The Most Common iPhone Battery Problems – And How To Fix Them
If you’ve ever had to deal with a bad iPhone battery, you know the struggle. You check your phone only to find that you’re suddenly at 5% power – or the phone won’t turn on at all.
After a quick Google search, you’ll find quite a few articles that promise to solve your iPhone battery woes. The problem is that they all offer the same advice: turn off data for your apps, turn on Low Power Mode, reset the phone, or take the phone in for repair.
These steps might help some, but most people will end up buying a new battery.
Our customer service team at Orchard helps people with battery problems every day. Here’s what we know:
Most iPhone battery problems can be solved without spending a cent.
Here are the all the major iPhone battery problems you can run into, and how you can fix them.
Your Phone Won’t Charge
Do you find that you aren’t able to charge the battery at all unless you hold the phone at a specific angle? Maybe you plug the phone in, leave it for a few hours, and come back to find that you’ve only gone up 15%.
Sometimes when you plug the phone in, you see the lightning bolt in the top right corner showing that your phone is charging. You put it down, and the lightning bolt disappears.
As annoying as this is, this might be the easiest iPhone battery issue to fix.
Click here for the solutionWhat’s most likely happening is that your charger isn’t connecting in the port properly because there is some debris built up in the charging port.
You would be surprised how often this happens.
All you need is a long, thin object like a toothpick. Carefully scrape the insides of the charging port. You should be able to work out a surprising amount of debris.
I tried that, but it still isn’t chargingIf cleaning the port didn’t help, don’t give up on the battery quite yet.
It’s possible that the reason your phone isn’t charging is the cord itself.
Take a look at the cable. Is it at all damaged? Is this an Apple charger, or one you picked up at the dollar store?
The best way to find out for sure if the cord is the problem is to borrow someone else’s. A new cord is cheaper than a new battery!
I used a cord that worked on my friend's phone, but mine still won’t chargeIf you still can’t get a reliable charge, something’s wrong with your phone’s hardware.
It’s likely you could need a new battery, but your issue might also be the result of a faulty charging port.
Battery Drops In Chunks
Here’s the scenario: you’re heading out for the day… you’ve got your keys, your wallet, and your phone is 100% charged.
As you’re on the bus to work, you check the news. You can see your battery percentage is at 98%, then all of a sudden it drops to 75%!
Throughout the day, you notice the bar drop in chunks a couple more times. Eventually, the phone shuts off with about 20% battery life showing.
Probably time to get a new battery in that phone right? Probably not.
Your battery could be miscalibratedWhat’s likely happening here is that your phone is not reading the battery’s actual percentage properly.
This problem is especially common after doing a major software update on the phone. Luckily, getting the phone to read the battery’s level properly is a piece of cake.
Here’s what you need to do:
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Once all this is done, those sharp drops will be a thing of the past! That is, at least until your next iOS update…
iPhone Shuts Down With Battery Remaining
If your phone performs normally 99% of the time, it can be pretty frustrating if it suddenly turns off out of nowhere.
If you haven’t done a software update recently, the phone should be showing the correct battery percentage – so what’s up?
This has been happening a lot this winterA few years ago, after some incredibly cold temperatures in Eastern Canada, we wrote an article on how cold weather can affect your iPhone’s battery. You can check that out here.
Well, the cold this year has been historic, so it’s worth mentioning again.
iPhone batteries are powerful, but they sadly aren’t designed to operate in extreme weather conditions. As a result, when the temperature drops below 0°C or goes above 35°C, the battery reading shown on the phone is unreliable.
As long as this cold lasts, your best bet is to keep the phone toasty warm in your pocket, preferably under a layer or two. That way it’ll be good for when you need it most.
iPhone Won’t Turn On 
This is probably the most troubling thing you can experience with your iPhone – it shuts off and won’t turn back on at all. As bad as the situation might seem, your battery still may not be a lost cause.
Charging a fully drained battery takes longer than you thinkIf an iPhone hasn’t turned on after 15-20 minutes of being plugged in, most iPhone users will be ready to head to the repair shop.
The truth is, if a battery is completely drained, it can sometimes take up to an hour of charging before it boots up at all.
If an iPhone started booting but was removed from its power source, this could interrupt the boot cycle, and potentially cause damage to the phone’s software. For this reason, an iPhone won’t turn back on until the battery reaches a certain threshold.
If you’re confident that the phone’s charging port is properly cleaned, and the charging cable that you’re using is good quality, leave the phone charging for a little longer. It might just power back on after all.
If this doesn’t do the trick, there are a series of resets that you can try on a phone even if it’s not showing any life on screen.
Hard resetSometimes, an iPhone just needs a kickstart. Doing this is a bit different depending on which generation of iPhone your using:
| iPhone 6S and older | Hold down the Power button and the Home button simultaneously for about 15 seconds. |
| iPhone 7 | You’ll have to hold down the Power button and volume down button instead. |
| iPhone 8 and up | Quickly push the volume up, then volume down, then hold the power button. |
With any luck, you’ll see the Apple logo pop up, and your phone will start up. If not…
Restore to factory settingsI hope that you’ve backed your phone up to iCloud or iTunes recently.
Resetting your device to its factory settings will erase all data from the iPhone, but it might just be your best shot to get that phone running normally again. Here’s how to do it:
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You might lose some data, but you’ll hopefully get your phone up and running in the process. If you’re still not having any luck, there’s one last thing you can try…
DFU modeDFU mode, or Device Firmware Update mode, is the most intensive reset available. Not only does it wipe your phone of all data, it will completely uninstall and reinstall your phone’s software.
Just as with a hard reset, how you activate DFU mode on your iPhone depends on the model you have. After plugging your device into your computer here’s what you should do:
| iPhone 6S and older |
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| iPhone 7 |
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| iPhone 8 and up |
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Hopefully, iTunes will prompt you saying that it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. Follow the onscreen instructions to restore the iPhone.
Last Steps To Try Before A Repair
If none of the above applies to you, but your iPhone battery is draining at an alarming rate, there’s a chance that the poor performance has something to do with how you’re using the phone.
For some great advice on how to get a few more hours out of every charge, head over to our complete guide here.
If after all of that you’re still experiencing poor performance, it might finally be time to get your battery replaced. If you happen to be in the GTA, check out our article on the best Toronto iPhone repair shops.
If It’s Time To Move On…
While a battery replacement is usually going to get you a couple more years out of a phone, if you decide that it’s time to move on to a new(ish) phone, we have you covered 🙂
Orchard is Canada’s largest used phone reseller, and we have hundreds of high-quality iPhones and Androids in stock at any given time. Head on over to our shop to check out what’s in stock.
I have my iphone 8+ i been using this for 3 months only and i have notice that my battery drops down when i turn off phone like i leave my phone at 74% then next morning 65%??
Hmmm that is very odd behavior. I am not sure what
Consider checking your Battery Performance in Settings?
Can u do one for android
My iPad won’t turn on and it is plugged in and it is just stuck on the little battery thing and won’t let me go on it and it has been charging for 20mins
Hi Hailey, be patient: it can take more than 20 minutes for your iPad to charge if it was completely dead. Good luck!
It’s been only one month I bought a refurbished model of iPhone 8 plus. Just yesterday it was charging up to 78% then it suddenly shut down and dropped to 10%. Now it is not charging but has not shut down even at 1% charge. What should I do?
Hi Aarati, thanks for reaching out. I would suggest a battery calibration if you haven’t done that already.. If that doesn’t work, I would reach out to whoever you bought the phone from, as the battery definitely sounds pretty faulty (is it sill under warranty?)
Hello, I have a problem with my iPhone my phone was charge and in like 2 hours it turn off and when i try turning it on again it say that i needed to put it charge didn’t have any charge. What can i do please email me at vyulissa12@gmail.com
Thank You.
Sounds like you might need a battery replacement Yulissa!
My iPhone7+ suddenly will not hold a charge. I received an error message : battery degradation? Can I replace battery? It is only 4 or 5 yr old.
Yes you can replace your battery, and from the sounds of it you definitely should! I would take it to a professional repair place — it is quite difficult to do it yourself
I just paid off my phone and my phone was working perfectly fine, since I paid it off my battery is going crazy.
Won’t even charge to 100%. Take it off and don’t use it for several hours and it’s down to 10%. I’ve tried different chargers.
But honestly all this started the moment I paid that final payment of my phone!
Wow Jerica, I’m sorry to hear about that. Sounds like very bad luck. Sounds like you need a replacement battery. Good luck!
If you’re in Canada I recommend Mobile Klinik. Tell them Orchard sent you 😉
My iPhone 6s battery automatically getting low without using. Even after changing the battery. What’s the problem? It’s just 3 yrs old.
Hi Sashays, can you give me a bit more information? How long does it take to be out of batteries after charging?
Hi, my phone keeps restarting itself whenever plug it or when I use it, it suddenly gets so hot and begins restarting for a couple of minutes. I tried to reduce my phone usage but I still experience thesame problem.
Hi Rahima, thanks for the comment.
That sounds like you may be having some motherboard issues with your phone. Has anyone done a repair on it recently? Unfortunately I suspect you’re going to need a replacement :/
Hi I bought a China made 7 plus board and refurbished a phone with it and now since I put a new screen on the phone to finish the job it was looping apple logo the cut on then it would die once I pull charger out. Then I reset the phone bc it said 100 percent charge. Now it wont charge and it’s in the red but the phone wont just shut off by itself anymore either
Oh no, sounds like you got a bad part :/ I would never recommend buying a motherboard from China (or any parts really).
My phone restarts itself
And when it goes off and comes back on again
The battery drops to 1%
Then after about 3 mins..goes back to the percentage it was before
I have tried restoring and force restart but to no avail
Pls help
You might want to consider getting your battery replaced?
When im taking portrait my iPhone is getting off and i wont on again until I plug to charger and i cant record my voice in voice memos,whatsapp infact even mobile call im not hearing anything plz help
Hi there, sorry to hear that you’re having troubles with your device. I’d recommend bringing it to a local repair shop to see if they can fix it or at least diagnose the exact issue. Hopefully that helps!
Hi, I had my iPhone 7 plugged into my car charger on my drive. Not to long later my charger started smoking, I removed the charger quickly my phone was at 54% and less then 20mins later my phone died and hasn’t turned on since. Is it a battery problem or the mother board problem?
Hi Karianne, sorry to hear about that :/
Very hard to tell without looking at the phone, but if I had to guess it is probably a motherboard problem. My hunch is that the charger started delivering too much power to your phone and it blew the resistors on the motherboard. You could try taking it to a repair place to see what happens if you swap the battery but unfortunately I think your phone might be toast 🙁
If repair doesn’t work and you’re in Canada, Orchard is a great place to start your search for a new phone.
Thank you for this advice: “Hard reset. Sometimes, an iPhone just needs a kickstart. Doing this is a bit different depending on which generation of iPhone your using:
iPhone 6S and older Hold down the Power button and the Home button simultaneously for about 15 seconds.”
It worked like a charm!
Glad to hear it, Laurie! 🙂
Hi, My phone went off on its own and would not come on…
i have tried charging for a long time, it still would not on,
i took it to a repairer who checked the battery and its still in tact, now i don;t know what to do
it is not even showing light at all
Hmmmm it does not sound good. Have you tried cleaning the charge port? If that doesn’t work, then I don’t know what to suggest.
Hi, am George otieno from Kenya, I received agift from my friend the gift was iPhone and have been using it for now a month but on 7th March 2020 it suddenly went off and when I try to plug in my charger it doesn’t pick up what might be the problem and now I can’t access it coz it is off
Hi George, sorry to hear about your phone :/ I’d suggest trying to clean out the charge port and then connect it to the charger again. Sometimes the charge port can get obstructed and prevent it from receiving a charge. If that doesn’t work, then I’d probably take it to a repair shop and have them take a look. Good luck!
I was on Snapchat with my battery at 21 percentage then my phone slipped from my hands and fell, for like 2min to 3min then boom it went off. I inserted my charger and it on but the battery drained to 8percent but keeps on restarting so I took my sim card off then didn’t go off again. I had to check my battery health but percentage showed up but some written and it still not charging
Hi, my iphone6 just turns on and off repeatedly and always when it turns on the battery life would be on 1% and in a few minutes it will go back to its original battery life and turns off again.
Hi, i have a problem with my iphone 6s
My battery charge very slowly some time it stuck on that point where i pluged in
& sometime it charge at normal 30% to 80% in 1 hour
But most of the time 20% charge in one hour
Note : i used orignal charger or data cable
And my battery health is 100%
Soo i have 2 problem Stuck battery % & charge slowly
Hi Usama, have you tried clearing out the charging port for any potential lint or dirt build-up? This is a common issue we see with iPhones that aren’t charging properly… thanks for reaching out!
Hi, Not long ago i dropped my phone so i went to a repair shop near me and they fixed it and they also put in a new battery, ever since they put one in it hasn’t been working. It stays on 2% and i put it on charge it doesn’t go up it stays on 2% but when i use it it goes of and then comes back on and keeps doing that.
Hi Abbie, sorry to hear about this! Have you followed up with that repair shop that you visited? Also, have you tried clearing out the charging port for potential compact dirt/lint that may be prohibiting the phone from charging correctly? Good luck!
I have a iphone 6s. I replaced a genuin battery 7 months ago. after full charge the battery level then reach 20% phone suddenly turn off.battery health say the battery cant give the power to peak performance
My iPhone says I have 0% percentage but i can still use it. But it shuts down if i use it more then 5 minutes and then turns back on ive tried restarting my phone but i cant find a solution. I have a iPhone 8 plus. Please help?
My iPhone 7 did an iOs update a few months ago. The phone would charge to 100% without any issues. After the update, the phone would only charge to 80%. I turned off optimized charging and it will still only charge to around 80% or so. Battery health shows 100%. Did a battery calibration last week and now it will only charge to around 70% even though battery health is still showing 100%. I have already did a factory reset on the phone last night and I am still having the same problem. I did notice that when I started the phone, after charging all night, the battery percentage showed 100% for about 2 seconds the immediately went to 62%. Is this an indication the battery is going bad?
Hi Reggie, if you did a battery calibration and you are still seeing that behavior, I would guess that it is probably time for a new battery in that phone!