How to calibrate iPhone battery in 6 easy steps

Poor battery life is a perennial concern of smartphone owners. It doesn't matter if you have an iPhone or an Android, if you use your phone a lot during the day, the battery will drain quickly.

However, did you know that something as simple as iPhone battery calibration can also be helpful in this situation? In today's article, let's take a closer look at how to calibrate an iPhone battery and why calibration is so important.

Why should you calibrate your iPhone battery?

iPhone battery calibration (also known as iPhone battery reset) is a surprisingly important part of iPhone maintenance. Unfortunately, many people do not realize its benefits and even few take the time to take the necessary steps.

Without a properly calibrated battery, you may experience inaccurate and erratic battery percentage readings, faster battery drain, and shorter overall battery life. If your iPhone shuts down unexpectedly when the battery life percentage reaches single digits, poor calibration is almost certainly the cause.

Many factors can cause batteries to be incorrectly calibrated. Software updates, background app refresh, new features, and even daily use can all make a difference. And even if you don't notice an incorrect calibration, performing the steps below will ensure all the ions in the battery are still shifting, thus improving the battery's peak performance.

While you shouldn't need to calibrate it as often, it's worth a shot if your iPhone is old or you have a battery issue that the other steps don't solve.

Preparing to calibrate iPhone battery

Before starting the calibration process, you should prepare some steps. It all revolves around disabling features and services, so the fewer tasks the better.

This will help lead to accurate readings later in the process. After resetting the battery, you can enable all these options again. You should also make sure that you haven't accidentally turned on Low Power mode by going to Settings > Battery .

Turn off location services

To turn off location services on iPhone, follow these steps:

Step 1. Open the Settings app .

Step 2. Scroll down and tap Privacy.

Step 3. Select Location Services.

Step 4. Slide the switch next to Location Services to the Off position .

Remember, you can use location services to track down your lost iPhone, so make sure you don't forget to turn the feature back on once the calibration is complete.

Turn off background app refresh

Follow the instructions below to disable background app refresh:

Step 1. Open the Settings app .

Step 2. Click General.

Step 3. Select Background App Refresh.

Step 4. Click Background App Refresh again.

Step 5. Select Off.

Reduce screen brightness

Here's how to reduce screen brightness on iPhone:

Step 1. Open the Settings app .

Step 2. Scroll down and select Display & Brightness .

Step 3. Move the Brightness slider to the left.

Turn off automatic updates

Finally, to turn off automatic updates, follow these three steps:

Step 1. Open the Settings app .

Step 2. Scroll down and tap App Store.

Step 3. Slide the switch next to App Updates to the Off position .

How to calibrate iPhone battery

You are now ready to calibrate the battery on your iPhone. Please be patient! You will need to wait for about a few complete charge/discharge cycles to finish.

Luckily, you don't need any third-party tools or apps. Any tool you see in the App Store that claims to reset your iPhone battery is unnecessary and at worst can be a scam. iPhone battery calibration is easy to do with no extra help required.

Step 1: Discharge the battery

The first step is to completely drain your iPhone battery. You can do so during normal use. If you want to speed up the process, you can play a long YouTube video with the volume turned up to maximum.

Step 2: Wait 3 hours

You may have noticed that your iPhone turns off automatically even if the battery is only a small percentage. This process is by design; it gives the device a chance to save the current state of the app so you don't lose your data.

It is important to let this small remaining battery drain as well. The only way to do this is to wait. The longer the better, but you should wait at least 3 hours. If you have time, you should leave it overnight.

Step 3: Charge your device

Now it's time to recharge the battery. To ensure optimal performance, make sure you follow these tips:

1. Use a wall outlet instead of a computer to charge.
2. Ideally, use an official Apple charger. At the very least, make sure you use a reliable Lightning cable, not a cheap imitation.
3. Keep charging for several hours even if your phone shows 100% full battery. You need to make sure that you charge little by little to make sure the calibration works correctly.

Step 4: Discharge the device battery

Now, you need to repeat the whole process a second time. Everything is the same as before: Completely drain the battery from the device. Use it as usual or play the video on repeat to drain the battery faster.

Step 5: Wait another 3 hours

Now, things may seem repetitive, but stick with it. Again, you need to make sure you've used up the last of the battery from your iPhone. Like before, you can leave it on for as long as possible.

Step 6: Charge the device

To finish the process, you need to recharge your device. Follow the same guidelines as before, making sure you allow the phone to keep charging for several hours even when it's full.

Finally, you need to re-enable the services and functions that you disabled earlier. Turn location services back on, background app refresh, automatic updates, and screen brightness back on.

All operations done! Now, your iPhone battery has been recalibrated.

If recalibration still hasn't fixed your iPhone battery problem, it may be time to spend money on a new battery. You can replace the battery yourself if you feel safe, but doing so will void your phone's warranty.

In addition, please bring the device to a reputable service center for support.

Micah Soto

Update 14 July 2022