I Force My Old iPhone to Stay in Low Power Mode Permanently. Here's How I Do It

CNET

a day ago

One of the biggest problems with older smartphones is keeping the battery charged. Conventional wisdom says that the lithium-ion batteries in iPhones will maintain 80% capacity up to 500 charges, or about two to three years. After that, you'll start to notice your iPhone needing to be charged more often.
Optimized charging and setting a charge limit can extend the health of your iPhone battery, but what about Low Power Mode? That special iPhone setting can squeeze a little more iPhone usage after your battery hits the 20% mark, but what if you kept it on all the time? Could setting Low Power Mode to run permanently let you use your phone longer before the charge runs out?
Learn exactly what Low Power Mode disables, how to turn it on and off, and how to keep it on permanently if you'd like to see how it affects your iPhone's battery's charge. We'll also explain how to check your battery health to learn if it's time for a replacement (or a new iPhone.)
For more, learn how to charge your iPhone charge faster, and three quick settings changes that could make your iPhone battery last longer.
What is iPhone Low Power Mode?
Low Power Mode is an iOS setting that disables some iPhone features to save battery charge when it is low. Your iPhone will ask you if you want to turn on Low Power Mode when your battery drops to 20%, and then again at 10%.
Your iPhone tracks your Low Power Mode usage by marking that time in yellow.
Screenshot by Peter Butler/CNET
Apple says that Low Power Mode reduces the amount of power that your iPhone uses to make your battery last longer.
You can tell when you're in Low Power Mode because your battery icon will be yellow. Your iPhone automatically turns off Low Power Mode when your battery charge reaches 80%.
What happens when iPhone Low Power Mode is enabled?
According to Apple, Low Power Mode makes these changes to save your battery's charge:
Turns off 5G on most devices
Locks your iPhone screen after 30 seconds of inactivity
Reduces display brightness
Lowers display refresh rate for iPhones with ProMotion
Eliminates some visual effects
Pauses iCloud Photos sync
Suspends automatic downloads
Pauses email fetch
Stops background apps from refreshing
How do I turn on iPhone Low Power Mode?
You can turn it on manually by going to Settings > Battery and toggling on Low Power Mode. You can also turn on Low Power Mode manually with the iPhone Control Center or with Siri.
How do I keep iPhone Low Power Mode on permanently?
The manual way to keep Low Power Mode on all the time would be to simply put your iPhone into Low Power Mode after every time you charge it. But there's an easier, automated way to "set it and forget it."
To automatically keep your iPhone in Low Power Mode at all times, you'll need to get a bit crafty and cerate your own Personal Automation using the Shortcuts app.
There are many methods of automatically setting Low Power Mode using Shortcuts, but for me, the easiest is to turn on Low Power Mode whenever the battery is less than 100%. That way, your iPhone is essentially in Low Power Mode all the time, but it can also create backups, complete downloads and receive updates when it's plugged in and charged at 100%.
Scroll to the right on your iPhone home screen to get to your App Library, then scroll down and tap Shortcuts (or search for it). Once the app is running, select Automation at the bottom of the screen, hit the blue "+" symbol in the upper right corner, then tap the blue Create Personal Automation button.
Creating a personal automation in Shortcuts only takes a few steps.
Screenshots by Peter Butler/CNET
On the New Animation screen, scroll down and select Battery Level. Tap the bottom option, Falls Below, and then move the slider all the way to the right for 100%. Then click Next. You've set your condition for triggering an action.
Now, create the action to set your iPhone to Low Power Mode. On the Actions screen, click the blue Add Action button. You can then type in "Low" in the search box and tap Set Low Power Mode, or tap Scripting and find it under Device.
After you add the Low Power mode action, you can set it to run without asking.
Screenshots by Peter Butler/CNET
Once you've selected Set Low Power Mode, it will show up on your Actions screen as "Turn Low Power Mode On." Click Next. On the following New Automation screen, toggle Ask Before Running off to let Lower Power Mode be turned on automatically. If you want, you can request a notification come through every time the automation runs.
Confirm "Don't Ask," then tap Done to finish. You're all set. Every time your battery drops below 100%, your iPhone will automatically switch into Low Power Mode
How do you automatically turn on Low Power Mode at a specific battery charge, like 50%?
Once you've learned how to create a shortcut to turning on Low Power Mode permanently, it's easy to adjust that setting to automatically activate Low Power Mode at any specific percentage of battery charge.
To turn on Low Power Mode automatically when your iPhone battery hits 50%, edit that permanent shortcut to change the activation threshold from 100% to 50%. Go back into the Shortcuts app, tap the Automation tab in the middle of the bottom navigation, then tap on your "When battery level falls below 100%" automation to edit it.
Under "When," tap the trigger "When battery level falls below 100%" and then move the resultant slider down from 100% to 50%. Then tap Back and hit Done. Now your iPhone will automatically shift into Low Power Mode when the battery drops below half charge.
How much battery charge can Low Power Mode save?
You're not going to get a definitive answer here. The value of Low Power Mode has been debated ever since it was introduced. While some estimates say battery charges will last about one and a half times longer using Low Power Mode, others show very little difference in battery usage.
If you're concerned with making your iPhone battery last longer, you'll simply need to try out Low Power Mode for yourself and see the difference.
How to turn Low Power Mode off again
Turn off automatic Low Power Mode by disabling the automation or deleting it.
Screenshots by Peter Butler/CNET
If you find that Low Power Mode doesn't save your battery, you can turn off the automation by going into Shortcuts and toggling off Enable This Animation. To erase it completely, swipe left on your Low Power Mode automation on the main Automation screen, then tap the red Delete button.
You can also create your own custom version of Low Power Mode by tweaking your iPhone settings to take some of the measures that Low Power Mode does. For example, you can save significant battery by stopping background apps from refreshing or adjusting your brightness settings.
Check to make sure your battery is still healthy
Maximum capacity compares your current battery performance with its performance when it was new.
Apple/Screenshot by CNET
Although turning on Low Power Mode permanently is an experiment you might want to try, if you find that you need to keep Low Power Mode on all the time to get decent iPhone battery performance, it's very possible that your battery could be degraded or have other problems.
To check the health of your iPhone battery, go into Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. You'll see your battery's maximum capacity, as well as options for setting Optimized Battery Charging and Clean Energy Charging. If your iPhone battery's maximum capacity has dipped to 80% or lower, you'll see an "Important Battery Message" warning. This means that your battery has degraded significantly and needs to be replaced or restored.