And Add a Shortcut to Toggle the Automation On and Off
Low Power Mode on iPhone is useful, but in some cases it can turn itself off automatically.
When that happens, turning it back on manually every time gets old fast.
A practical solution is to combine:
- an automation that turns Low Power Mode back on whenever it gets turned off
- a separate Shortcut that lets you enable or disable that behavior whenever you want
In this setup, a hidden file stored in On My iPhone is used as a flag to determine whether automatic re-enabling should run. The toggle Shortcut switches between .lowpowermode-enabled and .lowpowermode-disabled, and also turns Low Power Mode itself on or off at the same time.
The re-enable Shortcut checks for .lowpowermode-enabled, and only turns Low Power Mode back on when that flag is active. It can also display a notification afterward.
What this article will build
By the end of this guide, you will have three parts working together.
1. A toggle Shortcut
This Shortcut lets you switch the behavior between:
- enabled
- disabled
Internally, it does that by renaming a flag file stored in On My iPhone.
When enabled, the file is .lowpowermode-enabled.
When disabled, the file is .lowpowermode-disabled.
2. A re-enable Shortcut
This Shortcut is triggered by automation when Low Power Mode turns off.
It checks whether the enabled flag is present, and if so, it turns Low Power Mode back on.
3. A personal automation
This automation runs when Low Power Mode is turned off and launches the re-enable Shortcut.
How the system works
The logic is straightforward.
- A toggle Shortcut changes whether the feature is enabled or disabled.
- That state is stored using a flag file name.
- Low Power Mode turns off.
- A personal automation runs.
- The re-enable Shortcut checks the flag.
- If enabled, it turns Low Power Mode back on.
The key idea is that the automation itself remains in place all the time.
Whether it actually re-enables Low Power Mode is controlled by the flag file.
That is much easier to manage than editing the automation every time you want to pause or resume the behavior.
Preparation
Before building the Shortcuts, create the flag file structure.
Storage location
This setup uses On My iPhone as the storage location.
The uploaded Shortcut definitions also point to local storage under that location.
Files used as flags
Create one of these files to start with:
.lowpowermode-enabled.lowpowermode-disabled
If you want the auto-re-enable behavior to start in the active state, create .lowpowermode-enabled first.
Important note
The file names need to match exactly.
If the names are off by even one character, the logic will fail.
Part 1: Build the toggle Shortcut
Start by creating the Shortcut that enables or disables the entire behavior.
What this Shortcut does
Based on the uploaded Shortcut definition, the flow works like this:
- Try to get
.lowpowermode-enabled - If that file is returned, rename it to
.lowpowermode-disabled - Turn Low Power Mode off
- Otherwise, get
.lowpowermode-disabled - Rename it to
.lowpowermode-enabled - Turn Low Power Mode on
So this Shortcut handles two things at once:
- switching the flag state
- switching Low Power Mode itself
How to create it
1. Create a new Shortcut
Open the Shortcuts app and create a new Shortcut.
A few good names:
Low Power Mode Auto ToggleToggle Low Power Mode Auto Restore
2. Add “Get File from Folder”
Add Get File from Folder as the first action.
Configure it like this:
- Location:
On My iPhone - File path:
.lowpowermode-enabled - Error if not found: Off
3. Add an “If” action
Set the condition to:
- If File has any value
This checks whether .lowpowermode-enabled was successfully returned.
4. In the “If” branch
Add these actions:
-
Rename File
.lowpowermode-enabled→.lowpowermode-disabled - Set Low Power Mode Off
This means the feature is currently enabled, so the Shortcut disables it.
5. In the “Otherwise” branch
Add these actions:
-
Get File from Folder
.lowpowermode-disabled -
Rename File
.lowpowermode-disabled→.lowpowermode-enabled - Set Low Power Mode On
This means the feature is currently disabled, so the Shortcut enables it.
Result
Once finished, this Shortcut becomes a single tap toggle for the whole system:
- enabled → disabled
- disabled → enabled
It also keeps the actual Low Power Mode state synchronized with the flag state.
Part 2: Build the re-enable Shortcut
Now create the Shortcut that turns Low Power Mode back on when needed.
What this Shortcut does
According to the uploaded definition, its logic is:
- get
.lowpowermode-enabled - check it with an If condition
- if the file has a value, turn Low Power Mode on
- show a notification saying: “Turned Low Power Mode back on”
How to create it
1. Create a new Shortcut
Create another Shortcut in the Shortcuts app.
Suggested names:
Re-enable Low Power ModeRestore Low Power Mode
2. Add “Get File from Folder”
Add Get File from Folder.
Configure it like this:
- Location:
On My iPhone - File path:
.lowpowermode-enabled
3. Add an “If” action
Use this condition:
- If File has any value
This means the rest of the Shortcut only runs if the enabled flag is present.
4. In the “If” branch
Add these actions:
- Set Low Power Mode On
-
Show Notification
Title:
Turned Low Power Mode back on
That matches the uploaded Shortcut behavior.
Part 3: Create the personal automation
With both Shortcuts ready, the last step is connecting the re-enable Shortcut to a personal automation.
Steps
1. Open the Automation tab
In the Shortcuts app, go to Automation.
2. Create a new personal automation
Tap Create Personal Automation.
3. Choose “Low Power Mode” as the trigger
From the available triggers, select Low Power Mode.
4. Set the trigger to “Is Turned Off”
This is the critical setting.
You want the automation to run when Low Power Mode is turned off.
5. Add “Run Shortcut”
For the action, choose Run Shortcut and select your re-enable Shortcut, such as:
Re-enable Low Power Mode
6. Turn off confirmation prompts
Adjust these settings as needed:
- turn off Ask Before Running
- optionally adjust Notify When Run
Now, whenever Low Power Mode turns off, the automation runs the re-enable Shortcut automatically.
How to use it
Daily use is simple.
When you want auto re-enable active
Run the toggle Shortcut once.
That changes:
-
.lowpowermode-disabled→.lowpowermode-enabled - Low Power Mode → On
When you want to pause the behavior
Run the same toggle Shortcut again.
That changes:
-
.lowpowermode-enabled→.lowpowermode-disabled - Low Power Mode → Off
So in practice, one Shortcut controls the entire system.
Why this setup is useful
You do not need to edit the automation every time
The automation can stay in place permanently.
You only change the flag state through the toggle Shortcut.
The state is easy to understand
The file name tells you exactly what mode the system is in:
-
.lowpowermode-enabled= active -
.lowpowermode-disabled= inactive
It is easy to extend
Because the system is flag-based, it is also easy to expand later.
For example, you could:
- change the notification text
- add logging
- allow auto re-enable only during certain hours
- disable it while a Focus mode is active
Things to watch out for
Keep the file location consistent
Both the toggle Shortcut and the re-enable Shortcut need to read from the same place.
If one points to a different folder, the system will break.
File names must be exact
Use these names exactly:
.lowpowermode-enabled.lowpowermode-disabled
Notifications may appear often
The re-enable Shortcut includes a notification action.
If Low Power Mode is turned off frequently, you may see that alert more often than you want.
Conclusion
This approach gives you a clean way to make iPhone automatically turn Low Power Mode back on, while still keeping the behavior easy to control.
The core idea is simple:
- use Get File from Folder to read a flag file
- use If File has any value to determine whether the feature is enabled
- use one Shortcut to toggle the flag state
- use another Shortcut to restore Low Power Mode when the automation fires
The toggle Shortcut handles both renaming the flag file and switching Low Power Mode itself, while the re-enable Shortcut checks the enabled flag and only restores the setting when appropriate.
That makes this more practical than a basic always-on automation.
It gives you automatic recovery and manual control.
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