How to extend & boost your phone’s battery

Aside from camera quality, battery power is one of the most important things to consider when buying a new phone. Smartphones are capable of so many things, from paying for shopping all the way through to full time work, but getting your smartphone to balance a multitude of applications such as games, social media and emails, can really have an effect on its battery life. Naturally, phone manufacturers have created phones with higher resolution for a more seamless experience - yet this can also affect the battery life of your handset.

With features like fast charging, you can quickly get back to using your device as soon as possible. However this doesn’t really solve the issue of fast draining batteries and low battery life. Fortunately, we’re here to help you prolong your phone’s battery life with some useful tips and tricks! 

Find the main source of battery usage

Going to the battery settings within your phone can help you see which apps are consuming the most battery power. This way, you can determine whether you need to delete those apps or limit their permissions. 

Apps that use the most battery often require background usage to keep you on top of alerts. Simply adjusting these settings can make all the difference in extending your smartphone’s battery life.

Stop background apps

Apps such as WhatsApp, Gmail and Messenger are some of many that work in the background. Aside from checking what apps you currently have running (and making sure to shut down any that aren’t in use), go into your battery or app settings to see which apps are running in the background.

Make sure you only close apps you don’t intend on opening a few moments later. It actually drains battery life to relaunch apps!

Turn off location services

Whilst it’s extremely useful to have location services on to access Maps or know the weather, how often do you really use these functions? By having location services on, your phone will constantly be monitoring your exact whereabouts - which is incredibly battery draining.

Simply toggle Location Services off in your settings and watch how much battery life you’ll save!

Turn down your brightness

It might be tempting to leave your phone in an “Always On” display state, but having your phone on constantly is just asking for your battery life to drain.

If you really must be aware of the date and time quickly, you’ll be pleased to know that most recent Android phones have Glance view - a feature that allows you to see the date, time and any app notifications whilst using minimal battery.

You can go into your Glance settings through the Display folder within your settings app.

Turn off adaptive brightness

Adaptive brightness, whilst a useful feature, can wreak havoc on your phone’s battery life. It’s an intuitive feature that adjusts the phone's brightness depending on whether you’re inside or outside.

To avoid this, simply turn it off in your settings and manually change your brightness as and when you need to. Just remember to change it back to its original brightness settings when you’re done using it on full power!

Reduce time to switch to screensaver

Your phone will go back to its screensaver (black screen or otherwise), when you aren’t using it. This is usually done after a predetermined amount of time.

It’s possible to go into your Display settings and set the time shorter so that your screen switches to its screensaver faster. The benefit of this is that your phone won’t be using its battery to power on a screen for so long and will save some juice!

Reduce screen resolution

Flagship Samsung phones are now typically in Quad-HD+, and whilst it makes your phone’s display aesthetically pleasing, it can be a real battery drainer.

Fortunately, Samsung phones allow you to switch your screen resolution down to Full-HD+ or even HD+ to save you some battery life. To do this, check your screen resolution settings on a Samsung phone by going to Settings > Display > Screen resolution.

Enable dark mode

Dark mode not only makes your apps and browsers easier on the eyes, but they’re also easier on your phone’s battery! Less power is needed to make your pixels white, meaning your phone, naturally, conserves battery.

Reduce volume

Phones that are set on high volume for calls, alerts and streaming are naturally going to use more battery power. Ask yourself - do you really need your phone on such a high volume?

Simply go on your Sound settings and adjust the sliders to lower volumes (or mute them entirely if you don’t need them).

Avoid fast charging

Fast charging makes your phone generate more heat, which in turn damages your phone’s battery in the long run. There are various theories about how charging it from 0% to 100% really fast actually reduces the longevity of your battery’s lifespan. 

Turn off vibrations

Let’s say you really do need a loud alert or ringtone, why make your phone vibrate too? Haptic feedback (vibrations when you receive calls and alerts) can seriously drain your battery, especially if you’re quite popular!

It’s easy to disable Touch and ringing vibration in your Sound settings.

Turn off Wi-Fi, Cellular and NFC when not in use

Keeping your Wi-Fi or cellular mobile data on makes your phone constantly search for signal when there is none. This can make your phone’s battery drain fast.

In an area with no signal? You can either turn your Wi-Fi or data off, or simply pop your phone on Aeroplane mode until you’re in an area with good connectivity. Speaking of Aeroplane mode...

Put your phone in Aeroplane mode

Not using your phone at all? Maybe you keep it in another room or in your bag whilst you’re working on something. If you’re not expecting any calls or alerts, why not put your phone on aeroplane mode? You’ll notice a massive difference in battery levels if you were to keep it on full signal.

Keeping your phone on aeroplane mode is especially useful if you need battery life later in the day e.g. on your commute home or to get directions.

Turn off notifications

Virtually every app you install is capable of sending you some form of notification. Think Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels, but you’ll also get them from gaming apps, schedulers, budget calculators and more!

It’s very easy to turn off the notifications you don’t need. Simply go into Settings - Apps & notifications and go on the required apps to turn off their notifications.

Disable Siri and Google Assistant

Siri and Google Assistant are fantastic AI software that allow you to find help or information on something hands-free. But did you know these apps can constantly listen out for instructions, even when you’re not giving them any?

Your best bet is to turn off its “always on” function to conserve mobile battery life. You can do this by disabling Siri or Google Assistant in your settings. You’ll still be able to access them manually by holding down the home button on your phone.

Update your apps

Apps are constantly updating and offer useful fixes to existing bugs picked up by users and developers. By updating your apps, you ensure they’re up to date. These fixes could include fixing areas of application programming that drain your battery.

Set your phone to update apps “On Wi-Fi only” so that your phone keeps its apps up to date.

Use battery saving modes

The vast majority of new Smartphones come with battery saving functionalities.This may be in the form of the phrases “Optimised”, “Battery Saver”, “Medium Power Saving” or “Maximum Power Saving”.

Whilst your phone is in these battery saving modes, it will stop certain processes from running in the background - such as notifications. It can also reduce your screen’s battery and remove on-screen animations (which are noticeable when you switch between apps). 

Maximum power saving modes are capable of turning off virtually most convenient functions like signal, alerts and only gives you a handful of basic apps to use (you’ll know you’ve entered maximum power saving mode when you have a black background!).

Change emails from push to fetch

By keeping your emails in a “push” state, you’re asking for your emails app to constantly be on the lookout for new emails. These get pushed through immediately to your apps (and notifications if they’re on).

By enabling fetch instead, your mobile will only check for new messages at certain intervals of time (or when you open your email app). There is still a fair amount of debate as to whether this truly saves battery life, however if you do have a fair amount of emails that come through, then changing your settings to Fetch means less notifications and alerts which are both battery draining,

If your phone’s battery is reaching its limit, then it may be time for a new phone. Why not purchase a refurbished phone through the musicMagpie Store at a fantastic price? Don’t forget - you can spread the cost by paying in 3 with Klarna!