Phone charges slowly or the battery drains fast
Before you assume the battery needs replacing, it's worth checking a few simple settings. Often the real culprit is a background app or just a worn-out cable.
What to check
Check what's using the most battery
Settings > Battery (or a similar section) shows a list of apps by energy use over the last 24 hours. If one app clearly stands out from the rest, it's worth checking its settings or closing it.
Lower screen brightness and shorten the sleep timer
The screen is one of the biggest battery drains. Turn on auto-brightness and shorten the time before the screen turns off in your display settings.
Limit apps running in the background
In your phone's settings, check which apps are allowed to refresh in the background or send constant push notifications, and turn that off for the ones you rarely use.
Check the cable and charger
Try a different cable or charger. A damaged or non-original cable is one of the most common causes of slow charging.
Check the battery health status
Many phones show a "battery health" figure or its capacity relative to when it was new, in settings. A value noticeably below 100% usually means the battery has simply worn down over time.
Why phones age in the first place
Batteries lose capacity with every charge cycle — that's normal, not a fault. Understanding how much of the problem comes from battery wear versus phone settings helps you avoid replacing hardware unnecessarily.
When it's a job for IT
- The battery is swelling, the phone overheats, or it shuts off on its own despite being charged.
- Battery health has dropped significantly even though it's a fairly new company device.
- The problem appeared suddenly after a system update and affects several company phones at once.
Want us to check it with you?
Report the issue — it goes straight into our ticketing system, and our AI assistant assesses priority right away.