A phone or laptop that drains too fast does not need guesswork. Start with the built-in saver, then cut the drains you control fastest: the screen, background apps, radios, browser tabs, and charging behavior. Use the sections in order and stop when your device is lasting long enough.
Turn on the built in battery saver first
On iPhone 15 and later, open Settings > Battery > Power Mode > Low Power Mode.
On iPhone 14 and earlier, open Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode.
On iPhone or iPad, add Low Power Mode to Control Center, then open Control Center and tap the battery icon when you need extra runtime.
On iPhone or iPad with Siri, say Siri, turn on Low Power Mode or Hey Siri, turn off Low Power Mode.
On a Google Pixel, swipe down from the top of the screen and tap Battery Saver.
On a Pixel, open Settings > Battery > Battery Saver > Schedule and reminders > Turn on based on battery level, then move the percentage bar.
On a Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet, open Settings > Battery > Power saving, choose the switches you want, then turn on the switch at the top.
On a Windows 11 laptop running Windows 11 24H2 or later, go to Start > Settings > System > Power & battery > Energy saver, then set Turn energy saver on when battery level is at or turn Always use energy saver on.
On Windows 11 24H1 and earlier, go to Start > Settings > System > Power & battery > Battery saver, choose the battery level you want, or select Turn on now next to Battery saver.
On Windows 11 24H2 or later, select the battery icon in the notification area and turn on the Energy saver quick setting.
On Windows 11 24H1 and earlier, select the battery icon in the notification area and turn on the Battery saver quick setting.
On a Mac laptop, open the Apple menu > System Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode, then choose Always, Only on Battery, or Only on Power Adapter.
On a Chromebook, select the bottom-right battery icon, open Settings > System preferences > Power, then turn Battery Saver on.
Chromebook Battery Saver is unavailable while plugged in and turns off automatically when the Chromebook is plugged in.
Use battery saver first, because it bundles several power cuts into one switch.
Use device recommendations next
Modern iPhone, iPad, and Windows battery screens point to settings that fit the exact device in front of you.
On iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later, open Settings > Battery and review the suggestions and Insights shown there, including Enable auto-brightness, Enable auto-lock, or High Brightness when they appear.
On iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 or later, those suggestions and Insights sit just above the Daily Usage chart.
On Windows 11, open Start > Settings > System > Power & battery > Energy recommendations, then choose Apply all or apply individual recommendations.
Use Windows Energy recommendations for screen brightness, adaptive brightness, content brightness, presence-sensing sleep, and USB power recommendations when those options appear on your device.
On supported Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets, open Settings > Device care > Performance profile > Light. Samsung says Light performance profile does not affect game performance.
If recommendations do not make a clear difference, lower the screen drain next.
Lower the screen drain
The most common everyday battery drain you control immediately is a bright screen that stays on longer than needed.
On iPhone, open Control Center and drag the Brightness button down.
On iPhone, open Settings > Display & Brightness and move the brightness slider.
On iPhone, open Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Auto-Brightness to let the phone adjust brightness automatically.
On a Pixel, swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen and move the brightness slider left.
On a Pixel, open Settings > Display & touch > Adaptive brightness and turn it on.
On a Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet, open Settings > Display > Adaptive brightness and turn it on.
On a Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet, open Settings > Display > Screen timeout and choose 15 seconds for maximum saving.
On Windows 11, open Start > Settings > System > Display > Brightness and lower the slider.
On Windows 11, open Start > Settings > System > Power & battery > Screen, sleep, & hibernate timeouts, then shorten Turn my screen off after and Make my device sleep after.
On a Mac laptop, press the keyboard brightness-down key or use Displays settings to lower brightness.
On a Mac laptop, open the Apple menu > System Settings > Lock Screen > Turn display off on battery when inactive and choose a shorter option.
Find the apps using too much power
On iPhone or iPad with iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 or later, open Settings > Battery > Daily Usage, then tap an app or tap View All Battery Usage.
On earlier iOS and iPadOS versions, open Settings > Battery and review the battery usage by app listed there.
Look for apps showing Background Activity or heavy Notifications.
Reduce use of those apps or adjust the app settings that keep waking the device.
On a Pixel, open Settings > Battery > Battery usage > View by apps, then tap an app.
Open Allow background usage and keep Optimized on.
Use Settings > Apps > App battery usage for app battery controls where they are shown.
On Windows 11, open Start > Settings > System > Power & battery > Battery usage, select Last 24 hours, then choose an hour of high usage.
Close unused high-drain apps.
Open Task Manager > Startup apps, right-click an app you do not need at startup, and choose Disable.
On a Mac, open Activity Monitor > Energy, review Energy Impact and the related energy columns, then quit or change the apps using the most energy.
The best app fix is the one that stops repeat background activity when the app is not in use.
Control background location and notifications
This method applies when your phone battery report points to location use, background activity, or notifications. It fits apps that wake the phone often while you are not actively using them.
On iPhone, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, tap an app, then choose the access level it should have.
Turn Precise Location off when the app does not need your exact location.
Open Settings > Notifications, select an app below Notification Style, then turn off or reduce Allow Notifications, sounds, alerts, or badges.
From a notification, swipe left, tap Options, and choose Turn Off.
On Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets, open Settings > Battery > Background usage limits and turn on Put unused apps to sleep.
To place apps manually, open Sleeping apps or Deep sleeping apps, tap +, select the apps, and tap Add.
To remove apps from those lists, open More options > Remove or Remove apps, select the apps, and tap Remove.
Older Samsung software uses Battery and device care > Battery > Background usage limits.
Trim wireless and cellular power use
On iPhone or iPad, open Settings > Wi-Fi and choose a Wi-Fi network when one is available.
Turn on Airplane Mode when you will be without coverage for a while.
On iPhone 12 and later, iPhone SE 3rd generation, and supported 5G iPad models, open Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data > 5G Auto.
On supported 5G iPad models, open Settings > Cellular Data Options > Data > 5G Auto.
On Pixel 4a 5G and later, including Pixel Fold, open Settings > Network & internet > Adaptive connectivity > Use adaptive connectivity.
Some U.S. carriers limit Pixel Adaptive connectivity.
On Windows 11, open Taskbar Quick Settings and turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth when you are not using them.
On a Mac laptop, open the Apple menu > System Settings > Bluetooth and turn Bluetooth off when unused.
On a Mac laptop, open the Apple menu > System Settings > Network > Wi-Fi and turn Wi-Fi off when you do not need it.
The saving comes from stopping unused radios and avoiding long stretches of weak coverage.
Make your browser less demanding
This fixes battery drain from heavy tabs, background browsing, and video-heavy sessions on a laptop.
In Chrome on a battery-capable device, open More > Settings > Performance > Energy Saver, then turn it on.
In Chrome, use the address bar Energy Saver icon and choose Turn off now when you need to pause it during a session.
In Microsoft Edge, open Settings and more > Settings > System and performance > Performance > Enable energy saver.
To use Edge Energy saver while plugged in, turn on Use energy saver even when connected to power.
In Edge, open Settings and more > Settings > System and performance > Performance, turn Automatically put tabs to sleep on, then choose how long inactive tabs should wait before sleeping.
When Edge detects heavy tabs, open Settings and more > More tools > Performance, select the three dots next to a detected tab, then choose Sleep tab or Close tab.
Protect long term battery health while charging
This applies when you want the battery to age more slowly, not when you need the longest possible runtime today. Charge limits and optimized charging protect long-term battery health, while battery saver modes reduce power use right now.
On iPhone 15 and later, open Settings > Battery > Charging, then choose a charge limit from 80 percent to 100 percent.
When an iPhone 15 or later charge limit is set to 100 percent, Optimized Battery Charging is available.
On iPhone 14 and earlier, open Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging > Optimized Battery Charging.
On Pixel phones that support Charging optimization, open Settings > Battery > Battery health > Charging optimization > Use charging optimization, then choose Adaptive Charging or Limit to 80%.
Pixel Limit to 80% is available on Pixel 6a and later.
On Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets, open Settings > Battery > Battery protection, then choose Basic, Maximum, or Adaptive.
Samsung Galaxy Battery protection options vary by model and software.
On a Mac laptop, open the Apple menu > System Settings > Battery, then select the info button next to Battery Health or Charging.
Turn on Optimized Battery Charging, turn on Manage battery longevity, or set Charge Limit when those options appear.
On a Windows device that supports Smart charging, look for a heart on the battery icon in the taskbar or in Power & battery settings.
Keep Smart charging on unless you need a full charge soon.
To turn Windows Smart charging off, use the device manufacturer's app or instructions.
On a Samsung Galaxy Book 3 or later, open Samsung Settings > Battery and performance and turn on Protect battery mode.
For Galaxy Book 3 or later storage longer than three months, open BIOS configuration, go to Advanced > Smart Battery Power Off, and choose Yes under Enter Smart Battery Power Off mode.
Connect the AC adapter to resume using a Galaxy Book after Smart Battery Power Off.
Handle special display features and managed devices
On Pixel phones with Always-on Display, open Settings > Display & touch > Always-on Display and turn it off.
On Pixel 4 and later, including Pixel Fold, open Settings > Display & touch > Smooth Display and turn it off.
On iPhone, touch and hold Brightness in Control Center, then choose Appearance to use Dark Mode.
On iPhone, open Settings > Display & Brightness > Dark to use Dark Mode from Settings.
On a Pixel, open Settings > Display & touch > Dark theme and turn on Dark theme.
On Windows 11, open Settings > Personalization > Colors > Choose your mode > Dark.
Use Dark Mode first on OLED displays, where it saves the most power.
On Windows laptops with HDR-capable displays, keep the default battery behavior that turns off HDR on battery.
To verify HDR battery behavior, open Settings > System > Display, select the HDR-capable display, open HDR, and leave Turn off HDR when my PC is running on battery or Turn off HDR video streaming when my PC is running on battery selected.
On a Samsung Galaxy Book, decrease screen brightness.
Close unnecessary or unused apps on a Samsung Galaxy Book.
Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on a Samsung Galaxy Book when they are not needed.
Press the Power key on a Samsung Galaxy Book to enter Sleep mode.
Use the taskbar battery icon and the Battery saver switch on a Samsung Galaxy Book, or open battery settings first on models that show that path.
On work or school Windows devices, admins control power settings through Computer Configuration > System > Power Management policy areas or MDM power policies.
On managed Chrome, admins use the BatterySaverModeAvailability policy with Disabled or EnabledBelowThreshold.
On managed Edge, admins control Energy saver, Sleeping tabs, sleep timeout, and blocked sites with Microsoft Edge policies.
Do not rely on Chrome EnabledOnBattery for BatterySaverModeAvailability; Chrome treats that deprecated value as EnabledBelowThreshold from Chrome M121 onward.
Do not use Samsung Wi-Fi power saving mode as a current fix on Galaxy S25 or other Galaxy devices running One UI 7.0 or later, because Samsung says it is not available there.
Use current Power saving, Adaptive brightness, Screen timeout, and Background usage limits instead.
Use these specialty settings after the basics, because they work best when a specific feature or managed-device rule is the drain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does battery saver damage my battery?
Battery saver reduces power use while the device is running. Charge limits, Smart charging, Battery protection, and Optimized Battery Charging are the settings designed for long-term battery health.
Should I charge my phone or laptop only to 80 percent?
Use an 80 percent limit when your device supports it and you want to prioritize long-term battery health. iPhone 15 and later, Pixel 6a and later, supported Samsung Galaxy devices, some Macs, and supported Windows laptops offer charge-limit or smart-charging features.
Is Dark Mode always better for battery life?
Dark Mode is most useful on OLED displays. For every display type, lowering brightness and shortening screen timeout are direct battery-saving moves.
What should I do if one app is draining the battery?
Open the device's battery usage screen, identify the app, reduce background activity or notifications where controls are available, and close or change the app if it keeps using power in the background.