Top 10 Tips to Stop Draining Your Smartphone Battery

Tia Winter | 14 June 2016

For many, it’s difficult to remember what life was like before smartphones were so commonplace. Today, we are able to stay connected to work and social media, surf the net, play games and much more, whenever and wherever we want to.

Considering their diverse and far reaching capabilities, it’s not surprising that smartphones tend to drain their batteries quite quickly. It is hoped that technological developments will improve this, but there are also several easy actions everyone can take to conserve battery energy. 

These top 10 tips will help you avoid draining your battery too quickly and require minimal effort whilst offering maximum results.

1.    Recharge Batteries Correctly

Different types of batteries need to be charged differently, which can considerably affect their lifespan. With the 2 main types of smartphone batteries, the Lithium-ion type should be recharged often, even when not completely depleted. Nickel-based batteries’ capacity depletes with every recharge, so recharging should only be done when they run flat.

2.    Maintain a Cool Temperature

Batteries last longer when they are kept cooler. Avoid excessive heat exposure, such as direct sunlight, and try and keep your smartphone cool at all times. 

3.    Switch Off Smartphones When Not in Use

This needs to be carefully considered, because it may not be worthwhile if your smartphone will only remain unused for a short time. Switching a phone on uses more battery than unlocking it, but if you go for hours without interacting with it, then switching off will save more energy.

4.    Turn Off Vibrations

Vibration notifications use more energy than sound alerts because they are moving the weight of the entire unit. Where possible, disable them or reduce their magnitude.

5.    Shorten Screen Timeout

The screen timeout is the length of time the screen stays lit after you’ve finished using your smartphone. A minimal timeout should extend battery life considerably, so if you’re not in the habit of locking your phone, set the timeout as low as possible.

6.    Dim Smartphone Screens

Dimmer screens consume far less energy than their brighter counterparts. You can enable your phone’s Auto-brightness feature, or set the screen brightness at a permanently lower level to conserve as much battery life as possible.

7.    Disable GPS When Not in Use

When your GPS is active, every application using it saps energy from your phone’s battery. Try to enable GPS for specific functions only, such as when you want to use Google Maps.

8.    Disable Wi-Fi, 3G/4G and Bluetooth

These functions use energy in a similar way to GPS, and are constantly searching for the strongest signal, switching as strengths change. If you don’t need them or you know the signal is poor, it’s better to turn them off.

9.    Minimise Notifications

With constant connectivity, comes constant updates. These updates result in sound, light or vibration alerts that use energy. Prioritise which notifications you want, and turn the rest off to reduce battery drain.

10.    Close Unnecessary Apps

If apps are left open they can consume huge amounts of battery power, so it’s important to close them when you’re finished with them. 

With these top tips you can reduce battery drain and get the most use out of your smartphone between charges.