iPhone 13: Optimized Battery Charging not working? Here’s what to do | ZDNet

Are you one of those people who has owned an iPhone 13 since day 1 but still don’t have the iOS Optimized Battery Charging feature working yet?

Don’t panic!

I’ve had my iPhone since day 1 (actually, day 2, thanks DHL), and last night was the first night where the Optimized Battery Charging feature actually did its thing.

First, what is Optimized Battery Charging?

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This is a feature that Apple introduced to iOS to reduce battery wear by regulating overnight charging so that the iPhone charges up to 80 percent rapidly, then stays there until the morning, where it trickle charges the last bit of charge.

This means your battery is subjected to less wear, but you still start the day with a full battery.

Pretty cool.

iOS uses machine learning to work out your habits, and in my experience, this can take a few weeks. If you’ve upgraded handsets, then that new iPhone needs to learn your patterns.

It took my handset 17 days to do this.

In that time, my charging habits have not been regular — I’ve spent a few nights away, and there was a couple of nights where I didn’t put my iPhone on charge — so overall I’m impressed that it didn’t take longer.

In that time, my iPhone has figured out that when I plug it into the charger by my bed, that I’ll need my iPhone around 6am, so that’s when the battery hits 100 percent charge.

Here’s how it works, according to Apple:

“Optimized charging is designed to only engage in locations where you spend the most time, such as your home and place of work. The feature doesn’t engage when your usage habits are more variable, such as when you travel.”

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In order for optimized Battery Charging to work, the following features need to be enabled (they are enabled by default):

• Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Location Services
• Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services > System Customization
• Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services > Significant Locations > Significant Locations

So, if Optimized Battery Charging is not working, check that your habits are regular, and that you have the relevant settings enabled.

If that doesn’t work, a reboot might help, but overall, I find that the best thing to do is be patient!