Overheating and battery draining problems in iOS devices can be attributed to software errors or hardware damage. In earlier devices, hardware damage like a depreciating battery or other relevant components is likely to blame. In new devices, rogue apps and system bugs are often the culprits.
Highlighted below are potential solutions and workarounds that will help rule out software-related factors that might have caused an iPhone to overheat and drain its battery so quickly. Read on and try these solutions before opting for service or iPhone repair.
Before we move on to our troubleshooting, if you happen to find this post while looking for a solution to a different problem, then visit our Apple iPhone Help Guides page for we have already addressed some of the most common issues with this device. We may have already published articles that could help you fix your problem. Find issues that are similar to yours and feel free to use our solutions.
Troubleshooting iPhone that gets hot and drains battery fast
The normal operating temperature for iPhones is between 32° and 95° Fahrenheit or 0° and 35° Celsius. If your iPhone’s temperature goes beyond that normal range, then you’ve got a problem that needs immediate solution.
Before troubleshooting, try to rule out environmental factors. For example, avoid using your iPhone in very hot places, leaving the phone inside a car for several hours, or exposing it to a very hot ambient.
Also avoid using your iPhone while charging, downloading apps or installing updates as its temperature normally gets higher when carrying out these processes.
Then eliminate software-related factors like rogue apps, bad updates, and invalid settings with the following procedures.
First solution: Clear all background apps.
Keeping apps suspended or running in the background for long is one of the common reasons that could make the app go rogue. There is a higher chance that any of these background apps become corrupted and crashed. When this happens, other system functions and processes could become adversely affected.
If bad apps are affecting the processor, chances are that your device would start to show symptoms of overheating and battery draining. As resolution, clear all background apps on your iPhone with the following procedures.
If you’re using an iPhone X or later model, performing these steps will end all background apps:
- Go to the Home screen to get started.
- Then swipe up from the bottom of the screen and then pause slightly in the middle.
- Swipe right or left to find Messages app.
- Then swipe up on the Messages app card/preview to close it.
If you’re using an iPhone 8 or earlier model, this is how you end all background apps:
- Double-press the Home button to view your most recently used apps.
- Then navigate through app previews by swiping left or right.
- And to close the app, swipe up on its preview.
Follow the same steps to end or close all background apps until no apps is left running or suspended on your iPhone.
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Second solution: Delete rogue apps to fix battery issue on your iPhone.
Your iPhone is programmed with a feature that tracks apps that are often crashing. This is called the iOS Analytics Data logs, containing apps crash reports. If any of your apps is acting up, there’s a tendency that they trigger processor exhaustion, which eventually results in overheating and battery draining. You can utilize this iOS feature to determine which among your apps needing rectifications. Here’s what you should do then:
- Tap Settings from your Home screen.
- Select Privacy.
- Tap Analytics.
- Then select Analytics Data to view the list of apps that’s been crashing or acting up on your device.
You can delete bad apps and reinstall the useful ones. To delete an app from your iPhone, you can use the standard and quicker method as depicted with these steps:
- Go to the Home screen then find the app that you want to delete.
- Once you find the app, touch and hold on the app icon until it jiggles.
- Then tap the X on the upper-left of the icon to delete it.
- If prompted, tap Delete to confirm that you want to delete or uninstall the app from your iPhone.
You can also access your iPhone storage to delete rogue apps straight from the applications folder. Here’s how to get there:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Select iPhone Storage.
- Find and select the app(s) that you wish to remove and then tap the option to Delete App.
After deleting bad apps, reboot your iPhone to clear its memory cache and to refresh its system. Just refer to the next steps to reboot or soft reset your iPhone.
Third solution: Reboot your iPhone.
A simple yet very effective solution to minor software problems including overheating and battery draining inflicted by random firmware crashes and apps glitches is the so called soft reset or forced restart on the iPhone. These processes work the same in terms of refreshing the operating system but carried out in various ways, depending on the device model and operating system.
If you’re using an iPhone X, XS, XS Max, or XR, follow these steps to soft reset:
- Press and hold the Side button and either Volume button until the Power off slider appears.
- Drag the slider to power off your iPhone completely.
- Then after 30 seconds, press the Side button again to turn your iPhone back on.
On iPhone 8, 8 Plus, or earlier versions, performing a soft reset or restart is done this way:
- Press and hold the Top or Side button until the Power off slider appears.
- Drag the slider to power off the phone completely.
- After about 30 seconds, press and hold the Top or Side button again to turn the phone back on.
Alternatively, you can force restart your iPhone to abruptly kill all rogue apps and corrupted services that might have triggered overheating and battery draining symptoms on your iPhone. Refer to these steps to force restart your iPhone then.
If you’re using an iPhone 8, 8 Plus, or newer variant, follow these steps to force restart:
- Press and release the Volume Up button.
- Then press and release the Volume Down button.
- Finally, press and hold the Side button and then release it when the Apple logo appears.
On early iPhones like the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, a forced restart is done this way:
- Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power (Sleep/Wake) button simultaneously and then release both buttons with the Apple logo appears.
If you’re using an earlier version of iPhone like the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, 6, SE and 5s, a forced restart is done this way:
- Press and hold both the Power (Sleep/Wake) button and the Home button for a few seconds and then release both buttons when the Apple logo is displayed on the screen.
Allow your device to finish rebooting and then try to observe if the overheating and battery draining symptoms are gone already.
Fourth solution: Update your apps and your iPhone software.
Rogue apps that caused processor exhaustion can also be remedied by installing updates. Like firmware updates, updates rolled out by app developers also contain bug fixes. Thus bug-inflicted symptoms are corrected and the main problem is addressed. If your iPhone has a stable Internet access and over 50 percent battery life, head on over to the App Store and install pending app updates with these steps:
- Tap App Store from the Home screen.
- Scroll down and tap on Updates.
- Tap the Update next to the name of the app to update individual apps.
- Tap the Update All button on the top-right corner of the screen to update all apps at once.
Aside from app updates, installing the latest iOS update for your iPhone can also help fix software-inflicted power issues including overheating and battery draining. If your iPhone has a stable Internet access, plug it into the charger then check for new updates with these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Tap Software Update.
If an update is available, you will see a notification containing the update details and system requirements. Read the update information then follow the onscreen instructions to download and install the update on your iPhone.
Reboot your iPhone after updating to ensure that all new system changes are properly implemented and likewise to refresh the apps and internal memory.
Fifth solution: Reset all settings.
Problems inflicted by invalid settings or update overrides usually require a reset for the associated symptoms to be gone. Thus if your iPhone started to experience overheating and battery draining symptoms after customizing settings or installing new updates, follow these steps to reset all settings.
Doing so eliminates faulty configurations and invalid options that might have caused conflicts to the power system of your phone. This reset does not affect any saved information so backing up files won’t be necessary. Here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Select the option to Reset all settings.
- Enter your device passcode when asked to proceed.
- Tap the option to confirm that you want to reset all settings on your iPhone.
The phone restarts when the reset is finished and then loads up the original values and options. This means that you have to re-enable the features that you want to use again on your phone including Wi-Fi.
Sixth solution: Erase your iPhone and restore factory defaults.
Performing a factory reset or master reset is deemed among the last options to deal with persistent symptoms. The iPhone may still continue to overheat or experience rapid battery draining if complex system errors are present. To clear this out, you can erase your iPhone and then restore its factory default settings.
But before you do, be sure to back up files to iCloud or iTunes because this reset results in permanent data loss. Then follow these steps whenever you’re ready to factory reset your iPhone:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Choose the option to Erase all content and settings.
- Enter your device passcode when asked to proceed.
- Then tap the option to confirm full system reset.
You can also use iTunes to manually erase and restore your iPhone on a computer.
After the reset, use the start-up wizard to set up your iPhone as new and use it again as you normally do.
Last resort: Restore your iPhone in recovery mode.
Major software issues that caused persistent symptoms are usually remedied by a factory reset but there are also some instances when the emerging symptoms are able to withstand a factory reset and so they still persist afterwards. To deal with these issues, performing an iOS restore is recommended.
This is when you connect your iPhone to the computer using the Apple-supplied USB cable or Lightning cable and then use iTunes to repair and restore iOS. If you wish to proceed with this method, back up all important files from your iPhone to iTunes (if possible). Otherwise, you will end up losing critical data after the system restore. Then you may proceed to a recovery mode restore whenever you’re ready.
To enter recovery mode in iPhone 8 or later models, refer to these steps:
- Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
- Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
- Finally, press and hold the Side button until the Recovery Mode screen appears.
To enter recovery mode on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, follow these steps instead:
- Press and hold the Side/Power button and Volume Down button simultaneously and then release both buttons when the Recovery Mode screen shows up.
To enter recovery mode on iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and earlier models, here’s what you should do:
- Press and hold both the Home button and Top/Power buttons simultaneously and then release both buttons when the Recovery Mode screen appears.
Note: Don’t release the last button if you see the Apple logo because you will need to enter recovery mode. The recovery mode screen is depicted by the Connect to iTunes display.
After the system restore, use your iPhone as you normally do to determine whether or not the problem is solved. If your iPhone continues to overheat and the battery is still draining so fast, then some components may require some physical repair.
Other options
Take your device to an Apple-authorized service center in your place if it still gets extremely hot and draining the battery so fast are performing the above solutions. What you’re dealing with is more likely a hardware-related issues like a bad battery or damaged relevant components. If a bad battery is to blame, battery replacement is usually needed. You can report the issue to your iPhone provider or carrier if you wish to avail for warranties.
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