Battery Draining Fast? Turn Off These 7 Settings Tonight

If your phone is gasping for a charger by mid-afternoon, a handful of settings are usually to blame — not a worn-out battery. Turn off these seven battery-draining settings tonight and most phones will comfortably last the whole day.

1. Tame the screen

The display is the single biggest battery drain. Lower your brightness, or enable auto-brightness so it adapts to your surroundings, and set a shorter screen timeout so it doesn't stay lit when you set the phone down.

2. Turn off background app refresh

Many apps quietly update in the background all day. On iPhone, go to Settings → General → Background App Refresh and disable it for apps that don't need it. On Android, restrict background activity for rarely used apps. You'll barely notice the difference — except in your battery life.

3. Stop apps tracking your location "always"

Apps set to use your location constantly are a heavy drain (and a privacy issue). Review location permissions and switch apps to "While Using" instead of "Always" wherever possible.

4. Ease up on push email and syncing

Email set to "push" wakes your phone every time a message arrives. Switching to fetch every 15 or 30 minutes saves power, and disabling sync for accounts you don't actively use helps too.

5. Rethink always-on display and high refresh rate

An always-on display and a high refresh-rate screen (90Hz or 120Hz) look great but cost battery. Turning off always-on display, or letting the phone drop to a lower refresh rate automatically, noticeably extends your day.

6. Switch off radios you're not using

Bluetooth, personal hotspot, and Wi-Fi searching in areas with no signal all sip power in the background. Turn off what you're not actively using. If you're somewhere with weak cellular signal, that constant searching drains fast — airplane mode can actually help.

7. Turn Low Power Mode ON

This is the one setting to enable, not disable. Low Power Mode (iPhone) or Battery Saver (Android) trims background activity automatically. You don't have to wait until 20% — leave it on whenever you want your charge to stretch further.

When it really is the battery

If you've done all this and the phone still dies quickly, check your battery health in settings. Below roughly 80% capacity, a battery replacement is far cheaper than a new phone and can make an old device feel new again. A slow phone often has the same root causes — see our guide to speeding up a slow phone.

Frequently asked questions

What drains phone battery the most?

The screen, followed by background app activity, constant location tracking, and searching for signal in low-coverage areas.

Does closing apps save battery?

Not really. Force-closing apps you'll reopen can actually use more power. Limiting background refresh is far more effective.

Is it bad to leave Low Power Mode on all the time?

No. It simply reduces background activity. Many people leave it on permanently with no downside beyond slightly delayed background updates.