7 Phone Battery Tips You Can Actually Use

Do you notice your phone battery dying quickly? Even if you don’t really use your phone much you may find you get the battery warning message in the afternoon. This can be very frustrating if you need your phone to make calls, send messages, do work, navigate or just enjoy.

However, you don’t necessarily have to upgrade your phone or battery. We can give you some simple tips to help your phone battery last longer.

These tips work for both iPhone and Android.

1. Lower the Brightness

One of the main reasons why your phone consumes battery is due to the screen. Having the brightness on too high will use more battery, especially if you spend a lot of time looking at social media, videos or reading.

A simple fix is to lower your screen brightness. You can also put your phone into auto/adaptive brightness so it will change as needed.

To do this:

Open Settings > Display & Brightness (iPhone) or Settings > Display (Android).

Turn on Auto / Adaptive Brightness.

Lower your screen timeout so it will turn off quicker.

Making slight changes to your brightness will help.

2. Identify Battery Draining Apps

Some apps can cause your phone to use more battery. This could be social media apps, video streaming apps, gaming apps or navigation apps. These apps will cause you to use more battery.

Instead of constantly closing apps you can see which apps are draining the most battery and turn off any background activities.

To view which apps are using the most battery:

Open Settings > Battery (iPhone). Open Settings > Battery > Battery Usage (Android). This may vary depending on your phone.

Look at the list of apps using the most battery. Turn off any unnecessary background activities.

For example, you may not need a shopping app to update itself throughout the day. Turning off unnecessary background activities will help.

3. Turn On Battery Saver

Battery Saver is one of the easiest ways to help your phone last longer when the battery is running low.

Turning on Battery Saver will stop some background activities and will disable any power hungry features. This could include turning off some visual features, background syncing or performance depending on your phone.

To enable Battery Saver:

Open Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode (iPhone). Open Settings > Battery > Battery Saver / Power Saving Mode (Android).

This can be used when your battery is running low or if you know you won’t be able to plug your phone in for a few hours.

However, this could cause some delays to your notifications and background updates.

4. Don’t Overheat

One of the biggest issues with rechargeable phone batteries is overheating. Having your phone too hot can affect performance and cause damage to your battery in the long term.

This can happen if you are using your phone on a hot day, leaving it in a parked car, putting it in direct sunlight or using heavy apps whilst charging.

Simple fixes include:

Don’t leave your phone in direct sunlight. Don’t leave it in a hot car. Don’t wrap your phone in thick materials whilst charging. Don’t use heavy apps if your phone is getting too hot. Use the correct charger and cable.

If your phone is overheating regularly check to see if there is an issue with an app or charging accessory.

5. Use Dark Mode

Dark Mode will change your phone to a darker colour scheme. If you have an OLED or AMOLED screen this will reduce the amount of power your screen uses as it will turn off individual pixels to create the black colour.

However, this may not help much depending on the type of screen you have. Some LCD screens may not help much.

To enable Dark Mode:

Open Settings > Display & Brightness > Dark (iPhone). Open Settings > Display > Dark Theme (Android).

You can also enable dark mode on apps that support it such as messaging and social media apps.

This is a simple change that can help reduce power usage and make your screen easier to use in low light.

6. Turn Off Unnecessary Features

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and location can use up your battery. This is because your phone is constantly looking for a signal or apps using location frequently.

You don’t need to turn everything off but just turn off any features you don’t need.

This can include:

Turning off mobile hotspot if nobody is using it. Turning off location for apps that don’t need it. Turning off Bluetooth if you aren’t using any wireless accessories. Using Wi-Fi if you have a reliable connection. Turning on Airplane Mode if you don’t need mobile and your phone is struggling to pick up a signal.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are usually low power when not in use so you don’t need to constantly turn them off if you use them regularly.

7. Optimised Charging

Whilst it is important to reduce power usage during the day it is also important to take care of your battery when charging.

Modern smartphones have optimised charging features. Depending on your phone this can be Optimised Battery Charging, Adaptive Charging or Charging Protection.

This will help manage your charging.

To enable optimised charging:

Open Settings > Battery > Charging or Battery Health (iPhone). Open Settings > Battery > Adaptive Charging, Optimised Charging or similar (Android).

You don’t need to wait until your phone is completely drained. Just charge when it is convenient.

Avoid over heating your phone whilst charging as it can cause issues with your battery in the long term.

Bonus Tip: Check Battery Health

If your phone is still losing charge quickly after using these tips you should check your battery health.

Rechargeable batteries will lose their ability to hold charge over time. This means an older phone may struggle to last as long as it would have done as new.

On supported iPhones you can check your battery health. On Android you may find some battery information in your settings. This will vary depending on your phone.

If your battery has suffered a lot of damage or you are receiving a service warning it is worth getting it checked out by a qualified repair.

Final Thoughts

If your phone battery is draining quickly it can cause issues with everyday tasks. However, there are a few simple changes you can make to help your phone battery last longer throughout the day.

Make sure to lower your brightness, check which apps are using lots of battery and enable battery saver. Avoid overheating, enable dark mode if your screen will benefit from it and enable optimised charging.

You don’t need to turn everything on at once. Try these 7 phone battery tips and see what makes the most difference.

Making small changes in your daily routine can help your phone last longer.