How to Maximize Your Phone’s Battery Life

In this digital world, few things are more annoying than the “Low Battery” warning that pops up on phone screens. While the capacity of phone batteries keeps improving, power-hungry features like a vivid OLED display and high-speed internet connectivity may drain them quicker than you can imagine.

With some easy adjustments and tips, you can dramatically extend your device’s battery life. Read this article deligently to become a battery optimization expert and keep your smartphone running from sunup to sundown.

Optimal Charging Is Key for Battery Longevity

How you charge your phone has a significant impact on its long-term battery health. Lithium-ion batteries degrade faster from exposure to sustained high voltages, high temperatures, and many rounds of 100% charge. Below are important tips to consider:

i. Don’t charge phones overnight

Many of us simply plug in our phones when we go to bed and leave them juicing all night. However, leaving your phone continuously plugged in at 100% charge stresses the battery and weakens it. Take note of this and unplug your phone whenever it hits full.

ii. Charge to 80% more often than 100%

Similarly, charging your phone’s battery fully to 100% capacity puts more strain on its lifespan compared to partial charging. If you don’t need the full power boost, charge only to 80%.

iii. Discharge to 20% instead of 0%

On the flip side, fully discharging your battery to 0% also damages its long-term charging capacity. Try to plug it in once it hits 20% rather than running till empty.

iv. Slow charging is battery-friendly

Fast charging delivers a quicker boost when you need it but generates more internal heat, which slowly degrades batteries. Slow, lower-wattage charging overnight is best for battery health.

v. Keep it cool

Heat also affects the longevity of batteries; it is a major enemy of lithium-ion batteries. Keep your phone cool while charging, and avoid using it when plugged into a power source. Also, avoid leaving it charging in hot areas, like direct sunlight.

Optimize Display and Connectivity Settings

The vivid OLED display and wireless connectivity we leave on at all times also weaken our batteries. You are supposed to make sure that the settings on your phone are optimized to sip power instead of guzzling it. Below are important tips to follow:

Dim and adapt your display

Screen brightness is one of the biggest battery consumers. You can turn it down manually, enable auto-brightness, and shorten the display timeout delay. Your battery will last longer if you apply these settings.

Suspend unused wireless connections

Bluetooth and WiFi drain power when turned on while not in use. You should quickly disable them when they are not needed to give your phone’s battery a break. If you adhere to this instruction, your battery won’t keep running down after each charge.

Only enable location when required

Location services gain access to GPS and WiFi/Bluetooth scanning to pinpoint your coordinates. Only enable this service for apps that actively use your location.

Embrace dark mode’s battery-saving capabilities

For phones with OLED displays, dark mode slashes power consumption by turning off white pixels. You might think that such a setting is insignificant until you try it and see how dramatically it extends your phone’s battery life.

Turn off battery-draining background activities

Apps running in the background, updating content, saving files, and listening for your microphone chew through your battery even while idle. Turn off apps that you aren’t using at the moment by going to the application settings on your smartphone and force-stopping them.

When such apps are turned off, their accompanying software will stop running battery-guzzling background activities on your phone. Some other tips to take note of include:

Selectively disable background refresh

Go to settings and turn off background data refresh and auto-updates for apps you don’t use often. Activating such settings will surely extend your phone’s battery life, but it will also require you to manually update your apps when they become outdated.

Ax Active listening

Features like Siri and Google Assistant constantly listen to voice commands from users. You can ax this sneaky battery drainer if you don’t need it urgently. Your battery will thank you for taking such action.

Leverage built-in battery-saving modes

Enable your phone’s built-in smart power feature to automatically restrict battery drain. This software program activates all the healthy battery-saving features on your smartphone to make sure that your phone’s battery lasts longer. Some other settings related to this method include:

Use low-power or battery saver

These modes reduce performance and background activity to extend battery life. Enable them anytime, or schedule automatic activation when power is low.

Try Ultra Power Saving modes

Some selected Android devices offer an extreme Ultra Power Saving mode to salvage every bit of current that can be used for other important functionalities. It disables all but the most basic functions to keep your phone running for a longer period of time.

Not everybody may be comfortable with this setting because it restricts users from exploring the full potential of their smartphones.

Utilize airplane mode

Need to salvage your phone’s battery life urgently? Activate airplane mode to completely suspend all power-hungry wireless connectivity at a touch. You are to remember that when your phone is in airplane mode, you can either make calls, browse the internet, or send text messages.

Also Read: The Ultimate Nothing Phone 2 Review

Some healthy usage habits for battery efficiency

Even simple changes in how you use your phone can have a big impact on its battery efficiency. Below are some of the healthy habits you can adopt to extend the life of your phone’s battery.

Take occasional power breaks

Gaming and extended internet surfing tax your battery. Give your phone an occasional rest during heavy usage to cool down.

Talk with headsets

Holding your phone to your face during long calls generates heat, which isn’t good for your battery. Use a headset or speakerphone instead.

Turn off the vibration for notifications

No doubt, notification buzzes feel nice, but the vibration motor subtly works your battery and consumes extra energy. Go to your phone’s notification settings and turn off this feature.

Shut down completely when not needed

Don’t just turn off the screen of your device when it’s not needed for a long period of time; instead, power it down to maximize your battery. You can turn off your phone at night before going to bed or while working in an organization where the use of phones is prohibited.

Keeping Your Phone’s Battery In Peak Health

Your phone’s battery is not as difficult to maintain as you think. Good maintenance keeps your battery in top shape and sustains maximum charging capacity. Following the guidelines and tips in this section will guarantee a longer life for your phone’s battery.

Avoid temperature extremes

Storing or using your phone in very cold or hot conditions can degrade the battery. Only use and keep your phones in environments where the temperature is normal.

Replace aging batteries   

Most phone batteries steadily lose capacity after 2-3 years. Swap in a new one occasionally to keep your phone running like new. You can consult a phone technician to help you fix a new battery if you find it difficult, especially for those using phones with in-built batteries.

Only use manufacturer chargers

Third-party power adapters and cables often don’t meet the manufacturer’s specifications. Use only first-party options for optimal safety and performance. 

New adapters and cables can be ordered directly from the manufacturer if finding them on the market proves difficult.

Check charging ports for debris

Carefully clean out any lint or dust buildup in your phone’s charging port so the cable makes solid contact. Without making solid contact, your phone’s battery might not charge as required.

Review storage guidelines

Check your manufacturer’s instructions on optimal temperature ranges if you decide to store your phone long-term or leave it unused for extended periods.

Resolving Declining Phone’s Battery Life

If your phone’s battery seems to drain faster than before, methodically try these steps:

1. First, optimize all settings

Double-check your charging routine, display settings, background app restrictions, and usage habits. Make sure you are fully adhering to the optimization guidelines as stated above.

2. Check battery health statistics

Many manufacturers provide the phone’s battery health data, like maximum capacity or cycle counts. Review this for signs of degradation and decide if the battery needs replacement.

3. Perform a software update

Installing the latest OS version can sometimes resolve battery life bugs. Ensure your phone is 100% up-to-date at all times.

4. Do a factory reset

Back up your device and reset it to factory settings. This eliminates any misbehaving apps or processes that impair your phone’s battery efficiency.

5. Contact support

If your phone’s battery is still not getting better, kindly contact the manufacturer and make a complaint about the issue. They will take it from there and make sure you get the best solution for your problem.

Additional Battery Life Tips for Different Phone Brands

While most battery life tips apply across all smartphones, some platforms have unique features to optimize battery performance. We will be looking at a few of them here.

Customize battery usage alerts on iPhones

Under battery settings on your iPhone, you can configure low battery warnings for different percentage levels depending on your needs. This helps ensure you get alerts with ample time to charge up.

You can also enable Battery Health Management on newer iPhones. This monitors your charging routine and makes adjustments to optimize long-term battery conditions.

Finally, use Optimized Battery Charging to have your iPhone learn routines and delay fully charging to 100% until needed to reduce wear.

Manage app power usage on Android devices

Under Battery Usage in Android Settings, you can see the biggest battery-draining apps. Tap the menu icon by each app to customize its specific power usage, restrict background activity, and more.

You can either stop or freeze unused apps, so they rarely run in the background. Also, enable Adaptive Battery to automatically optimize app activity based on your usage.

Check battery care settings on Samsung phones

Samsung Galaxy phones include specialized battery and device care options in their settings. Here, you can enable an optimized charging routine, identify power-draining apps, and put unused apps to sleep.

There’s also an “Optimize Now” function that tweaks settings for improved current battery life based on your usage. Use it whenever you need extra runtime.

Signs You Need a Battery Replacement

With lithium-ion batteries’ limited lifespan, replacement is sometimes needed after 1–3 years of use. The signs listed below are strong indicators that your phone’s battery needs a swap.

• The phone’s battery percentage drops very quickly
• The phone dies after only a few hours of use
• Usage time is cut dramatically compared to when new
• The phone shuts down randomly, even with a charged battery
• The battery feels hot or the phone overheats
• Physical swelling or puffing of the battery
• Trouble charging fully unless the phone is powered off

Replacement batteries don’t cost much, and many phone repair shops can handle the swap. Some locations may also recycle old batteries after swapping them with new ones.

Conclusion

Following the tips dished out in this article will certainly maximize any phone’s battery lifespan, although every battery’s gradual degradation is inevitable. When your phone’s battery has gone beyond saving, simply replace it, and your phone will keep on ticking like new.

By being smart about charging, settings, usage, and maintenance, you can keep your phone battery in peak health for years. We would like to know if this article was useful to you so we can publish more of them; simply drop us a comment.