Even with hi-tech new models such as iPhone 6, many users still struggle to get more than a day’s battery life when using apps such as navigation and video.
But there are a few tricks which can help extend any smartphone’s battery – and even tiny details, such as choosing a dark screensaver, not a bright one, can help.
1) Don’t leave your phone in bright sunlight
Lithium-ion phone batteries work best at slightly below room temperature, according to Mobile Choice Magazine – you’ll get less out of your phone if it’s warm.
2) Turn down the brightness
Turn the brightness settings down on your phone. Most of your phone’s battery drain is from running the screen.
3) Don’t leave the screen burning unnecessarily
Leaving the screen on isn’t just bad for your battery – it’s an open invitation for thieves to get past your password. On any phone, set the screen to turn off after 30 seconds.
4) Don’t use vibrate
Using vibration instead of ring tones actually consumes more power – making the entire phone vibrate is harder than making a tiny speaker vibrate. Where possible, switch your phone to silent instead.
5) Choose the right screensaver
Don’t use animated screensavers. It even makes a difference to switch to a black, or dark, screen background so it doesn’t burn as much electricity when you’re in the menus.
6) Kill off apps which are keeping your phone awake
Make sure your phone isn’t running apps in the background. On iPhone, you can check by double-tapping the Home button, then pressing ‘X’ to shut ones you don’t need. If you’re unsure, restart your phone to banish apps that might be running without you knowing.
7) Turn down your ringtone and indicator noises
It might seem like a tiny detail, but turning down noisy ringtones can prevent unnecessary battery drain – as can getting rid of the little clicks and bleeps many phones make as you type.
8) Switch off Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi
Turning off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS will immediately add about a third to your battery life – you’re basically getting rid of several radio aerials which are burning away inside your phone.
On both iPhone and Android, controls to do this are easily accessed via phone menu.
On both iPhone and Android, controls to do this are easily accessed via phone menu.
9) Turn off voice control
Never use Apple’s Siri voice control, it’s murder on your battery, likewise Samsung’s S Voice.
10) If you need to, switch off 3G and 4G
If you’re running low, switch off 3G. This can double the battery life of a dying phone – basically, there are at least two aerials working all the time in most phones, so if you switch to 2G, it’ll still work as a phone and for texts, but will last twice as long, just like phones did in ‘the good old days’.