A long battery life is an important aspect that is checked for before purchasing a mobile phone. However, upon use, we often encounter that the battery drains faster than expected, which can be very troublesome in times of emergency.

There are ways by which we can increase the battery life of Android phones. By disabling some functionalities when the phone is not in use, the battery will not drain as easily.

Disable Automatic brightness and lower brightness 

As convenient as enabling automatic brightness is, the functionality causes the battery to drain faster. Always remember to manually set the brightness of your screen and keep it at a minimum whenever possible.

To disable automatic brightness, there is usually an option in your notification tray itself (depending on your Android version and the skin running on top of it).

Alternatively, you can also go to the Settings menu and select the Display option wherein you will find Screen Brightness settings.

Also read: How Google Play Protect keeps your Android secure

Turn off location 

Location services take up a lot of battery juice and if you keep the GPS switched on in your phone all the time that would guarantee faster battery drainage. Remember to turn it off when not in use to retain battery life.

Turn off keyboard vibrations

Vibrations cause a negative impact on the battery hardware itself which will result in its damage and decreased efficiency.

To turn off keyboard vibrations go to Settings and look for the Language and Input option. Then go to Preferences and select the keyboard that you use.

Most phones have Google’s GBoard as the default keyboard. Toggle off the Keyboard Vibrations from there.

Turn off Bluetooth and Wifi

Keeping the Bluetooth option on will cause the phone to look for another Bluetooth enabled device continuously and the same is true for Wifi.

If switched on, your device will keep searching for a Wifi connectivity and in turn, drain the battery faster. Usually, there is an option in the notification tray itself to disable them or else you can go to your phone’s Settings and toggle them off from there.

Turn off 4G LTE

Try enabling the 4G option only when you need to access the internet. You can go to select the 3G or 2G mode when you want to use the phone for making calls and sending SMS. This will ensure less battery drainage.

Go to Settings and select the SIM and Mobile Network option. Then go to Preferred Network Type and then select the 3G or 2G option. 

Might seem a bit tedious, but this guarantees a longer battery life on a single charge as 4G consumes more power than 3G, which consumes more power than 2G.

Stop apps that consume more battery 

Monitor which apps consume the most battery and stop the ones that are persisting in the background even though they are not in use.

To monitor the apps that consume more battery on your Android device, go to Settings and select Battery and then in the Power Consumption Menu select the app you want to monitor. A menu will show up giving you the details about the battery consumed by that app.

Don’t leave the mobile phone screen on for too long 

Ensure that you do not leave the screen on for more time. To do this go to Display & Brightness and select Auto Screen Off. Manually set the limit for which the screen should stay on for when no activity is being carried on on the phone.

Don’t use app widgets or live backgrounds

Restrain from using too many app widgets because they search for live data continuously so that they can be displayed on your home screen. Also, do not keep live backgrounds as the continuous screen activity will cause more usage of battery.

Use the lite version of apps

It is advisable to use the lite version of apps to decrease memory consumption and also increase battery life. Popular Android apps like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Skype have lite versions and try to resort to these if you have problems with battery on your Android.

These additionally also help if you have limited storage on your device and are running low.

Use Airplane mode for emergency

If your device’s battery is draining and you know that you’re going to need it to send a message or make a phone call in the near future, it’s in your best interest to put your smartphone to Airplane mode.

Why not switch it off altogether then, you might ask. Well, for one, it’s quicker to just toggle off the Airplane mode than switching the device back on and waiting for it to boot. And in Airplane mode, you’ll still be able to access your phone’s library for music, photos and more.

Also read: How to check your iPhone’s battery health? Tips for a longer battery life

Featured image by Alexander Andrews