One of the aspects that most interest cell phone users is their battery life. Although manufacturers have increasingly improved the autonomy of these devices, there are people who use them so intensively that the battery runs out quickly. Fortunately, there are ways to optimize its performance to have more hours of use before charging it.
First of all, one of the most important things is to learn how to charge the phone properly. It is advisable to connect it to the charger when the battery reaches 20% of its capacity. This will reduce mobile stress, the battery will be charged to 100% in fewer hours and it will also last longer.
With this in mind, here are some of the most effective tricks to optimize the performance of the cell phone battery and thus have a couple of extra hours of use before it runs out.
- Regulate the power usage of the screen.
One of the components that consumes the most battery power is the brightness of the screen. For this reason, cell phones allow you to adjust the intensity of its light at your convenience. Nowadays, smartphones include sensors that perceive the ambient light so that the brightness of the screen adjusts automatically.
Another option is to prevent the screen from being on for too long when the phone is inactive. This can be easily solved in the screen lock settings by setting it to turn off after 10 seconds of inactivity. You can also use the “dark mode”, a very interesting option that allows you to change light colors for dark or black tones, which uses less energy.
- Use the energy saving mode
Currently, cell phones, both with iOS and Android operating systems, include a power saving mode that can even be adjusted or customized according to user preferences. Generally, this mode limits some functions of the phone or activities that are performed in the background.
Most commonly, the smartphone itself will show you a notification to activate the power saving mode when the battery drops to 20% or less. Activating it will undoubtedly give you a couple of extra hours of battery life.
In cases of emergency, you can also use the “Ultra” power saving mode. This is a feature that further limits the use of applications when activated, to the point that you can only receive messages or make calls. This mode is very useful when you do not have a charger nearby because it can make the battery last up to 4 hours longer at 5% of its capacity.
- Take a look at the applications
Usually, within the cell phone settings there is a section where you can check the battery usage statistics. There you can see which applications use the most energy and you have the option pause them from there. Many times there are even applications that are hardly used.
We recommend that you pause all those applications that you do not use often, especially those that constantly consume data. It is also important to avoid leaving applications open when you are not using them, such as games or social media. Keep in mind that these will continue to run activities in the background, so they will consume energy.
- Activate the silent mode
Another alternative to optimize the cell phone battery is to put it on silent or “Do not disturb”. Remember that notification sounds, and even vibration, have a progressive battery consumption. In case you have activated the sound when you touch the keyboard, you should also deactivate it, since it is not a very useful function.
- Turn off GPS and Bluetooth
Some applications require you to activate GPS in order to use them or get more out of their functions. However, in many occasions these tools are not used and the GPS is left on. It is recommended that you set the option to activate it “only when the application is in use” so that it turns off automatically.
Bluetooth is also a function that is often used constantly when we link the smartphone to another wireless device. Both GPS and this functionality consume a lot of energy, so if you want to optimize the battery it is important that you do not forget to turn them off when they are not in use.
If you implement these recommendations, you will be able to extend the battery duration and its useful life, and get more out of your device. Although most of today’s smartphones already include the fast-charging function, there are times when we do not have the option to charge it. That’s when it’s in your best interest to optimize your phone’s battery.