Penny "Psyche" Skinner is a tech user, providing advice to benefit functionality with frugality.

One Click Low Power Mode

If you need to use your phone for extended periods, or your battery is no longer working at peak efficiency, you can extend the period of time your phone will hold a charge and be able to function. In fact, for most iPhone's the functional life of a charge can be almost doubled by using your phone in low power mode.

Low Battery Mode can be turned on by:

1) Responding to a popup option that is provided when your battery holds less than 20% charge

2) By going to SETTINGS > BATTERY > and selecting the radio button next to LOW POWER MODE

However, as soon as your phone charge goes over 80% this mode will be turned off, and this function cannot be manually changed. Therefore it is not possible to be in low power mode permanently using this option.

Manual Low Power Mode

However you can manually recreate most of the features of low power mode by setting them one at a time.

Many power hungry functions can be located under the general tab of the settings area, for example:

1) Turn off Siri

Settings > General > Siri > Toggle off Siri

Honestly I turn Siri on frequently just by holding the button down too long. Given they I don;t every really use this function turning it off just removes this annoyance from my life.

2) Turn off motion effects

Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion -- toggle on Reduce Motion

3) Turn off background app refresh

Settings > General > Background App Refresh > Toggle off

The switch will go from black to gray

Further power use reduction options are available in other areas of the settings. For example:

4) Turn off email fetch

Settings > Passwords and Accounts > Fetch New Data > Toggle off "Push"

For each email account listed on this screen you need to set the account to "Manually"

5) Turn off automatic download

Settings icon > iTunes & App Store > Toggle off automatic downloads.

5) Set auto lock to 30s

Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto Lock > set to 30 seconds

Less Beneficial Options

One click Low Power mode also includes the follow, but it is not recommended to use these options permanently:

Turn off iCloud

Settings > iCloud > Sign Out

You do need a backup, especially if you phone has a failing battery and so may need replacement soon. It is easy to forget to turn on iCloud periodically to ensure that you have a recent backup. For that reason I would not recommend turning it off unless you have a different backup option available.

Tips

• Ensure Low Power Mode is turned off while you make the changes
• If any of the functions that you have turned off turn out to be critical for your use or enjoyment of your phone you can always re-enable them by reversing the steps shown above.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.