Aside from watching television or participating in games, the other common thing that keeps everyone active is their mobile phone, which is why people love gadgets with long battery lives.
There’s nothing worse than looking down at your phone and realizing the battery is running out of juice, or worse yet, that it’s already completely dead.
Some phones barely last for seven hours while some last for 12 hours depending on the usage.
According to research, an average phone lasts nine hours and 48 minutes but the good news is some lasts longer than that.
Before you get to the point where you find yourself desperately searching for an outlet or someone around you who has a charger, check out these tips to make sure your phone battery lasts longer.
When should you charge your phone?
The golden rule is to keep your battery topped up somewhere between 50 and 90 per cent most of the time.
So top it up when it drops below 50 per cent, but unplug it before it hits 100 per cent.Likewise, at the other end of the scale, avoid allowing your phone battery to get below 20 per cent.
Note: Giving your phone a full recharge is not fatal for a phone battery, and it seems almost counter-intuitive not to do so, but giving it a full recharge every time you charge it will shorten its lifespan.
Experts recommend that you do a full zero to 100 percent battery recharge (a "charge cycle") once a month.
This recalibrates the battery, which is a bit like restarting your computer.
Also, smartphone batteries react very negatively to high temperatures.If you are leaving it plugged in for a long period of time, removing the case can prevent it over-heating.
How to make your smartphone battery last longer
1. Turn down the brightness
One of the easiest ways to prolong your battery life is to turn down the screen brightness.
I know this is an obvious tip, but it’s been shown that lowering the brightness really does make a difference.
So if you aren’t doing it yet, make the change now!
It’s also a good idea to make sure the “Auto-brightness” is turned on so the screen will automatically dim if you’re in a dark setting.
2. Mind your apps
Many popular apps are notorious battery-guzzlers, especially ones that are heavy on graphics or audio.
Video games, especially free versions with ads, are the biggest culprits, so save Angry Birds for a time when you’re near an outlet.
And remember to close your apps, rather than just minimizing them. Apps that are stealthily running in the background can be battery drainers.
To do this, double tap the home button to see what apps are running, and then hold down on one of the icons until they start wiggling. Tap the “-" sign in the top left corner of each app icon to close it.
3. Download a battery saving app
If you’ve quit the games but are still seeing your battery drain, there could be less obvious apps at fault.
Try using an app like BetterBatteryStats or Battery HD+, which will track your phone’s performance over the course of a couple of days and analyze which apps are your battery’s biggest foes.
4. Turn off the Wi-Fi connection
When your Wi-Fi connection is turned on, your phone is hard at work looking for a hotspot.
While connecting to the nearest Wi-Fi signal can be great for saving money on your data plan, it can also be a huge battery drainer.
Turn the Wi-Fi off and connect to it only when you must.
5. Turn on airplane mode
Switching to airplane mode isn’t just for those times when you’re flying the friendly skies, it’s a great way to conserve your battery in a pinch.
The downside is that you won’t be able to make or receive calls or text messages or connect to the web, but it can be great to conserve your battery power for when you truly need it.
Airplane mode is also great when you’re in a situation without service (such as underground on the subway), so your phone isn’t draining itself trying to find a signal.
6. Lose the location services
Location services use GPS technology to pinpoint your precise location.
Letting your smartphone find out where you are is super useful if you’re navigating in an unfamiliar area, but it can also be a sneaky battery-drainer.
Make sure your location service setting is disabled and turn it on only when you really need it.
7. Fetch your own E-mail
When your phone is constantly checking for new email, it runs out of steam pretty quickly.
Save your phone some work by giving it a break and fetching your own email or having it automatically fetch the data less frequently.
8. Reduce push notifications for apps
Getting an instant notification when you have a new Facebook message or Twitter mention can be a great way to stay connected on the go.
But if you receive a lot of them, your battery life will pay the price. Turn off the notifications, or limit them to the really important apps.
9. Update your software
Updates to your operating system or your favorite apps can add fixes for bugs that may be contributing to your battery life problem in the first place.
Make sure that you’re using the latest version of the OS available, and determine that you have the latest version of your apps installed so that you benefit from the latest improvements and bug fixes.
10. Put your accessories to work
If you’re constantly on the go, consider investing in a case that does double duty as a phone charger.
These are a wide selection of cases that hold a full charge’s worth of power and can double the life of your battery, and you can turn them on for a burst of power whenever you need it.
11. Use a suitable charging cable
Each phone model has its own charging cable.
Sometimes, cables of other brands may overcharge or undercharge smartphone batteries.
