Nov 3, 2011

How to make your Android phone's battery last longer

Here are a few tips about how to save battery on your android device.

1. Switch to 2G from 3G networks.
I rarely use 3G, and only to check my emails or see if there are new status updates on facebook. Other than that, I always keep my phone on 2G. This has a big effect on battery life.

2. Turn WiFi and Bluetooth OFF when you are not using them
WiFi and Bluetooth are both heavy battery drainers. So turn them off when you aren't using them. (this is very obvious, but I have seen a lot of people with BT and/or WiFi ON most of the time. Even if they wheren't using them...).

3. Set a lower Screen Brightness level
The most power demanding part of your phone.
Your phone is equipped with a light sensor, so it will darken and lighten according to the surrounding light. So don't use 100% screen brightness. Set it to 75% and you will see a huge impact on battery life.

4. Switch to airplane mode at night
That way you will save battery, and will also have less radiation around your phone.
Use Tasker or any other app that automatically switches to flight mode and back to normal mode at preseted time intervals.

5. Turn internet data OFF
If you are not using it, you should turn it off for extra battery juice. (Sony Ericsson phones have a simple switch in settings, some samsung phones need APN switcher to do this. So download APN manager/switcher from the market and use it). This will stop your apps from syncing (untill you turn it on again).

6. Underclock your phone
This requires root and an overclocking app (SetCPU or Tegrak). Set your CPU to lower speeds when in Sleep mode (screen off mode). Just pull the Max speed of your CPU a little bit down, and save it to Screen Off profile. That way whenever your screen will turn off, your CPU won't use 1GHz but 500MHz or whatever speed you set it to.
Your CPU has min. and max. speeds.  MIN is the minimum speed your CPU is operating (it will not go under the min. frequency). For ex. if you have 1GHz with min. 300 and max. 1GHz, you can set the min. to 150-200MHz, and the max. to 500MHz when screen is off.
Don't set the min. speed too low, or it will take your device forever to wake up from standby (and will lag when you recieve a phone call).

7. Don't use live wallpapers
Sure, they look cool and all, but they are battery hogs.

8. Monitor your device
Sometimes an app can go berzerk and will start to eat up more CPU power (for no reason...).
I made a tutorial of SystemPanel last week. You can find it HERE. Download it, and use it to monitor your device.


7 comments:

Michael Westside said...

Meh... If you're going to make your phone worse, buy a cheaper phone to begin with

DWei said...

I should forward this to my friend. His Android dies a lot.

pownyhof said...

Great tips, even my batter is ok anyway =) +1

pownyhof said...

Great tips! my battery works well but if it lasts longer it's even better : P

lowfrequencies said...

mine is dying on me constantly.. thanks for the tips

Anonymous said...

thanks for the tips :]

Raluca said...

Really good tips! Thank you !!

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