Millions of us check email, surf the Web or read Facebook or Instagram posts throughout the day. We use a smartphone, tablet or e-reader almost every day. And all of us have found ourselves in the same situation—staring at our phone or tablet’s battery icon fluttering on the edge of black. Time to recharge – even when it’s not convenient.
If this has happened to you at least once, read on. Below are 10 easy changes you can make to your habits that will extend the battery life of your phone or tablet, empowering you to get through your busy day without interruption.
Customize Your Display
Your smartphone phone and tablet displays are the single largest consumer of battery power on your phone. By making some small adjustments, you can lengthen your battery runtime.
- Turn down the screen brightness on your phone or tablet. It’s probably brighter than it needs to be; more light uses more power. If your device has a brightness setting that automatically adjusts to lighting conditions, select that.
- Set the sleep mode to kick in after a minute of inactivity. Your screen will lock automatically when it’s not being used. This tip applies especially to tablets, which you might forget to turn off. A dark screen translates to less battery drain.
- Get rid of live wallpaper. We all love animation, but those moving jelly beans will use up your battery in no time.
Stay Out of the Heat
A hot battery drains faster than a cool one. So don’t leave your device in a hot place, like a car on a summer day, in your pocket or on top of a laptop. Cold temperatures can also affect batteries, but not like heat. If your phone is hot to the touch, it’s running inefficiently. Keep it cool.
Know Your Device
Smartphones and tablets are pretty energy efficient, so charging them doesn’t cost a lot of money or waste a lot of energy. But this tip can help: Don’t charge your device with a full battery or a completely empty battery; it may shorten the battery’s life. Charging a partially empty battery is preferable. For more charging tips, visit Battery University.
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