How to Conserve Battery Life on Your iPod Touch

PDF download Download Article
Make your iPod's battery last longer with these power-saving techniques
PDF download Download Article

You can conserve battery life on your iPod Touch by using simple techniques such as lowering the brightness and locking the screen when not in use, or you can disable any or all of the numerous battery-draining software options. The iPod Touch's battery life varies wildly depending on what it is being used for, with a music-only battery life of up to 40 hours. If you're using your iPod Touch on the go, however, its battery life will probably be significantly reduced due to default app usage and data refreshing.

Method 1
Method 1 of 9:

Using General Techniques

PDF download Download Article
  1. If your iPod touch is below 50 percent charge, it's good to pop it on the charger for twenty to thirty minutes. Doing this throughout the day will ensure that your battery stays charged without harming your battery itself.
  2. While this will occasionally happen, letting your battery die completely or leaving it off for lengthy periods of time (e.g., a day or longer) can harm your battery, causing it to hold less charge in subsequent uses. [1]
    Advertisement
  3. This will re-calibrate your system's battery memory, which ensures that your battery will hold a full charge for longer. [2]
    • While charging your battery to 100 percent more than once a month will not damage it, you should avoid habitual full charging.
  4. As soon as you finish with an app, you should always close it to reduce processing power and, similarly, battery usage.
  5. Leaving your screen on for any amount of time rapidly drains your battery, so locking your iPod whenever you aren't using it will save battery life.
  6. Apps such as Mail, Safari, and most entertainment-based programs will quickly drain your battery.
  7. You can do this by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, then tapping the airplane icon. Airplane mode will prevent you from sending or receiving messages, app data, and any other form of media.
    8. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 9:

Disabling Bluetooth and AirDrop

PDF download Download Article
  1. This will open the quick-access menu, which will allow you to disable your Bluetooth and Airdrop.
    • You can do this from the lock screen without entering your passcode.
  2. This should be a circular icon at the top of the menu. If the icon is grey, Bluetooth is off.
  3. This will prompt a menu.
  4. AirDrop is a service that allows you to trade information with nearby iOS users; due to its constant scanning, AirDrop uses a huge amount of battery. [3]
  5. Your Bluetooth and AirDrop features should now be disabled.
    6. Advertisement
Method 3
Method 3 of 9:

Activating Low Power Mode

PDF download Download Article
  1. "Settings" is the grey gear icon--it should be on your iPod's home screen.
  2. You can enable Low Power Mode, which automatically adjusts your settings to conserve more power, from here.
    • Low Power Mode requires iOS 9 or higher.
    • You can also turn on the "Battery Percentage" option from this menu. This will display a number indicating your battery's remaining percentage of life, which will allow you to budget your current battery life more efficiently.
  3. While Low Power Mode doesn't necessarily afford you the utmost battery life possible, it does optimize your system preferences (brightness, background app refresh rate, and system animations), resulting in a noticeable difference in battery life. [4]
    • High-performance apps, such as games or advanced software, will probably slow down considerably when in Low Power Mode.
  4. Your iPod Touch should now be in Low Power Mode!
    5. Advertisement
Method 4
Method 4 of 9:

Disabling Network Searching

PDF download Download Article
  1. "Settings" is the grey gear icon--it should be on your iPod's home screen.
  2. You can turn off your wifi or disable certain wifi settings from this menu.
  3. When this option is enabled, your phone constantly searches for nearby wifi networks. Turning it off will save you some battery life.
  4. Using wifi rather than data is easier on your battery, and you'll likely have faster upload and download speeds.
  5. Your iPod's Network Searching feature should now be disabled!
    6. Advertisement
Method 5
Method 5 of 9:

Adjusting Your Display's Brightness

PDF download Download Article
  1. "Settings" is the grey gear icon--it should be on your iPod's home screen.
  2. This is located right underneath the "General" tab.
  3. Auto-brightness brightens or dims your display based on how much ambient light your iPod detects, but it's a huge battery-drainer. [5]
  4. This will dim your display.
  5. You can adjust your display brightness at any time from the quick-access menu, which is accessible by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.
    6. Advertisement
Method 6
Method 6 of 9:

Disabling Background App Refresh

PDF download Download Article
  1. "Settings" is the grey gear icon--it should be on your iPod's home screen.
  3. You can disable your apps' background refresh from here.
    • Background refresh is when apps you have open (but not active) refresh their information, either over data or via wifi. This eats up a huge amount of battery life.
  4. This will disable your apps' background refresh.
  5. Your apps should no longer refresh in the background.
    6. Advertisement
Method 7
Method 7 of 9:

Disabling App Icon Movement

PDF download Download Article
  1. "Settings" is the grey gear icon--it should be on your iPod's home screen.
  3. You'll notice that app icons shift slightly as you move your phone. You can disable that feature from this menu.
  4. This will disable icon and user interface movement.
  5. Your apps and user interface should remain still until you disable "Reduce Motion" again.
    6. Advertisement
Method 8
Method 8 of 9:

Disabling Automatic Downloads

PDF download Download Article
  1. "Settings" is the grey gear icon--it should be on your iPod's home screen.
  2. From here, you can disable automatic updates.
  3. This will disable automatic updates to your apps.
    • If you don't usually update manually, you'll need to remember to re-enable this feature when practical.
  4. Your iPod Touch's automatic downloads should now be disabled!
    5. Advertisement
Method 9
Method 9 of 9:

Disabling Location Services

PDF download Download Article
  1. "Settings" is the grey gear icon--it should be on your iPod's home screen.
  3. You can disable or change your location settings from here.
  4. Location Services updates your iPod with your current location via GPS and cellphone tower, which is a significant drain on the battery. Disabling this background service will lengthen your battery's life considerably.
  5. Your location services should now be disabled!
    6. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
      Advertisement

      Warnings

      • Remember to switch back on important app and data settings when you no longer have to conserve battery.
        Thanks
        Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1
      • Keep your iPod away from extreme temperatures (below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or above 95 degrees Fahrenheit), since they can both shorten your battery's life and permanently damage your battery.
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
      Advertisement

      You Might Also Like

      8 Ways to Fix a Broken iPod Classic or Touch
      How to
      Copy Music from Your iPod to Your Computer
      How to
      Check & Identify Your iPod's Generation
      How to
      Unlock a Disabled iPod
      5 Easy Ways to Open Any Otterbox Case
      How to
      Add Music to an iPod
      How to
      Turn on Your iPod: Touch, Nano, Classic, and Shuffle
      How to
      Turn Off Your iPod Classic
      How to
      Charge an iPod Shuffle
      How to
      Reset & Restore Every Gen of iPod Nano
      4 Easy Ways to Get Windows to Recognize Your iPod
      Easy Ways to Reset and Restore an iPod
      2 Ways to Transfer Songs Off Your iPod Without iTunes
      How to
      Put Music on iPod Shuffle
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ http://www.apple.com/batteries/maximizing-performance/
      2. ↑ http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/mobile-phone/how-charge-phones-battery-3619623/
      3. ↑ http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/09/11-tips-to-keep-ios-8-from-destroying-your-battery-life/
      4. ↑ http://www.apple.com/batteries/maximizing-performance/
      5. ↑ http://www.redmondpie.com/top-15-ios-8-tips-for-saving-battery-life-on-iphone-and-ipad-guide/

      About This Article

      In other languages
      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 102,294 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement