A trusted smartphone should be able to withstand all your activities for at least the entire day. More often than not, you may find yourself reaching for your charger way before you should. As your phone ages, it is normal for it to no longer perform as well as before. Yet, you can apply certain suggestions to make your battery last longer or adjust your behavior to avoid overusing it.
Common mistakes damaging your battery
There are many myths and misconceptions around smartphone batteries, such as damaging it by charging it overnight or draining it fully before charging. In reality, modern smartphone chargers and devices can regulate charging and turn it off when fully juiced. While it can contribute to poorer battery life, it is likely not the main factor. Besides that, people might be restricting themselves to only original chargers, which is definitely not a requirement.
While many factors influence your battery life, the most contributing factor is your general usage. If you stack up more than five hours of screen time performing heavier activities, the chances are that you won’t be pleased with its longevity.
Behavior influencing faster battery drain
The following activities are likely the culprit behind a less-than-satisfactory battery life.
Lots of heavy activities
Gaming or streaming movies on your smartphone is likely one of the most popular activities draining batteries. Besides that, enabling a hotspot is also one action that will leave your phone exposed to quicker drainage. Social media apps like TikTok also drain your battery.
Besides running a hotspot from your smartphone, you may also decide to sell 4G & 5G data and earn money. This option is possible through apps like Honeygain, which pay you for sharing unused internet bandwidth. While it is an effortless way to make money, it can also drain your battery faster. Hence, consider sharing your internet when you’re not actively trying to preserve your smartphone’s juice.
Screen brightness and lock screen
Preferring a brighter screen does cost you a high percentage of your battery life. Keeping it dimmed can significantly improve its longevity, especially if you turn off the always-on display feature. If you’re not that eager to adjust brightness yourself, you can set it to adjust automatically, which is a more optimized option.
Limiting apps running in the background
Some smartphones also let you limit background app usage. While most devices already restrict energy consumption for background apps, it can still contribute. Hence, fully turn off apps and enable options to limit usage even more (look for instructions for your specific device model and OS).
Use battery-saving mode
If you’re concerned about battery usage, enable battery-saving mode, which is readily available via settings. It extends battery life significantly, and you are unlikely to notice any drastic changes to your activities.
Enable dark mode
Dark mode is a more optimized option for your smartphone’s battery. Besides appealing to many people due to visual aspects, it also uses less energy.
Find the culprits of high battery usage
Most smartphones let you analyze your battery usage, clearly indicating which applications are using the most energy. Then, you can turn off applications and remember to properly deal with them after using them.
Tips for optimizing your screen time
If your daily screen time is through the roof, it is no wonder your smartphone cannot keep up. In addition to optimizing how your device works, you may also attempt to reduce your screen time:
- Set time limits for apps that seem to occupy most of your time.
- Leave your smartphone in another room when doing other activities to stop checking it regularly.
- Pick up other hobbies to distract yourself from your smartphone. It might take time to embrace them, but it can make scrolling social media or gaming less appealing.
- Figure out what you are avoiding with excessive screen time. Sometimes, we find an escape through continuous scrolling on our smartphones. One step to recovery is figuring out why you use it so often and addressing it directly.
Final thoughts
Embracing certain habits and management tips can significantly improve your smartphone’s battery life. However, your behavior and increased screen time cannot be underestimated when it comes to devices that seem to require frequent charging. Then, it might be time to adjust your behavior and look for options to reduce screen time in general.
