We all want our iPhones to last as long as possible—especially when replacing one can cost a small fortune. Whether you’re trying to squeeze a few more years out of your device or just keep your battery from dying midday, maintaining good battery health is key. How we treat our phones every day still plays a huge role in how well (and how long) they perform.
The tricky part is that many of us are unknowingly doing things that can wear down our batteries over time. From charging habits to how we use our phones in certain environments, these small, everyday mistakes can slowly chip away at your iPhone’s battery lifespan. To help keep your battery running strong and your phone in top shape, try to avoid these four common iPhone mistakes.
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1. Charging Your Phone in High Temperatures
Charging your iPhone in hot environments—like a sunny car, next to a heater, or even under your pillow—can seriously harm your battery. High temperatures during charging can speed up battery aging. Apple recommends keeping your iPhone between 32° and 95°F (0° to 35°C), and anything above that, especially while plugged in, can cause the device to overheat. If your phone feels hot while charging, it’s best to unplug it and let it cool down before continuing.
2. Letting Battery Drop to Zero
Letting your iPhone regularly drain all the way to 0 percent may feel like a natural way to use up a full charge, but it's actually hard on your battery. Lithium-ion batteries, which power iPhones, operate best when kept between about 20 and 80 percent charge. Draining the battery to zero can cause deep discharge cycles that strain the battery and shorten its overall lifespan. Over time, this habit can reduce your phone's maximum battery capacity, meaning it won’t hold a charge as well as it used to—even if it's fully charged.
3. Using Cheap Charging Cables
It might be tempting to grab a cheap charging cable from a gas station or online, but those low-quality cables can do more harm than good. Non-certified or poorly made chargers often lack the proper voltage regulation and safety features that protect your battery during charging. This can lead to overheating and put extra stress on your battery and may degrade it faster over time. For the health and safety of your iPhone, it’s worth investing in an MFi-certified (Made for iPhone) cable that’s designed to work properly with your device.
4. Not Utilizing Optimized Battery Charging
Optimized Battery Charging is a built-in iPhone feature designed to slow battery aging by learning your daily charging habits and limiting the charge to 80 percent until you need the full 100 percent. If you don’t have this feature turned on, your phone might be spending unnecessary hours at full charge—especially overnight—which can wear down the battery over time. Enabling Optimized Battery Charging helps reduce battery stress and extend the overall life of your battery without requiring any extra effort from you.
