What is and how to disable Peak Performance Capability on iPhones

What is and how to disable Peak Performance Capability on iPhones

The iPhones that are running new versions of iOS include a power management feature that protects them from shutting down unexpectedly. It is called Peak Performance Capability, and it is automatically enabled if the battery cannot deliver the required amount of power during various tasks. If you want to learn about what Peak Performance Capability is on your iPhone, and how to disable it, even if it is not recommended, read this article:

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What is Peak Performance Capability for iPhone?

Peak Performance Capability is a feature of iPhones running iOS 11.3 or newer, that allows them to control the performance throttling. It is the ability of your iPhone to provide enough power even when it has to perform demanding tasks.

If your iPhone's battery cannot supply enough power to some of its components, such as its processor (CPU) or graphics chip (GPU), you experience an unexpected shutdown. This can happen due to a multitude of factors including but not limited to a low battery charge, chemically aged battery or cold temperatures.

When your iPhone shuts down unexpectedly, iOS automatically enables Peak Performance Capability. This feature applies performance management on your iPhone, meaning that iOS starts to dynamically manage the maximum performance of the CPU, GPU, and other components so that they do not draw more power than the battery can deliver. In other words, your iPhone should no longer shut down unexpectedly, but it is also going to be slower in certain situations.

The Battery Health features found on an iPhone
The Battery Health features found on an iPhone

If Peak Performance Capability was enabled on your iPhone, you might notice that:

  • Apps tend to have longer launching times
  • Frame rates are lower in some apps and when scrolling
  • Screen backlight is dimmed
  • Speaker volume is lowered
  • The camera flash might be disabled
  • You may have to relaunch apps that refresh in the background when you open them

Even if Peak Performance Capability has been enabled on your iPhone, it does not have any effect on the following features:

  • Cellular call quality and networking throughput performance
  • The photo and video quality
  • GPS performance and location accuracy
  • Sensors such as the gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer
  • Apple Pay

Remember that the Peak Performance Capability is available only on iPhones (but not iPads) that run iOS 11.3 or newer.

Some users might not want the performance throttling to be enabled on their iPhones. That is why we are going to show you how to disable it. However, note that this can lead to new unexpected shutdowns, in which case the Peak Performance Capability is automatically enabled again by your iPhone.

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How to disable Peak Performance Capability on your iPhone

On your iPhone's home screen, tap Settings.

The Settings icon on the home screen of iOS
The Settings icon on the home screen of iOS

In Settings, scroll until you find the Battery entry and tap on it.

The Battery entry from an iPhone's Settings
The Battery entry from an iPhone's Settings

On the Battery screen, locate Battery Health and tap on it.

The Battery Health entry on an iPhone
The Battery Health entry on an iPhone

Now, on the bottom of the Battery Health screen, you should see the Peak Performance Capability section. If your iPhone has already shut down unexpectedly in the past, this feature has been automatically enabled.

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iOS should also display a message similar to the one in the screenshot below: "This iPhone has experienced an unexpected shutdown because the battery was unable to deliver the necessary peak power. Performance management has been applied to help prevent this from happening again." At the end of the message, there is a link (button) called Disable. Tap it to deactivate the Peak Performance Capability.

The Peak Performance Capability found on the Battery Health screen
The Peak Performance Capability found on the Battery Health screen

Your iPhone now warns you that "Disabling May Lead To Unexpected Shutdowns". If you still want to do that, press Disable. Otherwise, tap Leave On.

Disabling the Peak Performance Capability on an iPhone
Disabling the Peak Performance Capability on an iPhone

Once you disable the Peak Performance Capability, the message displayed on the Battery Health page changes too, into something like "This iPhone has experienced an unexpected shutdown because the battery was unable to deliver the necessary peak power. You have manually disabled performance management protections".

Disabled Peak Performance Capability on an iPhone
Disabled Peak Performance Capability on an iPhone

That is it! However, do not forget that, if your iPhone unexpectedly shuts down again, the Peak Performance Capability was automatically enabled again.

Does your iPhone throttle performance?

Is your battery in pristine condition, or has your iPhone automatically enable the Peak Performance Capability? If it has, did you change your battery or did you choose to disable the performance throttling even if you risked other unexpected shutdowns? Do you like the fact that Apple included this feature in the latest versions of iOS for iPhones?

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