As smartphones become more and more powerful and offer the user more multimedia functions such as video playback, streaming TV streaming, high-speed Internet and next-generation gaming, it seems that the time between charges of the battery is reduced. Smartphone batteries have never been very durable, so it’s become second nature for users to look for ways to squeeze a little more juice out of every charge. Here are some simple ways to make sure your Samsung Galaxy phone’s battery lasts all day.
Although the following instructions are specific to Samsung Galaxy phones, they can also be applied to other Android phones, including those made by Google, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc.
lower the screen
One of the quickest and easiest ways to save battery power is to lower the brightness of the screen backlight. There are a couple of different ways to do this. Open Settings > Display > Brightness and then move the slider down to where you think is acceptable. Less than 50 percent is recommended if you really want to see a difference. You can also access the brightness control from the notification panel of Samsung Galaxy phones.
Whenever you see the brightness slider, you should also see the Auto Brightness option . Checking this box will take control of screen brightness out of your hands and instead rely on the phone (using the ambient light sensor) to decide how bright the screen should be.
Use power saving mode
Included as a feature on a number of current Android phones, including the Samsung Galaxy range, Power Saving Mode will activate various battery saving measures at the touch of a button. This includes limiting maximum CPU performance, reducing the amount of power going to the screen, and turning off Haptic Feedback . You can choose to disable some of these measures in the settings, depending on how dire your battery charge level is.
Although they can seriously extend your phone’s battery life, you probably don’t want to turn on all of these tools all the time. Limiting the CPU, for example, will definitely affect your phone’s responsiveness, but if you need to squeeze a few more hours of battery life out of it before you can get to a charger, it may work just fine.
disable connections
If you find that your battery doesn’t last a full day, be sure to turn off Wi-Fi when you don’t need it. Alternatively, if you’re usually near a reliable Wi-Fi connection, set it to Always On. Wi-Fi uses less battery than a data connection, and when Wi-Fi is on, 3G turns off. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi . Press the Menu button , and then select Advanced . Open the Wi-Fi Sleep Policy menu and select Never .
Having GPS on will drain your battery like almost nothing else. If you’re using location-dependent apps, then of course you may need to have GPS turned on. Just remember to turn it off when you’re not using it. Turn GPS off using the Quick Setting buttons or go to Settings > Location Services .
While in Location settings, make sure Use wireless networks is deselected if you’re not using location-aware apps. This option uses less battery than GPS, but it’s also easier to forget it’s on.
Another serious contender for number one in the battery waste setting is Bluetooth. Surprisingly, there are many smartphone users who leave Bluetooth running all the time. Aside from this being a security issue, Bluetooth will also eat up a lot of battery power over the course of a day, even if you’re not sending or receiving files. To disable Bluetooth, go to Settings > Bluetooth . You can also control Bluetooth with Quick Settings on your Samsung Galaxy.
Remove some widgets and apps
Having every bit of every home screen panel filled with widgets can have a bad effect on your battery life, especially if the widgets provide constant updates (like some Twitter or Facebook widgets). As this is a practical guide to save battery power, I am not suggesting that you remove all widgets. Widgets, after all, are one of the great things about Android phones. But if you can lose just a few of the more battery-intensive ones, you should notice a difference.
As with widgets, it’s a good idea to periodically review your list of apps and delete the ones you don’t use. Many apps will perform tasks in the background, even if you haven’t opened them in weeks or months. Social media apps are particularly guilty of this, as they are typically designed to check for status updates automatically. If you really feel like you need to keep those apps, then you should consider installing an app killer to prevent them from running in the background.
