We’ve all felt that pang of anxiety when we’ve seen the battery icon on our cell phone turn red. With today’s interconnected world and advances in technology, if your cell phone doesn’t turn off, it’s synonymous with being cut off from communication and without a wallet.
Fortunately, this doesn’t mean you have to buy the latest generation phone and spend money on “magical” accessories. Although we can buy a Power Bank to charge it while we’re away from home and without a plug in sight, it’s possible to extend the charge of our device by modifying its internal functions. Below, we’ve analyzed and verified the most effective tips for optimizing the life of a full charge.
Most voracious battery life drainer: the screen
The screen is the component of our cell phone that consumes the most energy, so any adjustment to it will have an immediate impact. This is why many people choose to use dark mode in all possible applications.
It’s not about fashion or aesthetics, but about maximizing battery savings, especially if your smartphone has an OLED or AMOLED screen. This type of technology displays a completely off pixel every time it has to show the color black. By using dark mode, your phone stops powering millions of tiny lights, which leads to significant energy savings.
Another trick is to modify the fluidity. Many modern phones boast a high refresh rate—90 Hz or 120 Hz—which makes all animations and videos look incredibly smooth. However, this fluidity requires the processor and screen to work twice as hard, which drains our phone’s battery. If you have this type of phone and you are going to be away from home for a long time that day, we recommend that you set the refresh rate to 60Hz. The transitions will be less smooth and a little jerky, but the battery savings will be noticeable and you will still be able to use your phone perfectly well.
Screen timeout
Unless you have trouble reading, we recommend that you stop using maximum screen brightness, even indoors. To do this, you can use automatic adaptive brightness, which adjusts your phone to the light level in your environment. This is much more efficient and you won’t have to keep adjusting the brightness yourself. Another useful setting is the screen timeout. Instead of leaving it for several minutes, reduce it to just 15 or 30 seconds so that the screen turns off quickly when you stop using the device.
This is an element that consumes a lot of energy, even when the connectivity sensors are inactive. Wireless connections such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC are constantly listening, in case you need them. When you know you’re not going to use them, it’s best to turn them off in the quick settings menu.
One of the biggest battery drainers on your phone is GPS, which many apps use without you even realizing it. To prevent this, configure your apps’ location permissions to use the “Only while using the app” option instead of “Always.” This prevents a weather app or social network from continuously tracking your location in the background.
Strategic Airplane Mode
You’ve probably noticed that your phone battery drains much faster when you’re in a basement or in the middle of a rural road. It’s not your imagination; it happens because your phone uses a lot of energy trying to find and hold onto any weak mobile signal. In case of poor coverage, it’s best to activate Airplane Mode. If you know you’re not expecting any calls and the mobile signal is too weak, this airplane mode will save a huge amount of battery power, and you can still stay connected to Wi-Fi if available.
No, notifications that make your phone vibrate also require a significant amount of energy to activate the motor. If you want to save battery life on your phone and stop being so distracted by notifications from your group chat, we recommend turning off keyboard vibration sounds. These are small but constant savings that will allow you to reach the end of the day with your battery still slightly full.