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Here's why your iPhone battery is yellow, and how to fix it
If you’re (relatively) new to using an iPhone, you may have seen the battery icon in your status bar switch from green to yellow, apropos of nothing you did on purpose. So what does that color signify, and should you do anything about it?
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A yellow icon battery on an iPhone means it's in Low Power Mode. You can turn this off via Settings > Battery.
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Why is my iPhone battery icon yellow?
What you’re seeing is an indicator that your iPhone is in Low Power Mode. It’s one of Apple’s many battery-saving options, but arguably the primary one, since it can keep an iPhone going for hours when it would otherwise be forced to shut down.
It’s generally hard to turn on Low Power Mode without knowing it, but it’s not impossible. It could be that you accidentally tapped its icon in Control Center, for example, or that someone else triggered it after you briefly handed your phone over to them.
You should probably turn the mode off if you don’t immediately need it. Here’s what Low Power Mode does when it’s active:
- Reduce screen brightness
- Shorten Auto-Lock to 30 seconds
- Limit refresh rate to 60Hz (on iPhones with ProMotion)
- Eliminate some visual effects
- Pause iCloud Photos sync and most automatic downloads
- Reduce email fetch frequency
- Reduce or eliminate background app refresh
How to turn off Low Power Mode on your iPhone through Settings
You can turn off Low Power mode using your phone’s Settings.
- Find and open your Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on Battery.
- Toggle off Low Power Mode.
How to turn off Low Power Mode on your iPhone using Control Center
You can also quickly toggle Low Power Mode on or off using the Control Center.
- Swipe down from over your battery indicator to open Control Center.
- If it’s present, you can tap on the Low Power Mode icon, which looks like a half-filled battery.
Yes, you can still use your iPhone for most tasks while in Low Power Mode. However, some features may be limited or disabled to conserve battery. For example, background app refresh is paused, so you may not receive real-time updates from certain apps until you disable Low Power Mode.
Yes, you can charge your iPhone while in Low Power Mode. In fact, charging your iPhone will automatically turn off Low Power Mode once the battery level goes above 80%.
Low Power Mode does not affect your ability to make or receive phone calls or text messages. These functionalities remain unaffected while in Low Power Mode.