From what I have experienced, iOS 18.4.1 seems to be the most stable iOS 18 update yet. Though the update hasn’t unleashed a ton of eye-catching features, it has enhanced stability and also fixed a wide range of issues. However, the one problem that has continued to haunt it is the rapid battery drain. Since I have run into it myself on my iPhone, I can verify the issue. But the good thing is I have already put together the 15 best tips and tricks to fix iPhone battery drain after iOS 18.4.1 software update.
Fix iPhone Battery Drain After iOS 18.4.1 Update
Battery draining is the sort of issue that occurs due to a wide range of factors. Hence, we will need to take care of several culprits like temporary glitches, misconfigured settings, and the greedy features that never miss a chance to kill your device battery.
1. Restart Your iPhone
To begin with, go for the simple restart as it’s incredibly helpful in fixing temporary software glitches introduced during the update.
- To restart your iPhone, press and hold the power and volume up buttons, then swipe to power off.
- Turn the phone back on after a few seconds.

2. Update Apps to the Latest Version
Be warned that the outdated apps may not be optimized for iOS 18.4.1 and can drain power.
- Open the App Store, tap your profile icon, and update all available apps.

3. Check Battery Usage in Settings
This will let you reveal which apps are consuming the most power.
- Go to the Settings app on your iPhone > Battery and scroll down to view usage by app. Remove or limit heavy battery users.
4. Disable Background App Refresh
Disabling the background app refresh allows you to stop apps from refreshing content in the background.
- On your iOS device, navigate to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn it off.
5. Turn Off Location Services for Unnecessary Apps
Location tracking is power-hungry.
- Head to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, and disable it for apps that don’t need constant access.
6. Enable Low Power Mode
For those unfamiliar, the Low Power Mode limits visual effects, mail fetch, background tasks, and more.
- Turn it on via Settings > Battery or from the Control Center.

7. Disable Push for Mail
Push email constantly checks servers, draining the battery.
- On your iPhone, dive into the Settings app > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data, and set it to Fetch or Manual instead of Push.
8. Reduce Screen Brightness
High brightness consumes a lot of battery.
- Open Control Center and reduce brightness, or go to Settings > Display & Brightness to adjust it manually.
9. Turn Off Always-On Display (for supported iPhone models)
Always-On Display keeps parts of the screen active, using power.
- Open the Settings app on your iOS device > Display & Brightness > Always On Display, and turn it off.
10. Disable Unnecessary System Services
Certain system services like iPhone Analytics can run in the background and use battery.
- To do so, launch the Settings app > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
- Tap, System Services.

- After that, turn off options like Analytics, Routing & Traffic.
11. Reset All Settings
If settings are misconfigured after the update, resetting can help.
- Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings.
- Bother not, this won’t delete data but resets system settings.

12. Enable Auto-Brightness
Auto-brightness is designed to adjust the screen brightness based on lighting conditions to save power.
- Be sure to enable it from Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Auto-Brightness.
13. Turn Off Siri Suggestions
Siri Suggestions runs background processes to learn habits, using power.
- Go to Settings > Siri & Search, and disable suggestions on lock screen, home screen, and more.
14. Limit App Notifications
Frequent notifications can wake the screen and consume a lot of power. Thus, take control of the never-ending alerts.
- On your iOS device, navigate to Settings > Notifications and turn off notifications for less important apps.
15. Update to the Next iOS Patch When Available
As we all know, Apple often releases quick patches to address bugs, so it’s recommended to update the software. Therefore, I’d suggest you keep an eye on Settings > General > Software Update for the next fix. As and when it arrives, go for it.

Wrapping up…
There you go! Battery drain after an update can be frustrating, but it’s often manageable with a few thoughtful changes to your iPhone’s settings. The steps above are designed to target the most common culprits, from background activity to display settings and app behavior. Therefore, be sure to apply these fixes one by one, and you’ll likely see your battery life improve significantly.