Some iPhone users are experiencing battery drain issue after the iOS 18 update. Here’s what you can do if that problem affects you.
If you updated to iOS 18, you might notice your iPhone’s battery draining faster than you remember before you got Apple’s latest update.
While you may be quick to point a finger at the update itself as the culprit, there are several reasons why you may notice your battery draining a bit faster in the days after the update. We’ve listed some reasons below and how you can address them.
Why is my iPhone battery draining so fast after iOS 18 update?
Here are a couple of reasons why iOS 18 might be draining your iPhone battery:
- Your phone is working overtime in thebackground. New features may need to index your files to work properly.
- Your apps don’t support the latest version of iOS 18.Developers are given plenty of time to update their apps to the latest iPhone software, but if they don’t, the apps could drain more battery because they’re outdated.
And of course, there’s always the slight chance of iOS 18 bugs that could be eating up your iPhone battery life in the background.
How to fix iOS 18 battery drain issue
Be patient
It’s normal to experience a drop — even quite a significant drop — in battery life following the installation of an iOS update.
iPhones need to carry out a number of tasks in the background in the aftermath of an update. This consumes more battery power than usual, and that will disappear once your iPhone gets settled with the software update.
Control the screen brightness.
A bright display can make your iPhone battery drain fast, so a good strategy is to keep the screen as dim as your eyes can handle. Your eyes may not like this at first if they’re accustomed to a higher setting, but I guarantee that after an hour or so, you won’t even notice the difference. You will, however, get longer battery life. To do this, launch the Control Center by swiping down from the top right of the screen and drag the Brightness sliderdown. You can also disable the iPhone’s ability to automatically adjust screen brightness in response to ambient lighting, so you are always in charge. To do that, start the Settings app and tap Display & Brightness. Then turn off True Tone by swiping the button to the left. Turning on Dark mode in the Appearance section of this same screen can also extend the battery life.
Update your apps
The problem might not be the iOS 18 update but more a problem with apps that haven’t been updated, especially when new versions of iOS have been released. Therefore, it’s a good idea to make sure all your apps are updated before you spend a lot of time trying to diagnose what’s going on.
Launch the App Store on your iPhone and tap your profile icon in the top-right corner, then scroll down to Available Updates to look for updates. (I like to pull down this screen to refresh it, so I see all the latest updates.)
if they are apps that need to be updated, tap Update All, and the download/installation process will begin.
Find out what’s eating your battery
It is not unusual for apps to have bugs or issues that cause them to drain iPhone battery. Fortunately, iOS offers you the tools you need to track down misbehaving apps.
Head over to Settings > Battery, where you will see a lot of data, including Battery Usage By App. Tapping on it also allows you to switch to Activity By App, which shows a breakdown of how much power the app is using while on the screen and how much it is using when in the background.
You can use this information to diagnose battery drain issues. Here are some other things you can use this information for:
- An app going berserk in the background will show lots of activity in the background compared with screen activity. (Try disabling background activity for that app and see if that helps.)
- You can spot charging problems. (Was the battery actually charging when you thought it was?)
- You can also spot poor battery performance. (Look for battery charge falling rapidly.)
Disable your iPhone’s location services
Location services — which let your apps know where you are so they can offer location-specific information and features — is convenient, but it can also drain your battery quickly. If you don’t need location services, consider turning it off, at least some of the time. To control this feature, start the Settings app and tap Privacy & Security. Tap Location Services and then disable the feature by swiping the button to the left. Remember to come back to this screen and enable location services if you later want to use the feature.
What about overheating?
Don’t get into a competition to see how hot you can get your iPhone. That path leads to hardware damage. A stressed, hot battery is an unhappy battery, and that can create premature wear and performance issues.
So, if your iPhone is overheating, remove it from a hot window and don’t keep it in a hot car. I also recommend temporarily taking the phone out of any case it’s in.
Check if your battery needs replacing
Over time, batteries can degrade or even become damaged. If your handset is four years or older, then the battery might need to be replaced.
Tap on Settings, go into Battery > Battery Health & Charging, and check what the Maximum Capacity of the battery is listed as. A level below 80% indicates a worn battery. Simply get the battery serviced by Apple or a qualified third-party repairer.
Wait for the next iOS 18 update
Bugs do slip through the net, and sometimes all you can do is wait for Apple to fix the problem and roll out a new update.
Apple is getting much better at fixing issues, although you do have to wait for the fix and take a gamble that the new update does indeed correct the problem and not cause more chaos.
That said, given that pretty much every update Apple rolls out nowadays is packed with iOS security fixes, I recommend installing updates to avoid leaving your iPhone vulnerable to attack.
Bonus tips to fix iOS 18 battery drain issue
Here are a few things I’ve seen help with battery life on iOS 18:
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- Restart your iPhone. Sometimes after an iOS update, your iPhone could be glitched and bugged out, and a simple restart could resolve it and bring your battery life back to normal.
- Turn off Wi-Fi Assist, a feature that uses cellular data when your Wi-Fi connection is weak or slow. You can disable it by going to Settings > Cellular, and scrolling down to the bottom to turn off Wi-Fi Assist.
- Reset network settings. I’m not sure how or why this helps, but several people have reported that this reset improved their battery life dramatically. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone and then tap on Reset and then Reset Network Settings.