How to care for your new phones battery

The biggest question I get asked about handsets is "Whats the battery life like?" and my answer is always the same because no matter which phone you get it's also quite subjective to how you use it.

Some people will use their phone more and therefore they will have to charge their phone more often. Others will use it way less therefore will have to charge it less. Instead what you need to ask yourself is what do I use on my smartphone that will drain the battery so here is ways to save your battery throughout the day.

On average people will get a day out of their phone and by day I mean 15hours. Our general answer is a day, day and a half. For me I have a fully charged phone at the start of the day at 6am and by the time i get home normally 7pm from work I may have 20percent left this is a new handset that I have had a few weeks but use constantly throughout the day. So let me say you will notice at the beginning your handsets battery will last alot longer because you have used it less over time.

Everything we do on our smartphones is using power and if we do not close down an application when we are finished this is still running power on the phone. If you wish to check what is using your smartphones power you can check this in the settings In most android devices you can hit Settings > Device > Battery or Settings > Power > Battery Use

It will look something like this.

Here we can see that the screen brightness is using the 70% of this handsets power. Our screen brightness being at full is not necessary. You may only need this in harsh sunlight depending on your handset. I would then resolve this issue by turning down the brightness on my phone to below the half way mark. 

My Biggest and best advice I can give you to keep your battery life in good condition is not to charge your battery overnight. I dont care if a device manufacturer tells me the phone has a built in feature that will stop it charging when its full. This is not only a fire hazard ( as we seen from the samsng note 7) it Does also ruin your batteries life span. I have seen batteries that have swollen to a point that you cant even close the back on the phone. (If it is a removable battery that is) which brings me to another point. Some phones batteries can not be removed from the phone unless you can unscrew which it i do not advise. This is an even bigger reason why you should not charge your battery overnight. If the battery swells in a non removable handset it is a danger. Again the samsung note 7 is an example here. Instead what you should do is charge the phone before you go to sleep and even if it is not full unplug your phone. Put it on flight mode if you use it for an alarm this will save the power on the phone and make sure you have enough power for your alarm to wake you. 

Another way is one since the dawn of 3G. 3G is your mobile data this is what keeps all your apps running their magic but if our phones are in our pockets or our handbags being idle why have this on? Having mobile data switched off means the phone is not always trying to pull information and will really keep your battery going and depending on your carriers plan this will also save your data. However most of us that use social media do want this feature kept on because we can get our messages on social media and so on. My advice is You are not looking at your phone while it is in your bag or your pocket. Switch it off then turn it on when you wish to check it. A simple google search will help you find instructions like these

1. On your Homescreen, tap the Apps icon.

1. Tap Settings.

1. Tap More.

1. Tap Usage.

1. Tap the On/Off switch next to Mobile Data. Setting the switch to On will mean that Mobile Data is enabled.

If you are afraid to Your battery may die and you need to make sure your battery stays on just until you can get to a charger. Before your battery goes beyond the 15% mark some phones have an extreme power saver mode in the settings. This cuts off every feature on your phone except calls and texts. Its a very handy feature in emergencies. Unfortunately on IOS I have not seen this feature so for you apple guys try turn on the airplane mode on your phone and switch the screen brightness down at 20% battery. Again another simple google search will help you find the instructions.

How to switch on extreme power saver mode:

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers to access the quick settings menu.

1. Tap on the menu button next to Power Saver Mode.

1. Tap on the back button at the top to return to the Battery Manager screen.

1. Turn On the option for Extreme Power Saving Mode.

How to turn on Airplane mode iphone:

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, swipe up from the bottom of your Home screen to open Control Center, then tap  . You can also go to Settings > Airplane Mode and tap the slider to turn it on.

So to recap so far we have two ways to save power on your handset.

 1. Check what apps are using the most power and shut them down. 

 2. Do not charge your phone overnight as this is a hazard and also depletes the battery life. 

3. Switch off your mobile data

4. Use extreme power saver mode or Turn Airplane mode on.

I hope these little tips have helped you. Please feel free to leave me a comment if you feel you may have some tips of your own. 

See ya soon,

XOXO

GG