7 Tips to Keep Your Phone from Dying

Dealing with a phone that frequently runs out of battery can be frustrating and inconvenient. But did you know you can improve battery life and extend its usefulness from adjusting a few simple settings and picking up better charging habits?

Whether you use an iPhone or Android, this article will give you some practical strategies to save power and ensure your phone lasts throughout the day.

apple.jpg__PID:7782f622-a0ac-4a1f-b3e2-dfdb8eb7c875

7 Tips to Keep Your Phone from Dying

1. Optimize Settings for Battery Efficiency

Tweaking specific settings on your phone can significantly extend its battery life. Here are specific steps for both iPhone and Android devices:

For iPhone

Lower Screen Brightness: Lowering screen brightness can significantly affect energy usage. Navigate to Settings > Display & Brightness and adjust the slider accordingly.
Enable Auto-Brightness: Enabling auto-brightness allows your iPhone to automatically adjust screen brightness based on ambient lighting conditions, helping conserve battery life effectively. Navigate to Settings > Display & Brightness and toggle on "Auto-Brightness.”
Disable Background App Refresh: To stop apps from automatically refreshing in the background, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn this feature off for any apps that don't require regular updates.
Limit Location Services: Many apps use location services, which can significantly drain your battery. To reduce battery drain, head into Settings > Privacy > Location Services and set these for any apps that don't need constant access to your location, such as "Never" or "While Using.”
Disable Push Email: Continuous email sync can drain battery life quickly. Instead, set your email accounts to collect information manually or at scheduled intervals by visiting Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data and selecting your preferred option.

For Android:

Change Screen Timeout Duration: To save battery power, reduce the screen timeout duration. Navigating to Settings > Display > Sleep and selecting either 30 seconds or 1 minute as your duration option can help conserve power.
Take Advantage of Adaptive Brightness: Like iPhone's auto-brightness feature, adaptive brightness automatically adjusts screen brightness based on ambient lighting conditions. You can enable this feature by entering Settings > Display > Adaptive Brightness.
Review App Permissions: Review app permissions in Settings > Apps > App Permissions and deactivate any that don't need accessing features of your device. To do this, head into App Permissions in App Settings.
Disable Vibration: Vibration consumes more battery power than ringtones, so to conserve battery life, turn off unnecessary vibrations by going into Settings > Sound & vibration > Vibration intensity and setting to your preferred settings or deactivating as appropriate.
Limit Background Data Usage: To prevent apps from using too much background data, navigate to Settings > Network & Internet> Data usage > App data usage. Select individual applications you deem unnecessary and turn off background data consumption on them.

2. Establish Optimal Charging Habits

Adopting optimal charging practices can extend your phone's battery life. Follow these tips for optimizing your charging routine:

Always choose an original or reliable charger: For maximum battery lifespan and health, always opt for original or reliable third-party chargers designed for use with your phone. Cheap or counterfeit chargers could cause irreparable harm.
Avoid Extreme Temperatures: Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, can harm battery performance, so try limiting its exposure to direct sunlight or extremely cold environments.
Don't Overcharge: Overcharging can put undue strain on the battery and shorten its lifespan, so use features like iPhone's Optimized Battery Charging to ensure optimal charging speed when your phone reaches full charge or to reduce stress on its batteries such as Optimized Battery Charging, which slows charging rate when reaching 80% to protect its longevity.
Charge in a well-ventilated area: Charging your phone in a room with adequate ventilation will prevent excessive heat buildup from overcharging. Be wary of placing it under pillows, blankets, or tightly packed spaces, as this could increase temperatures significantly and risk overheating your battery.

3. Manage App Usage and Background Activity

Apps running in the background can have an enormous effect on battery life. Follow these steps to optimize app usage and background activity on an iPhone or Android device:

For iPhone:

Disable Push Notifications: Go into Settings > Notifications and selectively disable notifications for apps that are no longer essential.
Limit background app refresh: Stop apps from refreshing unnecessarily in the background by going into Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turning it off for apps that don't need regular updates.
Close Unused Apps: Although iOS handles app management efficiently, closing unused applications can help conserve battery. Double-press the home button (or swipe up from below on iPhone X or newer models) and swipe apps away to close them.

For Android:

Restrict Background Data: To restrict background data usage for apps that consume excessive data in the background, navigate to Settings > Network & Internet> Data usage > App data usage, select an application, and enable "Restrict App Background Data."
Enable Data-Saving Modes: Android devices commonly offer data-saving modes that restrict background data usage. Search your settings and turn this option on for optimal battery performance.
Keep an eye on and close power-hungry apps: Check the battery usage settings regularly and identify apps that consume too much power, then close or uninstall any that consume excess resources if they're no longer necessary.

4. Optimize Connectivity Settings

Certain connectivity features can significantly drain your battery faster. Here's how you can optimize connectivity settings on both iPhone and Android:

For iPhone:

Disable Unwanted Wireless Features: When not in use, switch off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and AirDrop by accessing the Control Center via swiping from the top-right corner or from below.
Switch Off Unnecessary Location Services: Certain applications rely heavily on location services even when not required, which you can find under Settings > Privacy > Location Services to disable those apps which don't need it.
Opt for Wi-Fi instead of Cellular Data: When available, make use of Wi-Fi networks as they consume less power compared to cellular data services.

For Android:

Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Scanning: Go into Settings > Location > Scanning and toggle off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Scanning.
Turn Off Unnecessary Connectivity Features: As with iPhones, unplugging unnecessary connectivity features like Bluetooth, NFC, and Wi-Fi when not in use can save battery power and extend their useful lifespan.

5. Optimize Display and Wallpaper Settings

Your phone's display and wallpaper choices have an effectful battery impact. Follow these steps to optimize them:

Use dark or black wallpapers: OLED displays used by many smartphones consume less power when displaying darker colors, so by taking advantage of this feature and choosing dark or black wallpapers for your device you could significantly extend its battery life.
Adjust Screen Timeout: Set a shorter screen timeout period in your device settings under Display > Sleep to reduce how long your screen remains illuminated when not being used. For this, navigate to Display > Sleep and adjust its timeout duration accordingly.
Remove live wallpapers: While live wallpapers can be eye-catching, they require more power consumption compared to static backgrounds. Instead, opt for static backgrounds in your device settings for maximum battery efficiency.
Turn On Auto-Lock: Set your phone to automatically lock after a set period of inactivity to save battery power and prevent screen wake-ups when not being used.

6. Avoid Battery-Draining Apps and Features

Certain apps and features have the potential to significantly decrease battery life, leading to unnecessary power usage. Take these steps to minimize unnecessary power usage:

Monitor Battery Usage Statistics: Both iOS and Android provide battery usage statistics within their settings, so analyze them regularly to identify apps or features which consume an excessive amount of power.
Uninstall battery-draining apps: If certain applications consistently consume too much power, consider uninstalling or replacing them with more energy-efficient options.
Disable unnecessary widgets: Widgets provide quick access to information, but can drain your battery quickly. Remove unnecessary widgets from your home screen by long-pressing on them and selecting either "Remove" or "Delete."
Disable unnecessary animations and visual effects: Some smartphones feature extra animations and visual effects, which may use up additional battery power. To extend battery life, reduce or turn off these features in your device settings to save power consumption.

7. Regular Software Updates and Battery Health Maintenance

Proper care must be taken to keep your phone's software updated and to protect battery health for optimal performance and longevity.

Install Software Updates: Stay current with your device software to take advantage of performance enhancements and bug fixes as well as optimizations designed to increase battery life. Updates can often include optimizations that extend battery life too!
Recalibrate Your Battery (Android Only): Over time, Android device battery calibration may become inaccurate and impair its performance. To recalibrate it, fully charge and discharge completely before charging again in a repeat cycle.
Monitor Battery Health (iPhone Only): To keep your iPhone battery healthy, periodically visit Settings > Battery > Battery Health to assess its maximum capacity and peak performance capability. If its health significantly deteriorates, look into replacing it through official Apple channels.
Enable battery-saving modes: Both iOS and Android devices feature battery-saving modes that automatically adjust settings to extend battery life, making these a handy feature when your battery starts draining or you expect no access to charging for an extended period.

By following these battery-saving tips, you can further extend the battery life of your phone and reduce its rate of discharge. Be sure to tailor these strategies based on your particular device and preferences. Your charging habits, app management, software maintenance, and more will all contribute to your phone’s battery health.

Phone Battery Problems? Try ecoATM!

If you’re having problems with your phone’s battery that can’t be solved with these tips, it may be time for an upgrade. You can trade in your old device for cash instantly at one of thousands of ecoATM locations across the country.

Just use our location tool to find a kiosk near you, insert your old phone, obtain an offer, and accept it for cash on the spot. Visit us to join the e-cycling movement today!