Tips to Extend Smartphone Battery Life

Below, you will find 10 tips to extend smartphone battery life and keep it running at its peak.

1. Set a rigid bedtime – allowing your phone to recharge for a set amount of time every night could be what it takes for your phone to give you the battery life you expect from it. Turning it off at bedtime and plugging it in ensures you and your battery will be fully charged and ready in the morning.

2. Turn off Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi is one of the best features of smartphones today however, it can also be one of the worst battery drainers. When your smart phone is constantly looking for a Wi-Fi hotspot, it can drain the battery during its search. Only turn on Wi-Fi when you are definitely in a hotspot, and need to do something that just doesn’t run well on cellular service such as watch a movie or play a data intensive game.

3. Use less battery draining features and applications – while you can watch movies on your phone, should you do it all of the time? No. Using all of the features your phone has to offer all of the time, equals a drained battery. Try to save watching movies on your phone for a time when there is not another option. Refer to your owner’s manual on how to check which applications may be running in the background (draining your battery) or download an app that can tell you where your battery life is going.

4. Turn off GPS – once again, this feature is really cool, but unnecessary for everyday smartphone use. Like any other app, GPS can be useful when needed, but when it isn’t needed it is just a battery draining feature. Only turn it on when you need it.

5. Don’t use vibrate mode – while vibrate is the polite thing to do when you are in a social situation, the use of this method of notification actually kills your battery power. Try using a silent mode, or turning your phone off when you can, it will keep you from seeming distracted in social situations as well.

6. Turn down your screen brightness – while this feature may seem like it shouldn’t take up too much battery life, it does. Lowering the brightness of your phone’s screen can save you plenty of battery life, see your phone’s owner’s manual for instructions on how to lower the brightness.

7. Lock your screen – while some people lock their phones to keep prying eyes out of their business, it is also a good idea to lock your phone to keep it from doing what it wants in your pocket or purse.

8. Keep it cool – it is said that a warm battery uses more juice trying to cool itself down. Because of this, don’t leave your smart phone under direct sunlight or in any place that is hot. If your battery starts to feel too warm, fan it off or simply turn it off until it is cool to the touch again.

9. Shorten your screen timeout – phones come with most settings at factory default, you should reset your screen timeout for 1-2 minutes after you have not done anything on the phone to save battery life. See your owner’s manual for instructions.

10. Invest in an extra battery – if all else fails, you could always get an extra battery for those days when one won’t do. Just make sure to keep it cool and charged.