One benefit of larger smartphones is that there’s space for bigger batteries. Battery life isn’t quite the nuisance it used to be, but anxiety about running out of power is still common. Much of the advice out there about how to save your smartphone’s battery life is dated or dubious, so we’ve put together some battery-saving advice on what works and what doesn’t.
You may also be interested in how to look after your smartphone battery to ensure it lasts as long as possible and how to get a battery replacement when the time comes. If you’re looking for ways to keep your phone charged up, check out our Best Wireless Chargers, Best Portable Chargers, and Best Apple 3-in-1 Wireless Chargers guides.
Special offer for Gear readers: Get a . This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
Smartphones all have some form of low-power mode that pauses or reduces certain functions, activities, and visual effects. These modes are ideal for preserving precious battery life when your battery is low, especially if it will take some time until you can get to a charger.
For Android phones, the instructions differ slightly depending on the manufacturer. Most Android phones have two power-saving modes. The first reduces battery drain by limiting some activity and visual effects, and the second is more extreme and will stop notifications and most apps from running.
Screen brightness has a significant impact on your battery, so you want it to be as low as is comfortable for your eyes. You can always change the screen brightness by swiping down to open the Control Center on an iPhone or the Notification Shade on an Android phone and dragging the Brightness slider. You might also consider automatic adjustment based on the ambient light level.
Since the screen is the worst battery drain, it’s also a good idea to reduce how long it’s on for. The lowest setting can be annoying, so choose the timeout that suits you.
You can also save some battery life by enabling dark mode if your smartphone has an OLED (or AMOLED) screen, because these panels turn pixels off when displaying black.
If it is extremely cold or hot, your battery will suffer. There’s only so much you can do about this, but try to avoid things like leaving your smartphone on the dash in your car on a sunny day.
If you’ve tweaked all the settings we highlighted so far and still find that your battery is not getting you through the day, it’s worth investigating. Smartphones have built-in battery usage charts that will show you where the power is going.
If your investigation revealed that unused or rarely-used apps have been draining your battery, then it’s time to run through your app list and uninstall anything you don’t need.
It’s a good idea to schedule regular downtime on your smartphone. Setting times when notifications are restricted can help you sleep, focus on work, and get a break from constant demands, with the added benefit that your battery will last longer.
When you are in an area or building that does not get a strong cell signal, your phone’s battery will drain faster. This is because it searches for a cell signal or boosts power to maintain a strong connection. Wherever possible, connect to a Wi-Fi network instead and make sure you turn on Wi-Fi calling. (Make sure to follow these steps to secure yourself when using public Wi-Fi networks.)
If you are traveling through a rural area with poor coverage and don’t need to use your smartphone for a while, consider switching Airplane Mode on to save battery life. Just remember to switch it off again, and bear in mind that your phone is disconnected when Airplane Mode is on.
Not only are keyboard sounds annoying for anyone in the vicinity when you are texting, but they also use a little power, so why not turn them off? Realistically, turning off keyboard sounds and vibrations will have a negligible impact on battery life unless you are a frequent typist.
It is a persistent myth that force-closing apps saves battery life. In fact, if you continually swipe apps away to close them or force-close through the app menu, you may end up creating a bigger drain on your battery. This is because the apps that appear in your recent list are actually in a paused state, saved in memory, so you can pick up where you left off the next time you open that app. It requires more power to load them from scratch, so leave them alone.
Another battery-saving tip that pops up frequently is turning off Bluetooth when you aren’t using it. But Bluetooth does not seem to consume much, if any, battery life unless it is connected to a device. Streaming audio on Bluetooth will drain your battery, but even Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) connections to things (like fitness trackers) barely use any power, and idle drain is negligible.
It is much the same story for Wi-Fi as it is for Bluetooth. Having Wi-Fi turned on will have a negligible impact on your battery unless you are actually connected to a Wi-Fi network. It’s not worth the inconvenience of toggling it on and off. You may also save battery by having it on all the time as it enables your phone to switch from a cellular network, which usually requires more power, to a Wi-Fi network whenever available.
This content was originally published here.
Recent Comments