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enni260
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

iPhone 17 battery drains quickly and overheats after May iOS 26.5 update

Hi,


The battery on my phone doesn´t last even a full day. The phone is Iphone 17 and I have been using it only for a year.


I noticed the battery declining in May 2026 when I updated the IOS 26.5. after this my phone started to overheat when I used it. Especially when using Safari even though there were no problems before. I haven´t increased my use of the phone it has stayed basically the same from before these issues. I sent my phone to maintenance and they checked phone but couldn´t find any errors while running the diagnostics. Also my battery life is at 94%.


I tried updating my phone and waiting (current IOS version 27.0.1). I tried returning the factory settings. I turned the WIFI and Bluetooth off. I tried using different browsers (chrome, brave, firefox) and while these browsers didn´t drain the battery as much as Safari did, it still didn´t fix the issue.


I´ve tried asking around if other people have the same issue but so far I haven´t found many people whose phones would have the same problem. So I don´t know if it´s a phone issue or IOS issue that´s causing this. So far any of the updates haven´t fixed this issue.

Posted on Oct 5, 2026 11:01 PM

2 replies

SravanKrA
User level: Level 10 (454,138 points)

Oct 6, 2026 1:47 AM in response to enni260

The measure of battery health deterioration/drainage is subjective and can vary depending on individual usage patterns. There is no universal standard to determine whether the battery health deterioration/drainage is normal or abnormal because it heavily relies on how the battery is used and maintained.



Protect & Prolong the Life of your iPhone's Battery:

  1. About the battery usage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch ...
  2. Batteries - Maximising Performance - Apple (IN)
  3. iPhone Battery and Performance
  4. About Charge Limit and Optimised Battery Charging on iPhone - Apple Support (IN)






Try to monitor Battery usage by iPhone Activity as shown below


What is shown under battery usage? Checking that would give you an indication of the usage behavior.

  1. Background Activity
  2. Notifications
  3. Connected to Charger
  4. Or any Other




Try some of these options too.

To prolong the life of your iPhone battery, you can follow these tips and best practices:


To prolong the life of your iPhone battery, you can follow these tips and best practices:

  1. Optimize Battery Charging: Enable the "Optimized Battery Charging" feature on your iPhone. It helps reduce the wear on the battery by slowing down the battery aging process. You can find this option in Settings > Battery > Battery Health. About Optimized Battery Charging on your iPhone - Apple Support (IN)
  2. Avoid Extreme Temperatures: Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, can negatively impact your battery life. Avoid exposing your iPhone to excessive heat or cold, such as leaving it in direct sunlight or in a freezing car.If your iPhone or iPad gets too hot or too cold – Apple Support (UK)
  3. Use Original Chargers and Cables: Always use Apple's original chargers and cables or certified third-party accessories. Low-quality chargers or cables can damage the battery and reduce its lifespan. Identify counterfeit or uncertified Lightning connector accessories - Apple Support (IN)
  4. Avoid Draining the Battery to Zero: Charge it whenever the charge becomes lower than 20%. The rest is up to you when to charge. how long to charge, how often to charge, which adapter to use starting from 5W to 140W USB-C Power Adapter etc.
  5. Optimize Display Settings: Adjust your display settings to optimize battery life. Lower the screen brightness, enable auto-brightness, and use shorter screen timeout durations. Adjust the display and text size on iPhone - Apple Support (IN)
  6. Minimize Background App Refresh: Limit the number of apps allowed to refresh in the background. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and disable it for apps that don't require real-time updates. Switch apps on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support (IN)


enni260 Author
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Oct 6, 2026 2:43 AM in response to SravanKrA

Yes, I have started to monitor the battery usage (this is where I noticed that Safari was draining the battery a lot faster than before). And I´ve tried all the steps mentioned above and none of these have made any difference. I have also tried turning off the location. And I´m using the auto brightness feature.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256371168