One benefit bigger smartphones is that there is room for bigger batteries. Battery life isn’t as bad as it used to be, but the worry of running out of power is still common. Most tips on how to save smartphone battery life are outdated or questionable, so we’ve put together some battery saving tips on what works and what doesn’t.
You may also be interested in how to take care of your smartphone battery to ensure it lasts as long as possible and how to replace the battery when the time comes. If you’re looking for ways to keep your phone charged, check out our Best Wireless Chargers, Best Portable Chargers, and Best Apple 3-in-1 Wireless Chargers guides.
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Turn on power saving mode
Smartphones all have some form of low power mode that stops or reduces certain functions, actions and visual effects. These modes are ideal for saving precious battery life when the battery is running low, especially if it will be a while before you can get to the charger.
For iPhones
- to go Settings >: Battery: and connect Low power mode.
- Add it through Control Center Settings >: Control center >: Customize the controls and choose Low power mode.
- It automatically turns off when the battery reaches 80 percent.
For Android phones, the instructions are slightly different depending on the manufacturer. Most Android phones have two power saving modes. The first reduces battery consumption by limiting some activity and visual effects, while the second is more extreme and will stop most notifications and apps from running.
For Google Pixel phones
- to go Settings >: Battery: >: Battery saver and connect Use Battery Saver. You can also find it Quick settings when you pull down the notification shade (if it’s not there, tap the pen icon to edit and add).
- Tap Set a schedule on Battery saver screen to determine when it enters.
- Tap Extreme battery saving to decide when it should run and tap Basic applications to mark any apps you want to exclude.
- It’s also a good idea to turn around Adaptive battery on Settings >: Battery: >: Adaptive preferences.
For Samsung Galaxy phones
- to go Settings >: Battery and device care >: Battery: to find Energy saving mode.
- You can configure what it does Energy saving screen
- Also worth a tap Additional battery settings turn on Adaptive battery.
Decrease screen brightness
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 can also consider automatic adjustment based on the ambient light level.
For iPhones
- to go Settings >: Availability >: Display and text size and make sure Auto-brightness is enabled.
For Android phones
- to go Settings >: Display and make sure Adaptive brightness is enabled. Keep manually moving the slider until it learns your preferences.
Turn off Always On Display and reduce screen timeout
Since the screen is the worst battery drain, it’s also a good idea to reduce how long it’s on. The lowest setting can be annoying, so choose the schedule that suits you.
For iPhones
- to go Settings >: Display and brightness and define Auto-lock to: 30 seconds. Consider switching Always On is disabled.
For Android phones
- to go Settings >: Display and define Screen timeout to: 15 seconds. Consider turning around Screen saver is disabled.
- Get in Settings >: Display >: Lock screen and provide Always show time and information is disabled.
You can also save battery life by turning on dark mode if your smartphone has an OLED (or AMOLED) display, as these panels turn off pixels when displaying black.
Avoid extreme temperatures
If it’s too cold or too hot, your battery will suffer. There’s a lot you can do about it, but try to avoid things like leaving your smartphone on the dash of a car on a sunny day.
Find out what’s draining your battery
If you’ve tweaked all the settings we’ve highlighted so far and still find that your battery isn’t getting you through the day, it’s worth investigating. Smartphones have built-in battery usage charts to show you where your power is going.
For iPhones
- to go Settings >: Battery: and scroll down to see usage charts for the last 24 hours or 10 days.
- If you choose Last 10 days and scroll down you will see a list of apps. You can toggle between battery percentage and activity (which includes screen time and background).
For Android phones
- to go Settings >: Battery: >: Battery usage and scroll down to see the apps and system features that have flown in the last 24 hours. You can also tap on the two-hour blocks in the chart above.
Remove and restrict apps
If your investigation revealed that unused or rarely used apps are draining your battery, it’s time to go through your app list and remove the ones you don’t need.
For iPhones
- to go Settings >: App Store: and connect Download unused apps remove unused apps but keep data, so when you reinstall that app, any saved data will remain intact.
- To manually uninstall apps, go to Settings >: General >: iPhone storageselect an app and tap Download app.
- Back to: Settings and scroll down to find your installed apps. Tap on any app and you can disable or restrict permissions like Location:turn off Background program update prevent them from downloading data in the background when you are not using them and limit Notices.
For Android phones
- to go Settings >: Applications:, and scroll down. Tap Unused apps find apps you haven’t used in three months or more and remove what you don’t need.
- Now let’s go back Settings >: Applications:touch See alland find any app that appears in your battery usage chart as a significant drain.
- Consider switching off Notices for any apps that don’t need them (for example, messaging apps won’t work properly without them, but most games don’t need to send you notifications).
- Restrict Permissions that don’t seem appropriate (for example, turn off Location for apps that don’t track you for business).
- Make sure that Stop the application if it is not in use is enabled.
- You can also stop apps from draining your battery by pulling data in the background when you log out Settings >: Network and Internet >: Data saverand turning it on.
Use Do Not Disturb.
It’s a good idea to schedule regular downtime for your smartphone. Setting notification limit times can help you sleep, focus on work, and take a break from constant demands, with the added benefit of making your battery last longer.
For iPhones
- to go Settings >: Concentrate and the schedule Do not disturb and: Sleep time This includes the option to customize screens, set exclusions so that certain people or apps can still contact you, and even filter what certain apps can show you. You can learn more about using Apple’s Focus Mode here.
For Android phones
- to go Settings >: Notices or Sound and vibrationand tap Do not disturb to set schedules, exceptions, etc.
Connect to Wi-Fi and use airplane mode
When you are in an area or building that does not receive a 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. If possible, connect to a Wi-Fi network and make sure you turn on Wi-Fi calling. (Be sure to follow these steps to stay secure when using public Wi-Fi networks.)
If you’re traveling through a rural area with poor coverage and don’t need to use your smartphone for a while, consider turning on airplane mode to save battery life. Just remember to turn it off again and remember that your phone is off when airplane mode is on.
Kill keyboard sounds and vibrations
Not only are keyboard sounds annoying to anyone nearby while you’re texting, but they also use a bit of power, so why not turn them off? Realistically, turning off keyboard sounds and vibrations will have little impact on battery life unless you’re a frequent typist.
For iPhones
- to go Settings >: Sounds and haptics and connect Lock the sound is disabled.
- Tap Keyboard feedback and connect Sound: is disabled. You might want to consider turning around Haptic off too.
For Android phones
- to go Settings >: Sound and vibration and turn off Screen lock sound and: Tap sounds.
- You may also want to consider switching off Vibration and haptics.
Don’t force close apps
It’s a persistent myth that force-closing apps saves battery life. In fact, if you constantly swipe apps to close them or force close the app menu, you may be draining your battery even more. This is because the apps that appear in your recent list are actually paused in memory, so the next time you open that app, you can pick up where you left off. It takes more power to load them from scratch, so leave them alone.
Do not turn off Bluetooth
Another battery saving tip that comes up a lot is turning off Bluetooth when you’re not using it. But Bluetooth doesn’t seem to drain much, if any, battery life when it’s not connected to a device. Streaming audio over Bluetooth will drain your battery, but even Bluetooth LE (low energy) connections to things (like fitness trackers) use barely any power, and idle drain is negligible.
Don’t turn off Wi-Fi
It’s much the same story for Wi-Fi as it is for Bluetooth. Being on Wi-Fi will have a negligible effect on your battery unless you’re actually connected to a Wi-Fi network. It’s not worth the hassle of turning it on and off. You can also save battery by keeping it on all the time, as it allows your phone to switch from a cellular network, which usually requires more power, to a Wi-Fi network when available.
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