How to Fix iPhone Battery Drain Issues After Updating to iOS 26

Many users have reported battery drain issues after updating to iOS 26. If your iPhone battery is draining faster than usual after upgrading, here are the quick troubleshooting techniques to fix battery drain issues on your iPhone and increase battery life.

How to Fix Battery Drain Issues on Your iPhone

Quick Fixes

Try these quick fixes that worked for most people to fix battery drain issues on your iPhone.

Wait 24-48 Hours After Upgrading to iOS 26

If you have upgraded recently, I recommend you to wait for 24-48 hours as after upgrading background process can temporarily effect the battery life on your iPhone, Apple officially acknowledge and in a statement in its support document Apple warns that immediately after installing a major update like iOS 26, “you might notice a temporary impact on battery life and thermal performance.” if you are facing battery drain issues even after the recommended time, here are the quick tips to raise fix the issue.

Update your iPhone

Apple has rolled out a new iOS 26.1 update that fixes the majority of the battery drain issues on your iPhone. The update is available for all supported devices. You can go to Settings> General> Software Update and update your iPhone to the latest version.

How to Update Your iPhone:

Step 1 of 4:

Open Settings on your iPhone

Step 2 of 4:

Tap on the General Settings

Step 3 of 4:

Click on the Software Update

Step 4 of 4:

From here, if an update is available, click on the install and update your iPhone to the latest version.

Restart your iPhone

A quick restart can help you fix many issues, including battery drain issues on your iPhone. To force a restart, stop unwanted processes running in the background, restart existing processes, and fix any glitches. Here is how you can force restart your iPhone: first, press the volume up button and then the volume down button, and immediately long-press the power button until your device turns off. Keep holding the power button until the Apple logo appears. This way, you can force restart your iPhone.

How to Restart your iPhone:

Step 1 of 4:

Press the volume Up Button

Step 2 of 4:

Press the Volume down button.

Step 3 of 4:

Now, long-press the power button and wait until the screen turns OFF.

Step 4 of 4:

Keep pressing the power button until you see an Apple Logo.

Check Which App Is Draining the Battery

Sometimes, not just the system process, a specific unoptimized app can cause battery drain issues on your phone. To find which app is causing the issue, you can go to settings> battery and see which app is consuming more battery. To fix it update the app if any update is available, or force stop the app, and if it still causes the issue, temporarily uninstall the app until the app developers fix the issues

How to check which app is draining battery on your iPhone:

Step 1 of 5:

Open Settings on your iPhone

Step 2 of 5:

Scroll down and tap on the Battery

Step 3 of 5:

Tap on the View All Battery Usage 

Step 4 of 5:

From here, check which app is consuming more Battery

Step 5 of 5:

Uninstall the app to temporarily fix the battery life on your iPhone.

Update All the Apps

If the issue is still not resolved, check and update all the apps from the app store. Sometimes an older version of the app can cause battery drain issues; you can update the app from the App Store. To update, open the App Store on your device, click on the profile picture, scroll down, and from here tap on the update all

How to update all the apps on your iPhone:

Step 1 of 3:

Open App Store on your iPhone

Step 2 of 3:

Tap on the Profile picture in the top right corner of the screen.

Step 3 of 3:

Scroll down and from here tap on the Update All option.

Disable Background App Refresh

Another way you can stop apps from unnecessarily running in the background is by limiting background app refresh. To do this, you can go to settings, generate, and from here find the background app refresh option and turn it off. This limits unwanted background apps running in the background and preserves battery life.

How to Disable Background App Refresh on Your iPhone:

Step 1 of 5:

Open Settings on your iPhone

Step 2 of 5:

Tap on the General Settings.

Step 3 of 5:

Click on the Background App Refresh

Step 4 of 5:

Tap on the Background App Refresh tab.

Step 5 of 5:

From here, select the Off option.

Turn On the Low Power Mode

Turn on the low power mode to temporarily stop battery drain issues on your iPhone, low power mode restrictits unwanted background process and saves system resources this retaining the battery life on your iPhone, to temporarily stop battery drain you can enable low power mode from the settings, battery and then on lower power mode, you can also use this battery life saver shortcut to further restrict the background process and enhance the battery life.

Those quick fixes have worked for the majority of people to fix the battery life; however, if the issue is still not resolved in your case, you can follow these advanced troubleshooting techniques that fix the root cause of the issues and improve battery life on your iPhone.

How to turn on low power mode on iPhone:

Step 1 of 3:

Open Settings on your iPhone

Step 2 of 3:

Tap on the Battery Settings.

Step 3 of 3:

From here, turn on the Low Power Mode option.

Advanced Troubleshooting Techniques

Reset System Settings

Sometimes, unwanted settings on your iPhone can cause battery life issues. This won’t get resolved unless these settings are back to normal. It is hard to check that every setting is in its place; however, you can quickly reset all the settings to make all settings default. Follow the steps below to reset settings on your iPhone

How to reset system Settings on your iPhone:

Step 1 of 5:

Open Settings on your iPhone

Step 2 of 5:

Tap on the General Settings

Step 3 of 5:

Now, scroll down and tap on the Transfer or Reset iPhone Settings. 

Step 4 of 5:

From here, tap on the Reset option.

Step 5 of 5:

Tap on Reset All Settings to reset settings to the default on your iPhone

Reduce Visual Effects on Your iPhone

iOS 26 introduces a new Liquid Glass design, which adds glass effects to the entire ecosystem; however, these visual effects significantly use more power and system resources to work. And if you’re using an older iPhone with older hardware, this can significantly impact the battery life. Fortunately, Apple allows you to turn off visual effects on your iPhone. To do this

How to reduce visual effects on your iPhone:

Step 1 of 4:

Open the Settings app on your iPhone

Step 2 of 4:

Scroll down and Tap on the Accessibility Settings

Step 3 of 4:

Tab on Display & Text Size

Step 4 of 4:

From here, turn on the Reduce Transparency Setting.

Turn Off Always on Display

After reducing the visual effects, to further free up system resources, you can reduce the brightness on your iPhone, especially during outdoor usage and also turn off the always-on display if it’s supported on your iPhone to save battery life when it’s in the ideal mode. This way, you can save more battery life on your iPhone

How to turn off always-on display on your iPhone:

Step 1 of 4:

Open Settings on your iPhone

Step 2 of 4:

Tap on the Display & brightness Settings.

Step 3 of 4:

From here, select Always On Display Settings. 

Step 4 of 4:

Turn off the Always On Display Setting.

Reinstall iOS 26

Sometimes, a small glitch when updating to iOS 26 can cause Battery drain issues after the update. To fix this, you can reinstall the iOS 26 update on your iPhone.

Note: Before reinstalling the iOS 26 update on your iPhone, back up all your important files.

How to reinstall iOS 26 on your iPhone:

Step 1 of 3:

Connect your iPhone to the Mac using a USB cable.

Step 2 of 3:

Open Finder app on your Mac, and under Locations select your iPhone (example: Ramesh’s iPhone)

Step 3 of 3:

From here, tap on the Restore iPhone. From here, follow the on-screen instructions.

Factory Reset Your iPhone

If none of the methods fixes battery life issues on your iPhone, as a last resort, try factory resetting your iPhone. This removes all the unwanted settings, apps and everything from your iPhone and creates a fresh installation that should fix the issue. Remember to back up important files on your iPhone, as factory resetting removes everything from your iPhone.

How to factory reset your iPhone:

Step 1 of 5:

Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2 of 5:

Tap on the General Settings.

Step 3 of 5:

From here, scroll down and select Transfer or Reset iPhone settings.

Step 4 of 5:

From here, tap on the Erase All Contents and Settings option.

Step 5 of 5:

Tap on the Continue option and select Erase iPhone settings.

Rollback to iOS 18

If the factory reset also doesn’t help to fix the issue, iOS 26 might be causing the battery drain issues on your iPhone. You can roll back to iOS 18 and wait until Apple officially fixes the battery drain issues for your model, and then update.

How to rollback to iOS 18: 

Fix Battery Life Issues on Your iPhone

Those are the simple methods you can follow to fix Battery drain issues on your iPhone after upgrading to iOS 26. First, follow the quick fixes that worked for the majority of people, and then follow advanced troubleshooting techniques if the quick fixes don’t work. And while resetting or reinstalling iOS 26, ensure you back up important files. I hope you find this guide helpful. If the issue isn’t resolved even after factory resetting your iPhone or rolling back to iOS 26, the issue might be related to the hardware and battery of your iPhone. You can book a free Apple Genius Bar appointment and get it fixed by Apple’s technicians.

FAQs on Fixing Battery Drain Issues on Your iPhone

1. How can I check if my iPhone battery health has degraded after installing iOS 26?

To check battery health on your iPhone, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging, and from here, you can check battery health on your iPhone.

2. How can I disable background location usage for specific apps?

Open Settings on your iPhone, and go to Privacy & Settings, and from here select Location Services, and turn off location services on your iPhone.

3. How long after the upgrade should I expect battery issues to stabilize?

After the update, you can wait for 24-48 hours to get back battery life to normal on your iPhone. If you are facing battery drain issues beyond the recommended time, you can follow the methods in this guide to fix the battery life issues on your iPhone.

4. How do I check if my iPhone battery needs replacement (i. e. battery health status)?

There is no specific number; however, Apple recommends replacing the battery if the battery health is less than 70%.

5. How can I disable or limit 5G to save battery?

To limit 5G usage on your iPhone, go to Settings > Cellular and then go to Cellular Data Options, and then go to Voice and Data and select LTE or 5 G auto instead of 5G on.

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