Now the most widely used permanent technology, smartphones are our primary means of communication, work, and recreation. But one of the most common frustrations for users is battery draining too quickly. If you’re trying to power through a busy day or need your phone to last for a long trip, a quickly draining battery can be a big annoyance. If you’re wondering why the battery on your phone is depleting faster than normal and how to address that, rest assured you’re not alone. Luckily there are a number of things you can do to try and fix battery life to keep your device going that little bit longer. In this article.
First Check Battery Usage and Identify Problematic Apps
If battery drain is your problem, the first thing you need to do is pinpoint what’s causing it. Luckily, most smartphones have an easy way to see battery usage by app.
For Android:
Go to Settings > Battery.
Tap on Battery Usage to view which apps are using the most battery.
For iPhone:
Go to Settings > Battery.
Scroll the list of apps with the corresponding battery used in the past 24 hours or last 7 days.
Solution: If an app appears to be using more battery than expected (particularly in the background), consider:
Used apps closing: Just swipe them away to keep them from running in your background.
Uninstalling or disabling problematic apps: If an app is using an excessive amount of power, you may need to uninstall or replace it.
Hanging apps: Developers often release updates that better use the battery.
Deactivate Automation on your Phone while Driving
The screen of your phone burns a lot of battery power. If you run your phone in a well-lit setting or at a high brightness, it’s sucking power quicker than it needs to be.
Solution:
Dimming: Reduce the brightness of the screen manually or enable auto-brightness, which makes the screen adapt to surrounding light.
Lower screen timeout: Adjust your screen timeout (the time it takes before your screen shuts off) to a smaller time. Instead of 5 minutes set it to 30 seconds or 1 minute.
Turn Off Unnecessary Features
Smartphones are equipped with all kinds of features, and many of these features can draw a significant amount of power when they are powered on all the time. Many of these are not really needed and you can save battery life by turning them off if you don’t use them.
Solution:
Bluetooth: Disable Bluetooth when not in use. This can be done either from the quick settings menu or from Settings > Bluetooth.
Wi-Fi: If you’re not within range of a wireless network, leave Wi-Fi off. Searching for Wi-Fi all the time can suck down your battery.
Location Services: Apps that access GPS or location tracking can drain your battery considerably. Disable Location Services or configure apps to access location only when they need it.
On Android: Tap Settings > Location and toggle off or switch to Battery Saving mode.
Apple:
For iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Location Services Disable apps that do not need access to your location.
Vibration:
If you are using a Vibration mode, it consumes more battery power than a simple ringtone. When available, switch to ringtone mode, or turn off vibrations altogether.
Enable Battery Saver Mode
Both Android and iPhone offer a Battery Saver or Low Power Mode that can help stretch their power for a little longer when you’re running low. This mode minimizes background activity and optimizes settings such as screen dimming and automatic downloads.
Solution:
On Android: Open Settings > Battery and toggle on Battery Saver.
Low Power Mode for iPhone: Setting > Battery > Turn on Low Power Mode
These modes can help stretch your phone’s battery when you need it the most.
Update Your Phone’s Software
Buggy or poorly optimized power management in older software can also be responsible for battery drain. Also, keeping your phones at software on its latest version ensures you receive all the latest improvements, optimizations, and security patches.
Solution:
For Android, tap Settings > Software Update to download and install any available updates.
On iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Software Update to download latest iOS.
Turn Off Push Notifications
Push notifications are constantly pulling data from the web, and the more apps that send you notifications, the more power they drain from your battery. This is useful but should be limited.
Solution:
Block notifications: Turn off non-essential notifications for apps doing social media, games, news apps, etc.
On Android: Settings > Apps > App name > Notifications and remove unnecessary notifications.
For iPhone: Tap Settings > Notifications and change who can send you alerts.
Don’t Overcharge Your Battery
Topping your phone off at 100% or letting it dip below 20% on the regular can make its long-term battery life shorter. In terms of charge, keeping it between 20-80% is the key for battery health.
Solution:
Skip overnight charging — If you can, don’t leave your phone charging overnight. It can lead to overheating of the battery over time, damaging it.
Unplug at 100%: Try to unplug your phone when it is fully charged at 100% to avoid over-charge.
Factory Reset (Last Resort)
If the fast battery drain issue persists despite trying the above steps, then there can be underlying software issues or corrupted files. A factory reset usually helps eliminate pesky issues, but you need to back up your data first.
Solution:
On Android: Settings > System > Reset > Factory Data Reset.
For iPhone: Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.
A factory reset returns your phone to its factory state, and it can resolve any software-related battery problems.
Investigate Battery Health and Replacement
In some cases, it may not be specific to the software but related to the battery itself. Batteries deteriorate over time with a diminished ability to accept a charge.
Solution:
On iPhone: Settings > Battery > Battery Health. If your maximum capacity is low (less than 80%) you may need to replace the battery.
For Android: Some phones running Android have a built-in battery health checker, while others require third-party apps like Accurate Battery to track battery health.
If your phone’s battery has reached the end of its life and it’s no longer holding a charge like it used to, you may find that replacing the battery is your best option.
In Conclusion
While a battery that depletes quickly is extremely frustrating, there are several steps you can take to greatly extend the life of your smartphone’s battery. There are many simple steps you can take, from optimizing settings like screen brightness and notifications to keeping your software up to date. If none of these works, you may need to replace the battery or reset your phone.
In this way, by following good battery habits, you’ll make sure that your smartphone stays charged and under ways most whenever you need it.
