9 Tips for Maximising Your Smartphone's Battery Life

Technology has allowed us to connect with friends and family, using devices such as mobile phones, laptops, iPads, tablets, etc.

It has given humans the ability to interact, connect, learn and socialize. Because we use social media apps, watch videos, make calls, and visit several websites daily, it reduces the battery life of our devices.

To learn how to best optimise and maximise your device's battery life, here are 9 tips to help you.

1. Reduce your Phone's Screen Brightness

Your phone brightness would affect your battery life and would reduce its functionality. You must reduce your brightness on whatsoever mobile device that you use.

For users of Android devices, such as a Samsung Galaxy, you can do so by swiping down at the top of your screen. Then, you’ll see a ☼ sun icon at the bottom, on the left of a thin bar. Manually lower the brightness of your phone or tablet by dragging your finger along this line.

Remember that there are various Android devices and so, the aforementioned can vary in devices. It may be somewhere different. For other devices, you can use the Options or Settings area.

On an iPhone or iPad, swipe down from the top right corner of your display — or on iPhone 8 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom edge of your display — to access the Control Center, which has a thick brightness bar identified with a ☼ sun icon. To lower the brightness, use your finger to drag the line between light and dark down or to the left, depending on your phone's orientation.

It is important to note that many devices have a sensor which detects ambient light around and they can adjust the screen accordingly, such as brightening the display in a dark room.

Also, many Android devices have a sense of adaptive brightness. These preferences are meant to be learnt. To handle these preferences, tap or search for your Settings > Apps > Device Health Services > Storage > Clear cache.

Then adjust the brightness manually. If your lighting changes and the screen is not what you want, change it again. The phone needs about a week to relearn your lighting preferences.

For an iPhone, enable it by going to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Auto-Brightness. If the toggle switch is green, it's already on.

2. Enable the power-saver mode

For the preservation of your battery life, it is important to enable the battery power-saver mode. You can enable it in Settings, which often turns the screen to black and white, darkens the display and turns off nonessential wireless features.

Devices running low on battery power will sometimes switch to a power-saving mode automatically with about 20 per cent remaining power. You can handle it manually on your phone.

• On an Android phone, go to Settings > Battery and device care > Battery > Power mode. You'll notice the phone will project how much time you have left on your present charge in Battery and, by tapping More battery settings, gives you the option to choose an Adaptive battery option that could extend battery life based on your usage patterns.
• On an iPhone, find the toggle switch under Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode. Clicking the switch to green will put your phone in Low Power Mode immediately.

3. Minimize running tabs

Having multiple tabs can drain your battery life and so, minimizing the running tabs would be of help. Avoid multitasking like listening to music and reading an eBook. Also, engage in fewer tasks like typing notes or browsing the web.

4. Lock your phone

Always lock your smartphone when you aren't using it. Many have a button on the right side. You'll still be able to receive calls and texts, but you won't accidentally turn on the phone when it's in your pocket or purse because you hit a button or the screen. This also prevents embarrassing pocket dials.

5. Update your operating system

On all your devices, remember to download and install all updates to the operating system whenever they are available. Manufacturers are always trying out new ways to improve power management and fix software bugs that could affect battery performance, too.

• On an Android phone, and as a reminder the steps vary by model, go to Settings > System update > Download and install. You may also see a Check for install button. By placing your finger on Download and install, your phone will check for any updates. The option of Last update on the same screen as Download and install tells you not only when your most recent update was installed but also what's new. Most system updates and security upgrades already happen automatically.
• On an iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates to make sure that the toggles for Download iOS Updates and Install iOS Updates are turned on and green. You can also enable a toggle to automatically install Security Responses & System Files.

6. Reduce push notifications

If you can, turn off push services or reduce the frequency with which your smartphone notifies you of new information, such as incoming email, app updates, real-time sports scores or stock quotes. The updates require your phone to check regularly with a company's computers over the internet.

Instead, choose to pull down messages only when you need to. If you still want push mail, at least disable push notifications individually for little-used apps in your smartphone's Settings section:

• On Android phones: Settings > Notifications
• On iPhones: Settings > Notifications

7. Limit location settings

Check your smartphone settings to set certain apps to only be in use with the location setting. This way, those apps would be in use with the location only when you’re using that app, not all the time. Your phone also will be gathering less information on you, and you’ll have more control over when it happens and for your convenience.

8. Store at room temperature

Keep your devices cool and dry. Extreme heat, cold or dampness can prematurely drain your battery and affect its overall longevity and use.

9. Own a power bank

A power bank is very effective and can be used to avoid your device from dying. This way, you don’t need an electric source to plug in, in danger of shutting down.