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Most people use their phones every single day for communicating with others, using the Internet, and keeping track of dates or schedules. When your phone has an issue that affects its performance, it can be a big frustration. One of the most common problems with Android phones is a quickly-draining battery. Many people report that their phone battery lasts less than eight or ten hours, which isn't always enough to make it through a work day. This is especially common if the phone is more than a year or two old.
The older your phone battery is, the more you use your phone, and the more you charge it can all be factors in a bad battery. Age naturally takes a toll on all batteries, so this happens with Samsung, LG, Motorola, and other Android phones and tablets.
A battery has a cathode and an anode, and a chemical reaction occurs to give the device its power. When you charge the battery, it reverses the effects of this reaction. However, every time you plug in the charger, it wears down the cathode. Over time, the battery gives less and less power to the device before needing to be charged again.
If you have an older battery that doesn't have as much life as it used to, you may be frustrated about having to charge it in the middle of the day or turn it off for hours to save the battery. Running low on battery can be a huge inconvenience, especially if you need to communicate with someone or use the GPS feature. Even if you have a newer phone and battery, it may seem like the battery doesn't last as long as it should.
Fortunately, there are many tips and tricks for improving your phone's battery life. All Android devices use the Android Operating System, so no matter what Android phone you have, you can utilize some of these strategies to improve your phone's battery life.
There are many free apps that can help you manage and save your phone's battery life. Some apps will show you which apps have the biggest effect on your battery, and others help you manage the biggest battery-draining apps to minimize their damage. Two of the best free apps that will come in handy for these tips are Smart Quick Settings and Super Task Killer Free.
These apps aren't a necessity to save your battery, and you can still follow these tips without the apps. However, they can make the process much easier. Smart Quick Settings is a free app that lets you quickly and easily adjust your settings. The Android Settings menu is extensive and complicated, and it can be very time-consuming and frustrating to find what you need. The Smart Quick Settings app has all of your phone's important settings options in a more concise and easy-to-navigate menu. The following tips will include instructions on changing your settings with this app, but you can also change your settings in the Android Settings menu if you choose not to download Smart Quick Settings.
Super Task Killer Free lets you close out all of your apps at once. This is a great time saver and will help you with some of the following tips.
In some situations, 4G usage can take a massive toll on your battery life. If you don't have 4G coverage in your area or if you move between 3G and 4G coverage areas regularly, your phone will always be searching for 4G coverage. This requires a lot of effort from your battery and can drain it very quickly. Unless you need 4G for streaming video, turn it off to save your battery. Many people don't need 4G at all and can keep it turned off all the time.
To turn off 4G data, open the Smart Quick Settings app. Select the Mobile Data option on the menu, and turn 4G off. You can also turn off 4G through the Android Settings menu by selecting "More networks" and tapping "Mobile networks." Then, select "Network mode" and choose a network that doesn't include LTE, which is the 4G network. UMTS and WCDMA are 3G networks, and GSM is the basic network for calls and texts.
If your battery is very low or is draining quickly, you can lengthen its life by completely turning off mobile data. This is especially effective if you're in an area with bad coverage. Like with 4G data, your phone will constantly search for a signal and use up its battery. Unless you really need mobile data, turn it off. You can still send and receive texts and phone calls.
You can always keep mobile data turned off until you need it, or you can turn it off when you know you're entering an area with a bad signal. If you travel to a very remote or rural area, you'll probably have to turn data off to prevent your phone battery from draining after searching for a signal.
Related: How to make your phone charge faster
Some apps have practically no impact on battery life, while others can drain the battery within just a few hours. The Facebook and Facebook Messenger apps are two of the worst offenders for draining phone batteries. These apps use up your battery when you actively use them and when they're dormant. They constantly check for notifications, and they have a problem with background audio usage. The apps have an audio mechanism that stays open after watching a video or making a call, even if it's no longer outputting audio.
If you close out of the app, it will restart and open up again instantly. The only solution for this problem is to uninstall the Facebook and Facebook Messenger apps. Uninstalling can improve your battery life by about 50 percent or by several hours. Some people report that after deleting the Facebook app, their phones gained six hours of battery life.
Some other apps drain the battery in a similar way, but Facebook and Facebook Messenger are the most popular apps that do this. The Amazon Shopping app operates in the background as well by constantly checking for new offers and promotions. Some news apps and email apps can also drain your phone's battery while dormant.
You may notice that after installing a new app, your battery drains faster or your phone reboots more often. These problems are usually caused by poor coding. Unless the app is an absolute necessity for you, deleting it will be better for your phone and your battery life.
Today, phones have excellent displays. They can also get very bright, though, which takes a toll on battery life. Use the Smart Quick Settings app to check your phone's brightness settings. The app has a Brightness slider, and you can usually set it in the middle to get plenty of brightness. Any brighter is usually unnecessary and will drain your battery.
You can also use the Auto-Brightness feature, which automatically adjusts your phone's brightness depending on your surroundings. Your phone has an ambient light sensor that detects the brightness of your surroundings and adjusts your display accordingly. This censor can use up some battery life, but the battery life you save by reducing unnecessary brightness makes up for it.
Some people use the GPS on their phones all the time, and other people rarely or never use it. If you don't use the GPS feature daily, you don't need your phone to continuously search for satellites. Go to your Settings menu, find Location Services, and turn the GPS off.
Like GPS, some people use Bluetooth devices every day and can't turn Bluetooth off. However, many people never use Bluetooth. If you don't use it regularly, turn Bluetooth off on your phone to save battery.
This tip is only helpful in some circumstances. Most people use Wi-Fi in their homes or at work, so they need to keep Wi-Fi turned on. However, if you go without Wi-Fi for a long period of time, turn it off. Wi-Fi is better for battery than mobile data, though, so use Wi-Fi instead of 3G or 4G whenever possible if you have to go online.
It would be great if apps went dormant and didn't use up your battery when you hit the Home button. When you're not using an app, it shouldn't use up your battery. Unfortunately, not all apps behave this way. Some continue to access the Internet after you hit the Home button, some send you notifications, and some keep playing audio in the background. These features can be great when you want them, but apps sometimes misbehave and use up too much battery.
You have to close out of apps to truly get them to stop draining your battery. Swiping apps out of the recently-visited app menu does not close the apps, though. It's a common belief that this is all you need to do to close out apps, but apps will continue to function when you remove them from the last. It takes a little more time to actually close apps, so many people keep their apps running without even realizing it.
The previously-mentioned Super Task Killer Free app is the fastest and simplest way to close out your apps. After downloading this app, open it up and select the apps you want to close. All open apps will be selected by default. Once you choose, tap "Kill selected apps." All of your selected apps will close out.
When you open one of these apps again, it will get a fresh start. Keeping apps closed when not using them saves battery, and giving them a fresh start can sometimes stop them from misbehaving next time.
If you don't have the Super Task Killer Free app, you can close your apps through the Settings menu. Go to Apps under the menu, find the app you want to close out, and tap "Force stop." You'll probably see a message warning you that this might make the app misbehave. If you see this message, tap "OK" anyway. Most of the time, closing out apps fixes issues rather than causing them.
When you close apps with the Android Settings menu, you'll have to repeat the process with every app individually. Super Task Killer Free closes all apps at once, so it's much faster. However, even if you choose to close out your apps manually in the Settings menu, it's worth the time it takes. Closing apps is one of the best ways to lengthen your battery life.
Everyone uses their phones for different purposes, so some of these suggestions may be better for you than others. You may be able to combine more than one strategy to maximize your battery life, or you may discover that just one app is responsible for draining your battery. Take some time to try out a few strategies to see what works best for you.
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