How to Use Low Power Mode to Save Battery on Your iPhone

Turn on Low Power Mode to make your iPhone’s battery last longer when you can’t get to a charger.

Why: Low Power Mode temporarily reduces or pauses background activity that drains the battery — things like Mail fetch, background app refresh, automatic downloads, some visual effects, and on ProMotion models the display refresh rate. Your phone still works normally; it just does less behind the scenes.

Step 1: Turn on Low Power Mode in Settings

On iPhone 15 and later:

1. Open Settings → Battery.
2. Tap Power Mode.
3. Turn on Low Power Mode.

On iPhone 14 and earlier:

1. Open Settings → Battery.
2. Turn on Low Power Mode.

When it’s on, the battery icon in the status bar turns yellow.

Step 2: Toggle it fast from Control Center

For quick access, add the Low Power Mode control:

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center (on Face ID iPhones).
2. Tap the battery icon to toggle Low Power Mode on or off.

If you don’t see it, edit Control Center (Settings → Control Center) and add Low Power Mode.

Step 3: Know when it turns off automatically

• iPhone offers to turn Low Power Mode on when your battery drops to 20% and again at 10%.
• Low Power Mode turns off automatically once you charge the battery back up to about 80%.

So you generally don’t need to remember to switch it off — just plug in when you can.

FAQ

Does Low Power Mode hurt my phone or battery? No. It’s a normal, supported feature that just pauses power-hungry background tasks. Mail, downloads, and background refresh resume the moment you turn it off or charge past 80%.

Can I leave Low Power Mode on all the time? Yes, you can keep it on permanently if you don’t mind slightly delayed email and background updates. It will still switch off on its own when you charge above 80%, so you’d turn it back on after charging.

Sources: Apple Support — Use Low Power Mode to save battery life on your iPhone or iPad, Apple Support — Save battery life with Power Modes on iPhone