Increase Your Battery Life on Your Smartphone
It always seems like your phone never has enough battery life, so here are some tips on how to get the most juice out of your phone! The one displayed is an Android, but these tips should work on all smartphones.
Steps
- Turn off 4G. If your device is 4G capable, it will use it if you're not on Wi-Fi. Turning 4G off while on Wi-Fi will save loads of battery and even data if that's a concern for you.
- For Android, go to settings, find mobile data, and slide the switch to off.
- For iOS, you can turn off any network connection by going to your control Centre and turning on Airplane Mode.
- Turn off Bluetooth and GPS. Bluetooth and GPS are two of the bigger battery hogs, and should be off if you're not using them. If you are, be sure to have your phone charging otherwise your battery life will sink like a stone.
- Keep display to a minimum. If you have a Super AMOLED display (found on most Samsung and Motorola devices) be sure to keep the brightness down or on auto.
- Setting your wallpaper to black will also help. (If a color is true black on a Super AMOLED display, those pixels will turn off, saving that much battery.)
- Simply keeping your phone off will help loads, you don't need to check Facebook every 5 seconds.
- Task Managing. Task managing is important, it keeps the processor from having to work overtime for no reason and drain your battery even more.
- iOS: Double-click the home button, then press and hold on any app and click the minus button in the corner to clear that app from memory.
- Android 4.0+: If you have a task managing app on Android 4.0+, get rid of it! Android 4.0 has evolved into a great task manager all by itself and third party task managing apps will actually drain more battery than they will save. Press the "Recent apps" button then slide each task to the left or right until it disappears. If you don't have a recent apps button, press an hold the home button. Repeat often, like before locking your phone.
- Android 2.3+: Download and install a third party task managing app, then follow the instructions given.
- Plug it in. Keep your phone charging as much as you possibly can while you're at home, so whenever you leave the house, you'll always leave with full battery. All phones now have a Lithium-Ion battery, so they won't "overcharge" and cause the battery to explode or catch on fire.
- Keep it from overheating. Overheating is usually a sign of the processor working hard. If your phone is hot in a particular area, sandwich that area between the palms of your hands for a moment, or put it in the fridge to cool for a few minutes.
- Get a new battery. If you followed all the steps above and your battery still doesn't last very long, it may be time for a new battery. You can usually find one for your phone on Amazon, Radio Shack, Best Buy, or your local battery store.
Tips
- On Androids, live wallpapers use up more battery than static images.
Warnings
- These steps may not apply to your smartphone, and that's okay! Just follow the steps that do and you'll be good to go!
