If you have had your current iPhone for a few years, your battery might be wearing down. As the battery gets older, it might require more frequent charging, cannot last as long and can shut down unexpectedly.

Apple’s latest iOS update (version 11.3) now enables you to check the health status and determine if it needs replacing. Here is a quick guide to the new feature, along with some hints that can help extend your battery life.

Do I need to replace my Battery?

For iPhone 6 and later models, iOS 11.3 allows you to review your battery health.

To access this menu, head to settings and tap on “Battery”, then “Battery Health”.

Maximum capacity

This determines the overall battery status, and this number does decrease based on the age of your battery. If it is 80% or less Apple recommends that this is the time to bring it in for a battery replacement.

Peak Performance

Another aspect to look at is Peak Performance Capability. Make sure that you read the status underneath, as it will tell you the exact performance. If it reads “Normal Peak Performance” then your battery is healthy. Should the message read anything else, it might be time to replace the battery.

My Battery is Healthy, How Do I Maximise Battery Life?

Some of your settings might be using more power than expected. To reduce battery usage, try these suggestions.

Location Services

There are a number of apps that use your location services, which can greatly drain your battery life, and it can be difficult to tell if the app needs to know where you are.

To stop apps using location services, head to Settings, then Privacy, followed by Location Services.

Here you can turn all off, or switch off apps that you don’t need.

Background App Refresh

Many apps continue to run when you’re not using them, which can cause battery life to decrease.

If you want to get the most out of your battery, consider turning changing Background App refresh.

You can do so by heading to settings, then “General”, then “Background App Refresh”. From here you can turn all off or select Wi-fi only, or individually select the apps.