight search
Spotlight search works by triggering iOS to constantly work in the background so as to index your data for you to find it easier later. Needless to say, this feature can also consume a lot of power when enabled on your iPhone X. If you don’t think it’s necessary to use spotlight search, then turning it off would be necessary especially if your trying to stretch the remaining power and keep your iPhone alive for a little longer.
- To do so, head over to Settings-> General-> Spotlight Search, then uncheck every item on the search list.
Fourth method: Enable these settings on your iPhone X.
- Turn on Reduce Motion to temporarily turn off all the parallax effects. To do so, navigate to your iPhone X Settings-> General-> Accessibility-> Reduce motion. Then toggle the switch to turn on the feature.
- Turn on Airplane mode when the signal is low or no cell coverage. This will prevent your device from constantly searching for available network or signal nearby. You can turn this feature on through the control center. Just open the control center then tap the Airplane mode icon to turn it on. Please note though that you won’t be able to access Wi-Fi Internet as Wi-Fi automatically turns off when Airplane mode is enabled on your device. Aside from no Wi-Fi internet, you also won’t be able to make or receive calls in Airplane mode. Nonetheless, you can always turn it off again when your iPhone is already able to get good signal or network coverage.
- Turn on Low power mode when needed. Normally, you will be prompted to enable Low Power Mode if your battery life goes down to 20 percent. You can enable this mode by tapping OK or enable from the alert message or go to Settings-> Battery-> Low Power Mode then tap the switch to turn the feature ON. Other apps and features like Mail, AirDrop, iCloud sync, and Continuity are disabled in this mode except key functions like calls, emails, and messages, and Internet access. Low power mode automatically turns off when your iPhone charges up again.
Fifth method: Factory reset/master reset.
This should only be regarded as the last resort especially if your iPhone X battery is draining so rapidly after installing a new update or making some changes to settings that couldn’t be possibly reverted back to the prior configurations. A factory reset can also help clear out some system bugs that might have caused certain apps to get rogue and consume a significant amount of power in a short span of time.
- To factory reset your iPhone X through Settings menu, go to Settings-> General-> Reset-> Erase All Content and Settings. If prompted, enter your device passcode then tap Erase iPhone to confirm. Set up your device once the reset is complete.
Please note that a factory reset will erase all your iPhone data including personal information and customized settings. That said, be sure to back up your data before you proceed with the reset.
Other Battery Saving Tips
- Charge and recharge your iPhone X properly. This means knowing when to charge and when to uncharge your iPhone. As recommended, you can recharge your device once the battery reaches below 20 or 10 percent and then unplug it from the charger when it reaches 100 percent again. The use of OEM chargers or original charging equipment is also recommended.
- Calibrate your iPhone X battery periodically. helps your device estimate battery life more accurately. The process involves draining the battery completely until the iPhone shuts down. Recharge the iPhone then use it until the battery gets emptied again then charge it again.
- Minimize the use of camera app.
- Stop vibration, reduce volume level.
- Use static wallpapers over dynamic (moving) wallpapers.
- Remove Facebook app if you’re not keen on Facebooking. Doing so will help you save up to 15 percent of your battery life.
And that covers everything in this tutorial. Keep posted for more comprehensive guides to populate our iPhone X Tutorials section. Hope this helps.
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- How to backup iPhone X files and perform iTunes restore, Recovery Mode restore, DFU Mode restore on iPhone X [Tutorials]
- Apple iPhone X Apps and Data Transfer Guide: How to transfer files from other devices to your new iPhone X [Tutorials]
- What to do when you encounter any problem during the data transfer to iPhone X?
- Apple iPhone X Reset Guide: How to perform a soft reset, hard reset or force restart, factory reset or master reset on your new iPhone [Tutorials]
- What to do when you encounter problems while trying to restore your iPhone X?