We’ve all been there: your cell phone battery is at 1%, and you’re nowhere near a charger. If only you’d known how to extend the battery life of our smartphones.
So in case you find yourself in this situation again, here are nine easy ways to make your smartphone battery last longer.
1. Adjust Your Battery Life Settings
One of the easiest ways to extend the battery life of your cell phone is to adjust your settings. Some settings you may consider adjusting to improve battery life include:
- Screen brightness: Making your screen less bright can save lots of battery power
- Automatic brightness: You’ll use less power if you allow your phone to adjust the screen’s brightness automatically in different light conditions
- Auto-lock settings: If your phone automatically locks more quickly, it will turn its screen off sooner, which results in battery savings
- Turn off always-on display: Extend battery life by getting rid of lock screen features like clocks and weather apps
To access these options on most Apple iPhones:
- Swipe left to access the app library
- Scroll down to “Settings”
- Tap to open “Settings”
- Scroll down to “Display and Brightness”
- Tap to open the “Display & Brightness” menu
To access these options on most Android phones:
- Swipe up on the screen to open the app list
- Scroll down to “Settings”
- Tap on “Settings”
- Select “Display”
2. Activate Low-Power Mode
If you’re very close to running out of battery, activating low-power mode will help your battery last a little bit longer. This mode extends your battery life by turning off or limiting features like background app refreshes, reduces the time it takes to automatically lock the screen, lowers screen brightness, and more.
On Apple devices, you can turn on this feature by going to:
- “Settings”
- “Battery”
- “Low Power Mode”
On most Android phones you get to settings by:
- “Settings”
- “Battery”
- “Power saving”
3. Turn Off Non-Essential Features
Notifications, location services, and other cell phone features can all drain your battery life quickly. To avoid this, turn off any non-essential features that you don’t need to use at the moment. This could include things like:
- Haptic feedback (the feature that causes your phone to buzz or vibrate when you press the virtual buttons)
- Wi-Fi scanning that constantly searches for a Wi-Fi network to connect to
- Mobile data use that downloads information through your cell network
4. Avoid Intensive Apps
If you’re trying to extend the battery life of your cell phone, make sure to avoid intensive apps that require more battery power than others. Things like games or streaming services tend to drain a lot of battery power quickly. Consider not using these apps as much if you need to get a bit more life out of your battery.
5. Use the Right Charger & Cable
Depending on the type of cell phone you have, you may need to use a specific type of charger or charging cable to get the best charging results. Check your owner’s manual to make sure you’re using a quality charger and cord compatible with your cell phone model.
Using the right charging equipment also ensures that your phone charges as fast as possible, which is another way to fight battery drain.
Overcharging used to damage cell phones and hurt battery life. But the good news is that modern cell phones will automatically stop charging when they reach 100% if you’re using the right charger.
However, if you leave your phone on the charger for a long time, it will slowly lose power, and then charging cycle will start over again. This also results in increased heat, which can affect long-term battery performance.
6. Disable Push Notifications
Push notifications can quickly drain cell phone batteries by constantly checking for new messages or alerts in the background. So to conserve energy, turn off push notifications and check for messages manually to squeeze out additional battery life.
7. Don’t Close Background Apps
You may have heard that closing apps that are “running” in the background can improve your battery life. However, according to the University of Pittsburgh, this is a myth. They compare it to turning off your car every time you stop at a stop sign. This means it will actually take more power to reopen the app from scratch than if you leave it running in the background.
8. Avoid Extreme Temperatures
Avoid exposing your phone to extreme temperatures. For example, don’t leave your phone in the car if the weather is hot, or overnight in freezing temperatures.
9. Invest in a Quality Case
A quality cell phone case can go a long way in keeping your battery life up by protecting it from temperature changes and other external factors. Look for cases that will keep your cell phone batteries cool and your phone safe during use.
Max Out Your Cell Phone Battery Life
By following these tips, you can extend the battery life of your cell phone and get the most out of it. Taking just a few minutes to adjust settings, turn off non-essential features, and invest in a quality case can go a long way in preserving your cell phone battery.
So next time you’re running low on power, make sure to use these helpful tips to get the most out of your cell phone battery.
