Device manufacturers, operating system developers and processor makers have continuously found means of reducing power consumption. Even in this era of power-banks, the diverse range of capabilities newly produced devices come with always drain the battery. It is also important to note that some applications consume more power than others. In Uganda today, most smartphone users have had to download and use VPNs on their devices which tend to consume a lot of power, draining the phone’s battery. On average, smartphone users have to charge their phones at least once in one or two days in order to keep their phones active.
As we wait for innovations that will have devices requiring charging from only “once a week” to “once a month”, we have to find ways of conserving our smartphone (and other devices) batteries. Below I go through ten essential tips on how to make your phone battery last longer:
Turn off vibrations: The amount of power required to shake your entire phone whenever your phone rings or a message is received is a lot and at times unnecessary. A simple ringtone tuned to a considerable volume level can get the job done and conserve your battery as well.
Don’t leave apps running in the background: Multitasking is a popular feature people consider when purchasing devices; however, much it comes in handy, letting applications that are currently not in use stay running, will always drain your battery.
Turn off auto brightness and reduce screen timeout time. Most smartphones that are being manufactured today come with the “auto brightness” future turned on, giving your phone the right brightness, it needs depending on the environment in which your phone operates at a given time. This is done to ensure your phone’s screen content remains visible when accessing it both indoor and outdoor. However, this brightness when high consumes a lot of the battery power and needs to be controlled to a specific level and have it adjusted only when you need to. The screen timeout time, on the other hand, is the period your screen remains on when not in use. The least amount of time should be selected in order to minimize power consumption.
Turn off GPS: Most smartphones today (if not all) come with an inbuilt GPS unit that allows your phone to send and receive signals to and from satellites to determine your exact location. The continuous sending and receiving of signals tend to consume lots of power and should be stopped during times it is not required by simply turning off your device’s GPS.
Turn off Bluetooth, WI-FI, and cellular data connection when not in use: The internet once turned on consumes your battery because it continuously keeps some applications active even when not in direct usage by the device owner. Once these applications keep running, they consume unnecessary power which drains your battery.
Use black/dark wallpaper: Black wallpaper can increase battery life because AMOLED screens only illuminate the colored pixels. Black pixels are unlit so the more black pixels your wallpaper has, the less the amount of power required to light them up hence consuming lesser power.
Use the “lite” or “go” versions of applications: Such applications are usually stripped down to only the most essential features which a user needs. Applications coming with unnecessary features will always drain the battery yet these features are not utilized by the user.
Delete widgets you don’t use: Widgets are simple application extensions that are part of a larger application already installed on your device. They help to quicken your access to those larger applications they represent. These widgets tend to consume unnecessary power and should be deleted because a user can always visit the application when they need to access it.
Turn off auto-syncing: Syncing is sharing data between your phone and the applications you use. Automatic syncing allows continuous sharing of data which tends to consume considerable amounts of power which might not be necessary at times.
Turn your phone to power save mode: The power save mode is a feature added to smartphones that turns off most applications, features, sensors and many other elements that consume power leaving only phone operations like reading and receiving messages, making and taking calls, calculators and other basics running. This conserves your battery.
Related:
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