INCREASE BATTERY LIFE

Mobile Phones these days consume much more battery due to faster processors, louder stereo speakers, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc. But the battery technology hasn’t evolved much over the last few years, which has resulted in poor battery backup in recent phones.

Some smartphones don’t even last one full day. There is some hope though; researchers at Stanford University have created a lithium ion nanowire battery with ten times the energy density. This would result in 10 times more battery life compared to the current batteries. But unfortunately, those batteries are a few year away. Till then for those struggling with poor battery life on phones, here is a guide to extend your battery life to the maximum extent possible.

1. Switch off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Most people do the mistake of not switching off the Wi-Fi / Bluetooth after data transfer or browsing. Wi-Fi along with Bluetooth suck a lot out of your battery, switch it off when it’s not in use.

2. Lower display brightness.

High-end phones have light sensors which automatically adjust the brightness levels. For others, most phones have the option of lowering the brightness of the display, use it and set the brightness to medium. Warning - Don’t lower the brightness too much, it could affect your vision.

3. Lower the back-light time out duration.

Some phones have the option to set time (in seconds) to turn off the display once the phone is idle. Set it according to your convenience, lesser the better.

4. Switch off Vibration alert.

Your phone vibrator is power hungry, using the phone in normal ringing mode saves a lot of battery compared to vibration mode. So use the Vibration alert feature only when necessary.

5. Do not drain your Li-ion battery completely.

If your phone is equipped with a Li-ion battery, make sure you don’t drain it fully. Most people are under the misconception that discharging batteries completely increases its battery life. Experts say its untrue, in fact doing so affects Li-ion batteries negatively. Charge you phone before it switches off.

6. Close Applications that are not in use.

Smartphone’s allow multiple applications to be open at the same time. Ensure you close applications that are not in use.

7. Games and Music – Think before you play.

Games and Music are again power hungry. Am not saying avoid it completely, just think about your battery before doing so. Most people do the mistake of listening to music or gaming on their way to work and the battery would be out well before the end of day’s work.

Also, music via earphones consumes lesser battery compared to music through your speakers.

8. Turn off your phone when the network is unavailable.

When the area you’re in has no network coverage, your phone keeps searching for an available network. Switching off the phone helps, especially while travelling. Trust me; you will save a lot of battery by following this tip.

9. Choose Operator manually.

If possible choose your network operator manually. The disadvantage of automatic mode is, when you lose coverage the phone keeps searching for other networks, this would result in additional power consumption.

10. Store battery is a dry and cool place when not in use.

Don’t need the phone for a few days? Switch it off, remove the battery and keep it in a dry and cool place. Also, moisture and extreme heat affects your battery.

My last advice would be to charge your phone whenever possible to make sure your battery never dies. Laziness in charging my phone even though the charger is right next to me has resulted in losing out on very important calls!

Hope you enjoyed the article. Do post your questions, arguments or anything related to the article below. Have we missed out on any trick? Let us know!