Battery going low or dead is the nightmare of nearly all phone users. Some Symbian phones have been known to work for days without you needing to charge the batteries, but Smartphones (Androids, Windows and iOS) have a huge appetite for battery ‘juice’. Come to think of it, although the Curiosity Rover presently on Planet Mars has a battery that weighs about 5kg, it can power the rover for a minimum of 14years. Ahah! I guess you would want such a battery for your devices too. Lol. Sorry to burst your bubbles, the scientists in the Smartphone-Club are yet to think of such project. Pending that time, all you need do is to adhere strictly to the following suggestions:
- Avoid leaving your Bluetooth on idly: some phone users are addicted to using their Bluetooth with their hands-free headset and other devices. These have the capability of sapping off the juice in your battery. Every fifteen minutes your Bluetooth is on can take off an hour of battery time (depending on the phone type). It makes lots of sense to use your Bluetooth device sparingly.
- Don’t leave your Wi-Fi on when not in use:
Your Wi-Fi is the elder brother of your Bluetooth. If you check them well, you will notice. Whenever you are done using the Wi-Fi, the best thing to do is to turn it off. This will reduce the juice drain and hotness typical with most smartphones. Only turn it on when you are in need of it. - GPS service is a battery consumer:just like your Bluetooth and WiFi, your phone battery gets seriously consumed when you activate your GPS. Minimize the access you grant apps to your immediate location.
- Always use ‘Auto Brightness’: aside from the negative effects bright screens have on your eyes/sight, keeping your phone screen dim at most times will enhance your battery life.
The ‘auto brightness’ effect automatically adjusts the screens glare to suit the ambient of your immediate location.
- Avoid longer screen timeout: your phone has the capability to keep the screen ‘lit’ for various seconds and minutes after receiving the last input or tap. You can access this function via your phone’s General Settings menu. As the case may be, set your screen timeout to the shortest available time. This will help save your battery life.
- Avoid leaving apps to run in the background:unlike Symbian phones, smartphones can multitask. This multitasking (running multiple applications simultaneously) is a serious battery killer. It’s like a mother trying to breastfeed more than three infants at once. Some apps (and games) are notorious for battery juice sapping. When such apps are running in the background while you do other things you are actually being unjust to your phone battery. If u shut down apps that are not in use, you battery will be happy (figuratively).
- Limit the use of ‘Vibrate’: for a fact, vibration consumes more battery juice than ringtones. You can actually feel this when you hold your phone while it vibrates.
Rather than use vibration at all times, if you wish not to be disturbed it’s advisable to switch off all notifications then keep the phone in view so that you can easily see the blinking light when calls or messages come in. - Embrace Power-Saving modes: all smartphones have power-saving features. As the name implies, these features will help you save you power. QED. There are lots of apps that can help you save power too. Visit your apps store (E.g Google Play Store) and download any Battery-Saver of your choice. Be sure to read appraisals and users comment so as not to pick the wrong ones. For instance, take a look at the image above, at just 32% the power saving feature can prolong that phone’s battery life for over 16hours (standby time).
There are more ways you can extend your battery life. However, these eight tips can be your starting point.
