7 Ways You Can Extend the Life of Your Phone’s Battery

Today, we are seeing most land-line phones being rendered obsolete, with a burgeoning prevalence of cell phones. These diminutive wonders of modern technology connect us to anyone, anywhere, at any time, simultaneously transporting us to the vast knowledge base of the World Wide Web.  They enable us to stay connected through email and instant messages and they keep us entertained. All of these modern advancements are greatly enhanced, due to the portability of our phones. The extent of the portability of any phone is completely at the mercy of its battery, which can disappear in a New York minute. And while you do your best to ensure that your phone is charged up and ready to go as often as possible, there are ways in which you can maximize and even extend your battery’s life. Here are seven:

1. Turn off the wireless Internet connectionwhen you’re not actively using it. Many phones today are equipped with both Wi-Fi access to the Internet as well as cellular connectivity. One of the biggest power drains on your cell phone is your Wi-Fi connection being engaged, even when you aren’t using it. By turning this feature off until you need it, you’ll drastically reduce the power consumed by your phone, and thus, the life of your battery. The same thing applies to your GPS.

2. Scrap the vibration.Vibrating alerts are a big power drain. There are situations where you must use it, take the time to turn it off for the normal course of your day. Turning off the vibrating alerts on your phone can prolong your battery life by several hours. Only use it when it’s absolutely necessary.

3. Save power by addressing your phone’s backlight control features.Having the display on your phone show all the time will rapidly deplete your battery. Set your display to automatically turn the backlight off during a period of inactivity, after a minute or so. Also, adjust your backlight to the lowest screen brightness you can tolerate as an additional power saver.

4. Say “adios” to animation.While animated screen savers are cool, using one means that you’ll need to charge your phone every few hours. Instead of sacrificing your battery for a cool animated screensaver, find a pretty static picture instead.

5. Terminate unused applications.The concept behind smartphones is that they can provide much more than simple phone calls. These phones help keep us organized and informed. They come equipped with a myriad of applications designed to help us in a myriad of ways. The problem is that if we don’t actually terminate each one when we are through using them, they continue to run in the background, depleting vital battery life.

6. Play games less often. We are all guilty of using our phones to pass the time occasionally, but game play rapidly sucks the life from your phone’s battery. Reserve game play for those times when you have access to a charger.

7. Avoid exposing your phone to extremes in temperature. Protect it from exposure to direct sunlight and keep it out of the freezer. Maintaining a consistent operating temperature for your phone will greatly extend its battery charge. This includes never leaving your cell phone in your car, regardless of the outside temperature.