How to Fix Bad iOS 9 Battery Life

iOS 9 users continue to complain about bad battery life. With those problems in mind, we show you how to fix bad iOS 9 battery life on iOS 9.0, iOS 9.1, iOS 9.2, iOS 9.3, iOS 9.3.2, iOS 9.3.3, iOS 9.3.4, and iOS 9.3.5.

While many people have upgraded to Apple’s iOS 10 update, others have stayed behind on the company’s iOS 9 operating system. Some by choice, others by force. The iPhone 4s and the original iPad mini didn’t get iOS 10 upgrades.

iOS 9 battery life problems continue to frustrate many iPhone and iPad users including those on the last final version of iOS 9, Apple’s iOS 9.3.5 update. This isn’t surprising. Abnormal battery drain is a common iOS problem.

iOS updates aren’t supposed to have a negative effect on overall battery life on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch but we always see complaints.

In the case of iOS 9, these complaints are coming more than a year after its release for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

How to Fix Bad iOS 9 Battery Life

We want to help you solve your bad iOS 9 battery life issues.

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This guide delivers help to get better battery life on all versions of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch capable of running iOS 9, iOS 9.0.1, iOS 9.0.2, iOS 9.1, iOS 9.2, iOS 9.2.1, iOS 9.3, iOS 9.3.1, iOS 9.3.2, iOS 9.3.3, iOS 9.3.4, and the iOS 9.3.5 update.

You should keep some of these tips and fixes stored in your memory bank. Battery life problems can strike your device at any time so you’ll always want to be prepared.

Look Into Your Apps

If you’re noticing strange battery drain on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, the first thing you’ll want to do is take a long hard look at your applications, especially if you’re playing Pokemon Go.

It’s easy to blame Apple for your problems but there’s a good chance that it’s a third-party application hogging your resources.

To start digging into your app performance, you’ll want to go into Settings > Battery and get familiar with the Battery Usage tool and the changes that Apple’s made in iOS 9.

The tool will show you which apps are eating up the most battery but it will now show you when they’re eating up the most battery.

It will also show you what apps have been using the most power over a 24 hour span and what’s been eating your phone or tablets battery life over a longer span of time.

If you tap on the little clock there, you’ll also be able to pull up a breakdown that shows you exactly when they’re eating up the most battery.

Some apps will drain battery the most when the screen is on and some might zap your power when the screen is off.

If you see something odd, you’ll want to first try updating the application (assuming it has good reviews). Developers have been rolling out iOS 9 support updates in recent days and there’s a good chance your apps have updates.

If that doesn’t help, try reinstalling it or uninstalling it completely to see if your overall iPhone or iPad battery life improves some.

Uninstall Facebook

Facebook’s app is under fire again for causing battery life troubles on the iPhone. A recent piece from The Guardian suggests that the app is still chewing up a substantial amount of battery life. The author claims that, on average, he has 15% more battery life each day without Facebook installed.

If you have the Facebook app on your phone, it might be worth an uninstall (permanent or temporary is up to you) to see if it has a positive effect on your iPhone’s charge.

Pokemon Go

If you’re playing Pokemon Go on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch for long periods of time, there’s a good chance it’s draining your battery.

Pokemon Go relies on GPS to track your movement. GPS kills battery life. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to combat Pokemon Go battery drain on iOS 9:

• Lower your screen brightness.
• Use an external battery pack.
• Kill Bluetooth and Wi-Fi while you’re roaming around playing the game.
• Disable volume.

For more on Pokemon Go problems and fixes, take a look at our rundown.

Start Using Low Power Mode

iOS 9 comes with a brand new feature that will help you conserve iPhone battery life when you need it most.

The new Low Power Mode in iOS 9 allows users to stretch out the last 10-20% of battery life significantly longer without flipping a bunch of switches manually.

Simply go to Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode > On and the iPhone will limit many items you used to need to control manually. This can add several hours of actual use to your iPhone.

With iOS 9.3.5 on board, you’ll be able to use Low Power Mode with iOS 9.3’s Night Shift feature.

Turn On Airplane Mode

If you’re noticing battery drain, it might be because you’re in an area with spotty cellular service. If you are, your device will work extra hard to try and find a signal and that could cause your battery life to start draining rapidly.

To combat this, flip your device into Low Power Mode or Airplane Mode. Airplane Mode can be found at the top of Settings and it will kill all of your connections. If you’ve flown any time in the past five years, you’ve probably used it.

With Airplane Mode turned on, your phone won’t be searching for a better signal or any nearby connections. Just make sure to flip it off when you’re back in an area with better service.

Disable iCloud Keychain

This is a potential fix that’s been passed down over the years and there’s a chance it might work for you after installing iOS 9.

Try disabling iCloud Keychain if you don’t use it. iPhone and iPad users have reported a bump to battery life after turning it off and there’s a chance you could see some improvements.

To disable iCloud Keychain on your device, you’ll need to go into Settings > iCloud > Keychain > Toggle iCloud Keychain off. You can always flip the feature back on if you determine that there’s no connection between it and the battery drain on your device.

Limit Background App Refresh

If you don’t need your apps to automatically refresh in the background, you might want to try disabling the Background App Refresh feature that comes standard with iOS.

Background app refresh is handy is you want your applications to show the latest data whenever you open them but in our experience its proven to be a resource hog. If you have it on, apps will work in the background and that can be a catalyst for bad battery life.

Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh > Turn it off for each app that is using too much power. It’s a tedious process but it could help.

You can also turn the feature off completely if you don’t want to go through your list of applications one by one.

Manage Your Display

Get a handle on your display.

Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch use an array of sensors and one of those sensors adjusts the screen automatically in certain lighting environments. Sometimes the sensor works to perfection. Sometimes it doesn’t.

If you’re noticing strange iOS 9 battery drain, try shutting auto brightness off. To make this happen, go into Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Brightness > Off. Once it’s shut off, you’ll have to adjust the screen brightness manually.

iOS 9’s Control Center offers quick access to an auto brightness toggle. To pull it up, swipe up from the bottom of your screen.

Restart Your iPhone or iPad

You should also try restarting your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

If you don’t know how to do this, hold down the power button for a few seconds and swipe to shut the device down. Hold down the power button again to boot the device back up.

If that doesn’t help, you can also try a hard reset. To do that, hold down the home button and the power button for about 10 seconds. The device will restart it self. As a reminder, this will not remove any of your data.

Reset All Settings

The above fixes include changes to your habits and some smaller tweaks. The fixes listed below are more drastic measures.

The first step to take is a reset on all of your device’s settings. To do this, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings and then enter your passcode when the prompt appears.

The reset process could take five minutes or so and once it’s done, it will restore your settings to their factory defaults.

You’ll also want to have your various Wi-Fi passwords handy. Once this process completes, your phone or tablet will have forgotten those passwords.

Take Your Device In

If nothing here works, it’s time to take your iPhone or iPad into an Apple Store to have a Genius run some diagnostics.

You could have a bloated battery, you could have something else. If your device is still under warranty, they might even offer you a replacement.

Talk to Apple Support Online

If none of these fixes work and you don’t want to move from your desk chair, you can ask Apple for help online.

If you’re struggling with iOS 9 battery life, try reaching out to Apple’s Twitter support line for assistance. It’s possible that they will have a fix or two that fall outside of this list.

Download iOS 10

If nothing is working, you might try upgrading to the iOS 10 update if your device is eligible. iOS 10 users are also complaining about battery drain issues but there’s a chance it could improve your device’s performance.

Install iOS 12.5.6 for Better Security

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If you're on the fence, here's one of the best reasons to install iOS 12.5.6 right away. iOS 12.5.6 has a vital security patch on board and it will protect your device(s) from harm. If you want the details, head over to Apple's website. If you missed the iOS 12.5.5 update, it brought three security patches to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. You can learn more about the trio on Apple's security site.  If you missed iOS 12.5.4, you'll get that update's important security upgrades with your iOS 12.5.6 update. If you're interested in the particulars, head on over to Apple's website for more. If you skipped iOS 12.5.3, you'll get its security patches with your upgrade. Both of its patches were related to WebKit. If you want to learn more about them, head on over to Apple's security site.  If you skipped iOS 12.5.2, you'll also get its security patch with your upgrade. You can read more about it over on Apple's website.  If you also skipped iOS 12.5, you'll also get its patch with your upgrade. Apple's outlined the update's patch in detail on its security site.  If you missed iOS 12.4.9, you'll also get its four security patches with your upgrade. You can read more about those right here.  If you skipped iOS 12.4.7, you also get the update's three security patches (two for the Mail app and one for Wi-Fi) with your upgrade to iOS 12.5.6. If you're running software that's older than Apple's iOS 12.4.4 update, you'll want to download iOS 12.5.6 in the near future because it brings iOS 12.4.4's security patch to your device. You can read about it right here. If you're running software older than iOS 12.4.2, you'll get an its patch with your upgrade. You can read about the security contents of iOS 12.4.2 right here.  If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.4.1, you'll get iOS 12.4.1's security patch with your iOS 12.5.6 update. You can read about that patch right here.  If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.4, you get iOS 12.4's patches with your iOS 12.5.6 update.  iOS 12.4 brought 19 security patches to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. If you're interested in the specifics, you can read about them on Apple's security site.  If you're running software older than iOS 12.3, your iOS 12.5.6 update carries iOS 12.3's security patches on board. The iOS 12.3 update brought 23 patches and you can read about all of them right here on Apple's site.  If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.2, you'll get iOS 12.2's security patches with your version of iOS 12.5.6. iOS 12.2 brought a whopping 41 security patches to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. You can read more about the iOS 12.2's patches over on the company's website.  It's important to note that Apple's iOS 12.2 update patched up an exploit that allowed websites to use motion sensors to "fingerprint" devices. The exploit, discovered by researchers in Europe, uses JavaScript to snag data from a device's accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer when the user visits an infected website. If the attack is successful, a device can be tracked around the internet.  Fortunately, Apple's patched up the issue. If you skipped it, you'll probably want to move to iOS 12.5.6 soon. If you're on software older than iOS 12.1.4, you get four important security patches including fixes for a widespread FaceTime eavesdropping bug that lets you call someone via FaceTime and hear the audio coming from their phone before they pick up the phone. If you're on software older than iOS 12.1.3, you get some additional patches with your version of iOS 12.5.6. Again, they're baked into your upgrade. Apple lists a grand total of 23 patches on board iOS 12.1.3 and you can read about all of them over on Apple's website.  If you're on software older than iOS 12.1.1, you should install the iOS 12.5.6 update on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch today.  The iOS 12.1.1 update brought 17 patches for potential security exploits. They'll will help protect your phone. You can read about them here. If you're running software older than iOS 12.1, you'll get 24 patches from that update with your version of iOS 12.5.5. If you're on software that's older than iOS 12.0.1, your iOS 12.5.6 update brings two additional patches. Both patches are for potential lock screen exploits. Long story long, if you store sensitive data on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you have some really good reasons to upgrade to iOS 12.5.6 today.

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