Wi-Fi, mobile data, social media, notifications, apps – these are all factors that put your phone's battery life to the test. However, there are many ways to avoid this. And we're not talking about power-saving mode, which severely limits your smartphone usage, but about a few simple tricks you can apply anytime. What are we talking about? Check below.
How long your smartphone lasts on a full charge is one of the things that interests us most when buying a phone. It's a pain point for most manufacturers and smartphone users alike. According to research conducted by Samsung, battery life is what matters most to us (alongside camera specifications and phone design). Besides what the manufacturer offers, we can also take actions ourselves to extend our phone's usage time. Thanks to these, we won't have to determine our model choice by battery life.
1. Disconnect from the network
If you don't need a constant internet connection, for example, if you're out for a walk, shopping, or on your way to work, disconnect from the network. Use the internet when you need it. Being constantly connected to the network, or automatically searching for available Wi-Fi networks, is one of the biggest battery drainers on our phones.
However, if you can't give up your internet connection, enjoy receiving notifications, and staying up-to-date with your email correspondence or Messenger – try using only one type of connection. Choose Wi-Fi when it's available, or mobile data when it's not. If you're using one of our mobile data packages mobile internet, you don't need to switch – you have plenty of GB. Turn off one of these options when you're using the other. If you're using mobile internet, your phone doesn't have to search for available Wi-Fi networks, thus saving battery.
2. Manually control settings to increase your phone's battery life
The first and easiest thing you can do on your smartphone is to manually reduce screen brightness. This will significantly extend your battery life. And it can also be beneficial for your eyesight. In short, if you don't need to read a message in direct sunlight, it's worth reducing the brightness as much as possible.
Besides screen brightness, what's on it is also important – we're talking about wallpapers. It's worth setting a simple, static background without animations. Even choosing a darker wallpaper color can positively impact how long you can enjoy your phone after charging.
Our preferences for signaling incoming calls or messages are also important. If you don't need to silence your phone and forgo the ringtone for vibration, don't. Vibration consumes more energy than sound – a combination of these two options is therefore particularly unfavorable.
Another simple thing that many of us give up anyway is auto-rotate screen. This feature can be quite annoying. From the perspective of extending battery life, it's a beneficial solution, as when the mode is enabled, the accelerometer is active in the phone – the sensor responsible for rotating the screen based on phone movements. When you deactivate the accelerometer, you lighten the load on your phone, thus extending battery life.
3. Filter your notifications
Only receive messages and updates that truly interest and are necessary for you. By giving up unnecessary notifications, you'll gain longer battery life and, incidentally, some peace of mind.
You certainly don't need to know instantly about every like you get on Facebook, job offers on LinkedIn, or current temperature and cloud cover information when you're in the city. If you really want to stay up-to-date with some of this information, make a subjective choice. It's worth filtering the notifications you want to receive. Most apps have a feature to choose incoming information, let's take advantage of it.
4. Audit your apps, some of them are battery drainers
Think about whether all the apps installed on your device are truly necessary. If you have apps you haven't used in the last few months, you can freely uninstall them.
It's quite possible that you also use apps that are only needed seasonally – for example, those that are essential during holidays. You can install these tools only when you go on a trip and uninstall them upon your return.
You might be interested in: 5 best route planning apps
Many apps connect to the internet even when you're not aware of it – this significantly drains your phone's energy. You also certainly don't need automatic updates for tools you don't use most of the time. However, if you don't want to uninstall apps, for example, because you care about the history they collect, you can download a tool that will allow you to hibernate them.
5. Use battery-saving apps
If you've already implemented all the tricks that can help you extend your phone's usage time, you can additionally use available apps that will do it for you. These systems hibernate selected functions in your phone after the screen turns off and can significantly extend your phone's battery life. You can choose a solution that best suits your needs and is appropriate for the operating system you're using.
The tips above should help you use your phone for as long as possible. And if you can't imagine life without the internet and all sorts of notifications displayed on a bright screen, we recommend investing in a power bank. It can save you at the most unexpected moment… If you know other ways to extend battery life, share them with us on social media, we'd love to know! Or maybe you use the ones we've listed above? Let us know! 🙂
