Android battery saving tips

[nerdslife_team]

Hey everyone, let’s talk about making our Android batteries last longer. There are tons of factors that drain your battery like open apps, their intensity, RAM usage, and display settings. While some things are hardware-dependent, we can tweak usage to seriously improve battery life.

Tip 1: Manual screen brightness adjustment

The auto-brightness feature is convenient but it’s a battery hog. Turning it off lets you control the screen brightness manually and save power.

1. Open your settings and tap on ‘Display’.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Next, find and tap ‘Brightness level’.
3. Disable the ‘Automatic Brightness’ toggle.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Now, you can manually adjust brightness using the slider in the Quick Settings panel.

Note: Lowering screen brightness, using a dark wallpaper, and using dark screensaver, especially when you’re not constantly looking at your screen, can help improve battery life.

Tip 2: Shorten screen timeout

Screen timeout is the time your screen stays on before automatically turning off. A shorter timeout means less battery wasted when the phone is idle.

1. Head to ‘Settings’ and tap on either ‘Display’ or ‘Lock Screen’, depending on your device.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Tap on ‘Screen Timeout’, ‘Sleep’, or similar option.
3. Choose a shorter value like 15 or 30 seconds.
   
   

Tip 3: Disable Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth when not needed

GPS constantly updates your location, draining battery. Similarly, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth keep searching for connections when enabled.

1. Swipe down from the top to access the ‘Quick Settings’ panel.
2. Tap the toggles for Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth to turn them off.
   
   
   
   
   

Tip 4: Use Dark Mode

Dark Mode reduces power consumption by changing screen elements to darker colors, especially effective on AMOLED screens because of its ability to turn off individual pixels when displaying black.

1. Go to ‘Settings’ then tap on ‘Display’.
2. Turn the ‘Dark Mode’ toggle on.
   
   
   
   
   

Note: You can set up a schedule for Dark Mode. The toggle is also often available in the Quick Settings.

Tip 5: Disable vibrations

Phone vibrations use a motor that drains battery. Turning vibrations off can help save some juice.

1. Open ‘Settings’, then ‘Sounds’ or ‘Sound and Vibration’.
2. Look for vibration options and disable them.
   
   
   
   
   

Tip 6: Limit background apps

Apps running in the background can consume battery. You can restrict their background activity.

1. Go to ‘Settings’, then ‘Apps’.
2. Select the app you want to restrict.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Tap on ‘Battery’ or ‘Battery saver’.
4. Select ‘Restricted’ or ‘Restrict background activity’.
   
   
   
   
   

Tip 7: Use airplane mode strategically

Airplane mode shuts off all networks. It helps when your phone struggles to maintain connection, or when you want to minimize usage, like during a meeting or while sleeping.

Tip 8: Enable Power Saving Mode

Android has a built-in battery saver, activate it to save battery when you cannot charge your device.

1. Open ‘Settings’, then tap ‘Battery’.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Tap on ‘Battery Saver’ or ‘Battery Mode’.
3. Select a suitable Battery Saver mode.
   
   

Note: Some devices have an ‘Ultra Battery Saver’ option, which disables all non-essential features, or you can find it in your Quick Settings panel.

Tip 9: Disable Google Assistant

Google Assistant is always listening which drains your battery. If you don’t use it much, consider turning it off.

1. Open the Google app, and tap your profile picture on the top right.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Tap ‘Settings’.
3. Tap ‘Google Assistant’
4. Tap ‘General’
   
   
   
   
   
5. Turn the Google Assistant toggle off.
   
   

Tip 10: Switch to Lite apps

Lite apps have fewer features, use fewer resources, and consume less power.

Tip 11: Keep apps and OS updated

Updates contain optimizations for better performance and battery management, also fixing bugs that may drain battery.

Tip 12: Avoid using the camera on low battery

The camera app uses a lot of power, especially when using the flash, avoid using it on low battery.

Tip 13: Turn off automatic syncing

If you receive too many notifications from an app, consider disabling sync within its settings.

Tip 14: Disable nearby device scanning

On Samsung devices, the Nearby Device Scanning feature constantly searches for devices, consuming battery. Turn it off if you do not rely on it. You can find this option at Settings > Connections, and tap on the toggle for ‘Nearby Device Scanning’ to turn it off.

Things to know

• Consider turning off your phone once a week for a few hours.
• Turn off features like Active Edge, Active Listening, Smooth Display, and Motion Sense, and keep your device away from high temperatures.
• Don’t leave your phone plugged in after it’s fully charged and keep it between 50% and 80%.
• Avoid letting your battery drain completely. Charge before it hits 5%.