Four out of ten Android users ask questions or raise complaints about poor battery life in Android phones. It has improved over time, but poor battery life is still one of the most complained about issues with Android phones, and nearly everyone is looking for ways to make their charge last longer. One of the main reasons for poor battery life is applications running in the background. Some Android applications are poorly programmed to run in the background and prevent the mobile CPU from going to sleep even after locking your mobile. Most of the Android mobiles have higher display resolution, brightness, and contrast; which also uses a lot of battery power. Many higher end Android mobiles also have chipsets that use high frequency and chew up a lot of battery. It’s necessary to understand what drains your Android battery before you can take steps to make your Android charge last longer. You can gain a lot of insight by going to Settings –> About Phone –> Battery –> Battery Use. Must Read: Android Phones – Every Android Users Must Know About Here are the 13 easiest ways to save your battery life:
1. Apps Running Amok
Applications running in the background are battery killers. Make sure you exit an application by pressing the Exit button (X in the top right corner) or Back button, and not the Home button. Pressing the Home button will leave the recently opened application to run in the background, where it sucks on battery juice. Don’t install apps that use the battery inefficiently. Stop the applications that run in the background even after you thought you closed them. Visit Settings –> Applications –> Running Services –> Click the application –> Stop the application. You may need to force close certain apps to save battery life. Or better yet, uninstall them. Ensure that you keep your apps updated. An update can fix the bug or issue that is causing the app to use more battery than what should be necessary. Turn off app notifications. Do you need a reminder that you haven’t played your game in a while? Apps don’t necessarily do more harm to the battery than good. Take Greenify for instance. Greenify is not a task killer. Instead, it puts battery-leaching apps to sleep without totally disabling them. Greenify used to work only on rooted devices, but recently the developers made its Auto Hibernation functions completely accessible to unrooted phones.
2. Avoid Overheating
Excessive battery consumption and overheating are interrelated, and it’s difficult to tell which one is causing the other. And if you truly have a faulty battery, replacement may be the only thing that prevents both of these issues. However, that’s not to say that there is nothing that you can do. If you live in a warmer climate, try to avoid keeping your phone in temperatures warmer than 95 degrees, especially for extended periods of time. Don’t use your phone while it is still charging. Take off the case if your phone seems hot. Heaving gaming can be hard on the battery and can cause overheating. Take it easy for awhile if your phone gets too warm. Try performing a factory reset if nothing else works. And if you still have your warranty or a replaceable battery, see about getting a new one.
3. Make Wise Wallpaper Decisions
Live wallpapers run in the background every time you unlock your mobile. They can be gorgeous, but if you need to save your battery, consider compromising by not using animated wallpapers. Avoid applications with animated wallpapers as well. You can also go to Settings –> Display –> Wallpapers –> Disable Animation/live wallpaper. If your phone has an AMOLED screen, using black or darker wallpaper can reduce consumption of battery surprisingly well. One test posted on the XDA website showed battery life gain of about three hours. You can also switch to more AMOLED-friendly apps, such as Sync for Reddit. The darker wallpaper theory does not seem to apply to phones with LCD screens, because of how light fiters through the screen. If you have an LDC screen, look for alternative methods on how to increase the battery life for Android phones. Download: Sync for Reddit
4. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS
Use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS only when it is required. Adjust this by going to Settings –> Wireless and Networks –> Wi-Fi settings. For Bluetooth, visit Bluetooth Settings. While GPS in and of itself is primarily about the reception of information, it typically relies on using a lot of data. Control GPS by going to Settings –> Location and Security –> Use GPS satellites. You can disable battery killers in seconds using these shortcuts. While you are at it, go ahead and disable apps like Smart Network Switch. Also, try switching to 3G. Some phones allow you to set a Do Not Disturb or Sleep schedule that lets you specify times when you don’t need Wi-Fi or mobile data, and disables them for you. Go to Settings –> Device –> Sound to select Do Not Disturb.
5. Reduce Screen Timeout
Have you noticed your Android automatically dimming and turning the screen off after a certain amount of time? The screen brightness adjustments are referred to as screen timeout, and while it can be extremely annoying when you are in the middle of doing something on your phone, it also is incredibly useful when reducing unnecessary resources. After all, your phone screen doesn’t need to be on for another 10 minutes after you put it away. On Android Marshmallow, there’s a new feature called Doze, and you don’t even have to do anything to activate it except keep your phone still. On other versions of Android, try going to Settings->Display and choosing Sleep or Screen Timeout.
6. Screen brightness
Most battery power is used to light the display. It is important to use only the brightness necessary to save battery life. Do not compromise readability, of course. Having your Android screen too dim will add strain to your eyes. To adjust the display brightness setting, go to Settings –> Display Settings –> Brightness –> Select manually / enable Automatic brightness.
7. Widgets
These days, there are lots of widgets available in the Android market. Most of the widgets are a live feed, which constantly runs in the background and kill battery life on Androids. Remove live feed widgets unless you just have to have them. Select your Widget –> Press and hold –> delete.
8. Disable Auto-Sync
If Auto sync is ON, mobile usage peaks when your app connects to mobile data to get the latest information. This data connection automatically start syncing your accounts which will kill your battery life. Go to Settings –> Accounts and Sync Settings –> Disable Auto-sync.
9. Disable Background Data
Background data gives permission to an app to use the mobile data and run in the background. For example, Hangouts will use the mobile data if the background data is enabled and it will show you as being online. This type of battery use behind the scenes will kill your battery life. To put a stop to it, go to Settings –> Accounts and Sync Settings –> Disable Background Data. Download: ShutApp – Real Battery Saver
10. Automatic Updates
Disabling automatic updates will ensure that the update of an application does not happen in the background. You can also specify the conditions, such as automatic updates only taking place when the phone connects to Wi-Fi. This small activity is a simple way to increase the battery life of Android phones. Go to Google Play store –> Select the app –> Uncheck the automatic update.
11. Disable OK Google
Google Now is lumped in with Google Services when reporting battery usage, but you could see a dramatic decline in the percentage Google Services uses after disabling the Google Now app only. It keeps your phone always listening, always ready for your command. While it might seem nice to have technology with this kind of attitude, there is a price you pay for it in battery life. Go to Google Now screen by swiping left or pressing and holding your Home button on some devices. Tap the Menu icon (three lines) in the upper left corner. Choose Settings –> Voice –> OK Google Detection. Disable From the Google App is setting. You can also select other options to disable, such as From Any Screen or Personal Results.
12. Use Power Saving Mode
This will limit CPU speeds, turn off the lights, and shorten the display timeout, among other things. It can be somewhat of a tradeoff—user experience for extended battery life. When the choice is your phone dying or remaining on in a limited state, this option doesn’t seem too bad. In that case, use the following tips to extend smartphone battery life. It can also go by the name Battery Saving Mode as well as other variations. Choose Settings –> Battery or tap the battery icon in your Quick Settings. Some Androids will allow setup to turn on the mode automatically if the phone reaches a certain battery percentage level you define.
13. Turn Off Vibrations and Haptic Feedback
Having the phone vibrate for every notification is taxing to your battery. It makes every phone call a chore as well. There’s a tiny little motor in your phone that makes this vibration possible, and motors tend to need to use more power than other components. If you need reassurance that you are indeed still typing on your Android keyboard, rather than using haptic feedback, visually inspect every minute or so. Select Settings –> Sound and Notification or and uncheck Vibrate When Ringing. Your next stop is Other Sounds or Language and Input. Disable Haptic Feedback and Vibrate when Tapped. It is possible to configure whether you want specific apps to vibrate, so you can still use the feature on apps that are important to you. Some phones will let you toggle the notification reminder to OFF in the Accessibility setting.
Conclusion
As you know, battery life is very important to use your phone to the fullest. Above are 13 simple ways that can save you hours and hours of battery life. As you can see, these steps aren’t technical and are just general guiding principles that anyone could follow in their day to day life. The relationship between maximizing your battery is inverse to your power consumption, but hopefully, there are enough methods here that will give you some say in what you can and can’t do without. Do you know of other ways to save Android battery life? Let us know in comments. Featured Image Credit
