Like most new tech today, Apple devices run on lithium-ion batteries.
While reliable, these will start to wear out and not hold their charge as effectively over time.
Do you sometimes find it hard to get an accurate read on your battery’s charge?
To address this issue and more, you would want to learn how to calibrate iPhone battery at home.
How To Calibrate iPhone Battery
Replacing something that still works is deemed wasteful.
To get the most value out of your devices, start by learning how to recalibrate iPhone battery at home.
If that doesn’t fix your phone’s issues, then you can decide what your next steps are.
In many cases, doing this helps your battery last until you replace your phone altogether.
Here are the steps to calibrating iPhone battery successfully:
Step 1: Drain the Battery
First, you’ll want to drain the battery of your iPhone completely.
The best way to do this is to use it normally until the charge completely runs out.
Eventually, your device will turn off because it has an insufficient battery charge to function.
Step 2: Leave It Be
Once the phone turns off, leave your phone off and unplugged for some time.
Try to leave the phone off and uncharged for at least 12 hours, such as while you are sleeping.
This can be inconvenient and skipped if necessary, but it is an important step.
Even when your battery is at 0%, it’s not actually completely discharged.
By letting your phone sit, much of the remaining charge will runoff.
Step 3: Plug It In
After your phone sits for some time, you can plug it into your charger.
Make sure to use an approved charger and wall adapter when doing this.
Your phone will turn back on after charging for a few minutes.
It is better to charge your iPhone while it is turned off, so shut it down after it comes back online.
Charging with the phone off reduces heat generation and extends the battery life.
Keep the phone plugged in until it reaches 100%.
Step 4: Leave It Plugged In
Once your iPhone reaches 100%, leave it plugged in for another hour or two.
Doing this will ensure it reaches the full device charge, and it will better understand what 100% reads as.
Step 5: Reset Your Phone
Once your phone is completely charged and then charged a little more, it’s time to reset your phone.
You can do this by simply holding down the Sleep/Wake button and Home button on some models.
Other units may require you to hold down the Volume Up and the Sleep/Wake button.
This is a very simple process that does not delete anything on your device; it simply restarts it.
After your phone boots up and resets, you can remove the charging cable and get back to using your phone as usual.
iPhone Battery Tips
Are you worried about your long-term battery health and wondering how you can keep things running smoothly?
Paying attention to these battery health tips can ensure your device does not run out of charge as quickly when using your phone.
None of these changes are very difficult, but they can take some time to get used to.
Remember that they are for the long-term good of your phone as well as for keeping your phone up and running all day long.
1. Screen Brightness
Do you have your phone set on full-screen brightness all of the time?
If so, it might be a good idea to start setting your screen brightness to low as needed.
Additionally, check that updates are not overriding your settings or causing your screen to use more power than necessary.
2. Turn Off Unnecessary Services
Your iPhone has many services that drain the device’s power all day long.
While some of these may be necessary for the most comfortable use of your device, they aren’t all needed.
Think about whether or not you use the following services throughout the day:
- Bluetooth
- Location services
- Background app refresh
- App notifications
- Wi-Fi
- Screen animations
- Automatic email loading
You can turn off or limit any or all of these to reduce their power consumption.
You might not want to turn them off if you use them frequently, but unused services are nothing but a power dump.
3. Try Power-Saving Mode
Are you out of the house, and your phone is dying too quickly? It might be time to turn on power-saving mode.
Power-saving mode limits what your phone accesses and what apps can be used so that your battery life lasts longer.
To enable this, enter your Settings, tap Battery, and choose Low Power Mode.
Once you can charge your device again, you can easily turn your phone back into normal mode.
4. Go Into Airplane Mode
If you live in an area with poor network service or are traveling somewhere where the signal is poor, consider using Airplane Mode.
Airplane Mode will stop your iPhone from constantly searching for network signals. In turn, this will save a lot of battery.
Usually, you can still turn on Wi-Fi while using this mode, so you can get online if you have a connection available.
Remember to turn Airplane Mode back on if you need a network signal for texts, calls, or other services.
How Do I Calibrate My iPhone Battery iOS 13?
The basic method for how to recalibrate iPhone battery on iOS 13 is the same as the procedure listed above.
However, if you find that it did not make any difference, there may be some other ongoing issues you must address.
Certain apps, software, and hardware complications can cause your battery to drain too quickly.
If the above steps do not help, try the following to improve the battery life on your iPhone.
These are focused on closing apps and other services that may be unnecessarily draining your battery.
1. Force-Close Background Apps
To force-close any running background app, start in the Home screen and swipe up from the bottom, pausing on your App Preview screen.
Swipe up on each preview screen to close the apps until all of them are closed.
After doing that, restart your phone.
Getting rid of these apps will reduce the load on your phone’s battery.
Sometimes, these apps pop up and begin running without you realizing it, so it’s good to make sure the apps are clear throughout the day.
For older iPhones, double click on the Home button and swipe up on the app you want to close.
2. Install Pending Updates
Does your phone have any pending updates? What about your apps?
Every now and then, apps look for updates and consume a lot of power without you realizing it.
By completing these updates, they will stop running and save your battery.
Check the App Store to see if any updates are pending for your favorite apps.
After you have them all installed, you may see a big improvement in how much battery is being used by your device.
3. Reset Settings
If you recently installed an iOS update, the software may have messed up some of your device’s settings.
Conflicting settings can cause battery life to drain unnecessarily, so you want to address this as soon as possible.
To do this, visit the General page in Settings. There, you will find what you need to do to reset your settings.
While you will need to reconfigure your settings after doing this, it will not wipe any of your device’s internal memory.
Is There a Way To Calibrate Your iPhone Overnight?
If you need to calibrate your phone quickly, you might not think the method outlined above will work.
Ideally, you would follow those steps completely, but you can speed things up a bit.
Start by draining as much battery as possible by playing videos, music, or games.
Then, turn off your phone and allow it to charge overnight while you sleep.
When you wake up, do the quick reset and then use your phone as usual.
Obviously, you can’t expect this method to be as thorough or as effective as the long version of the process.
However, it may still make a difference in your phone’s battery performance in the long run.
How Do I Restore My iPhone Battery Health?
After calibrating iPhone battery following the steps we provided, you might be wondering how to make long-term changes to your battery’s health.
It’s a good idea to look at your device’s Battery Health page and see what is happening behind the scenes.
For most iOS devices, you’ll want to go into the Settings, tap Battery, and then tap Battery Health.
If your battery health is above 80%, your phone is most probably fine. This is a good operating range for an iPhone.
What’s more, the general performance management iOS does will keep it in check.
If it is below 79%, it may be time to recalibrate your iPhone or get your battery replaced.
Until you can get your iPhone battery back in full working condition, using a portable battery will grant you freedom and power.
How Often Should Battery Calibration Be Done?
Ideally, it would be best if you don’t recalibrate your battery very frequently.
Running lithium-ion batteries down to 0% every day will actually cause more damage than good to your device.
Instead, do this every three to six months as needed.
Calibration should be done once you notice strange battery behavior or your iPhone says the battery health is not good.
Otherwise, leave it be and charge your phone as you normally do.
Calibrating iPhone Battery
After learning how to calibrate iPhone battery, you might find that your battery still isn’t living up to your expectations.
Sometimes, batteries just fail or run out too quickly for your liking, and that can be frustrating.
Thankfully, you can rely on the best power banks for iPhones as a backup for when your battery doesn’t cut it.
Work your way through the recalibration steps carefully, but remember that replacing your battery or buying a power bank might be necessary.
Besides, there are always more options when handling your phone battery, so don’t be discouraged until you give them a try.