Reduce Battery Drain on an Android

Dealing with battery drain on your Android can be a serious pain. Sometimes you feel like you might as well just leave it plugged into the wall. But wait, isn't a Droid supposed to be a mobile phone? Fortunately, there are steps you can take to turn your immobile phone back into a mobile phone, as it should be.

Steps

Changing Connectivity Settings

  1. Disable connections manually when you’re not using them. Keep the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS disabled. Enable them only when you’re using them, since keeping these enabled all the time will eat up your battery.
    • To disable all connections, switch to Airplane Mode. To do this, hold the power button down until a menu displays. Tap Airplane Mode, which will disable all of your phone’s wireless connections. To enable just Wi-Fi and not a cellular signal while in Airplane Mode, tap Menu, Settings, and then Wireless & Networks. Check the Wi-Fi box.
  2. Use an app to manage your connections. Install an application, such as Net Blocker, that will allow you to switch on/off your internet connection, rather than keeping your phone always connected to the internet.[1]
    • Apps like NetBlocker allow you to review the connectivity settings of each of your apps. For each one, you can choose whether to block it from accessing Wi-Fi, mobile data, or both.[2]
  3. Reduce polling or refresh frequency of your services. Set your various messaging services, such as Facebook, email, and Twitter, to “manual” for their polling/refresh frequency.[3] This way, you won’t constantly be getting updates, which will save energy, and might also serve as a refreshing break from never-ending connectivity.
    • To change refresh frequency, go to your email’s inbox. Tap Menu, Settings, and then Account Settings. Choose your account and then press sync settings followed by sync schedule. Modify your schedule there.[4]
  4. Use power saving mode. Some Androids, such as the Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8), even have “Ultra” or “Extreme” power saving modes. These modes limit your smartphone to just barebones activities, such as texting, phone calls, web browsing, and Facebook.[3]
    • To use power saving mode in Android 5.0, press Settings and then Battery where you’ll see the “Battery Saver” option. Here you can enable Battery Saver mode and schedule it for when your battery has only a 15% or 5% charge, for example.[5]

Trimming Energy Extras

  1. Use a short message tone. Using long message tones to alert you to calls and messages also saps up a lot of energy. Consume less battery power by using a brief tone or no tone at all when your Android notifies you of an incoming message.
    • Default or stock ringtones vary be device, but can be changed pretty easily. To change ringtones, go to Apps, Settings, Personalize, Sound. Then select a ringtone, and tap Add and OK. Also, check Settings, Device, Sound to see if you have any active sounds or ringtones there.[6]
  2. Set your phone to vibrate. Alternatively, you could set your phone to vibrate, instead of using any ringtone at all. Set to Vibrate in the Notification Settings menu.
  3. Use only those internet applications that you really use. Avoid subscribing to unnecessary feeds, e-mail alerts, newsletters, etc. Also make sure the notification periods for internet-based applications is optimal.
  4. Close unused apps. Your Droid might have programs running in the background that you don’t necessarily know about. You can close extra programs without harming your phone. There are three easy ways to close an app:
    • Press the Recent Apps button on the bottom of the screen. Swipe to the right the app you want to close.
    • Press App Info, select Force Stop, and then press OK to confirm.
    • Go to Settings, select Apps or Applications, and press the Running menu. Select the app you want to close, and then press Stop or Force Stop.
  5. Test different settings. If you’re not sure if a particular setting is draining your battery particularly fast, try making just one setting change at a time. Charge your battery fully. Then try changing just your brightness setting, for example. See how much that affects the speed at which your battery is drained throughout the day.

Improving Screen Efficiency

  1. Change screen brightness settings. You might not notice much of a difference in screen brightness once your eyes adjust, but a change in screen brightness can significantly affect your battery life.
    • Press the Menu button in Android.
    • Select System Settings from the options listed there.
    • Click on the Display option under where it says Settings.
    • Select the Brightness option from the list on the new screen.
    • Uncheck the Auto option. Now you can change your Droid's brightness setting, which can save a lot of power if you set it dimmer.
    • Use your finger to move the slider right or left to raise or lower the brightness setting.
  2. Try Automatic Brightness. As an alternative to setting the screen’s brightness yourself, you can let your Droid do it automatically. Press Automatic Brightness to turn brightness control over to the Droid, which will adjust brightness based on ambient light. This might not save as much energy as keeping the screen low at all times, but it may save energy if you usually have a very bright screen.
  3. Change your wallpaper. Some wallpapers, such as “live,” meaning animated or interactive wallpaper, use a lot of energy.[7] If you are using a live wallpaper, make sure it is a very optimal one that does not eat up a lot of your memory and battery life.
    • To change your wallpaper, select Menu and then Wallpaper or, if you’re in your app drawer, select Gallery. Find the image you wish to use and use the box to select the portion you’d like.[8]

Optimizing Your Battery

  1. Use an extended battery. Consider buying an extended battery or a battery case. The latter serves as both a case and an extended battery, which can double the life of your battery or more.[3]
  2. Watch your signal strength. If you’re somewhere with weak signal strength and don’t have many bars, your phone will expend more energy searching for a signal and performing tasks. Try to hold off on major data use in areas with weak coverage. During those periods, you can switch to airplane mode.[3]
    • To switch to Airplane Mode, hold the power button down until a menu displays, and select Airplane Mode, which will disable all of your phone’s wireless connections. To enable just Wi-Fi and not a cell signal while in Airplane Mode, tap Menu, Settings, Wireless & Networks, and then check the Wi-Fi box.
  3. Test your battery. If all else fails, check your battery, since it may need replacing. If you have a spare battery or can borrow a friend’s battery, try using that to see if it seems to hold a charge better. If you don’t have access to another battery or if you have difficulty changing the battery on your model, go to your phone dealer or Droid carrier. It might be worth the trip to see if your battery is the problem.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.a0soft.gphone.NetBlocker&hl=en
  2. ↑ http://www.techpurge.com/net-blocker-stop-active-android-apps-accessing-internet-background/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2367542,00.asp
  4. ↑ http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-note-3/324389-where-change-email-polling-interval-stock-email-app.html
  5. ↑ https://www.androidpit.com/android-5-0-battery-tips
  6. ↑ http://www.greenbot.com/article/2688096/how-to-change-notification-sounds-on-your-android-phone.html
  7. ↑ http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/android_live_wallpaper.html
  8. ↑ http://www.androidcentral.com/android-101-how-change-wallpaper
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