Battery life can be a concern for users, especially those with older phones. While regular use can cause the battery percentage to fall quickly, we shouldn’t have to be plugging it in multiple times a day. If you find you’re constantly having to top up the charge of your phone, there could be a problem with the battery, and there are steps you can take to fix this. Identifying the issue and finding solutions will give you peace of mind during days in the office or on long journeys where a charger isn’t available.
Why is my phone battery draining so fast?
There could be a number of reasons your phone battery is draining faster than it should be. Therefore, you first need to identify why the battery is draining so quickly. To do so, you first need to check the battery usage on your phone. You can do this by following these steps:
- Open Settings
- Tap Battery
- Hit the three-dot menu bottom in the top right corner
- Select Battery usage
- Hit the three-dot menu in the top right corner
- Tap on Show full device usage
This should show you where the majority of your battery life is being used and can help you solve the problem. We have listed some of the most common causes of phone battery drainage and provided some potential fixes:
1. The Screen
With advancements in technology, modern phones are getting bigger, brighter, and better-quality screens, which can have a real impact on battery life. While all of these features add to the general experience, you should be on the lookout to conserve energy where you can if long battery life is a priority. Here are some of the adjustments you can make to help preserve your battery:
Lower your brightness – A dimmer screen uses less battery.
Use adaptive brightness – This only uses high brightness when necessary.
Reduce screen refresh rates – You can often customise your devices refresh rates; lowering this will reduce battery usage.
Reduce auto-lock times – Leaving your phone unlocked when not in use drains battery; auto-lock will help it last longer.
Avoid live wallpapers – It might look cool, but it’ll be killing your battery life much faster than a static wallpaper.
Use black wallpaper – Same principle as above, a plain black wallpaper will maximise battery life if your phone has an AMOLED display because it won’t activate the required pixels.
Try a smaller screen – If you want a phone with good battery life, a smaller screen might be the way to go!
2. Poor Service
If you live somewhere with poor reception, it could be contributing to poor battery life. If you have a bad connection, your phone will be working extra hard to improve your signal and get you back on the grid. This in turn, uses up more battery. If you live in a rural area, work in a large building, or often find yourself somewhere without good service, try one of the following:
Switch carrier – Carrier reliability varies by location. Research the best available carrier where you live or work, and it could help improve your connection and battery life.
Switch to airplane mode – Airplane mode will stop your phone from using battery to stay connected. Selecting this won’t make much of a difference in areas where you have bad quality signal any way as services will already be limited.
Network extenders – Carriers offer network extenders that can use the internet to provide signal. If you’re in an area with poor service, this can help save battery and improve your connection.
Try a signal booster – They’re not guaranteed to work but people often turn to signal boosters to help improve reception.
3. Apps
pps and background services could also explain your phone battery draining faster than you’d prefer. The ones you want to watch out for are streaming sites, such as YouTube and Netflix, or certain games that use up a lot of energy. Apps don’t even have to be active to use up battery; social media apps like Facebook and Instagram are constantly updated, using data, our location, sending notifications and more. Here are some ways to stop apps from draining your phone battery:
Only keep the apps you need – If you find a large percentage of your battery is being used on apps, have a clear out. Get rid of the apps you don’t use, and you could help prolong your phone’s battery life.
Close your apps – Apps that are left open will continue to use battery, make sure you close each one once you’re finished.
Stop apps working in the background – You can limit the background usage of apps: head over to settings and go to Apps & notification > Select the app > Advanced > Background restriction > Restrict. This should reduce battery use.
4. Old Phones
Over time, smart phones start to lose performance, and this includes the battery life. Age is a primary reason battery life gets shorter because you shave a second or two off your phone’s maximum battery capacity every time you put it on charge. It’s a fairly simple fix when it comes to solving the issue of an old battery:
Buy a new phone – Ground-breaking, we know. If your phone battery is knackered it might be time to replace it. New phones have the newest batteries, so they will have a much better battery life.
Change the battery – You don’t often find phones with removable batteries anymore, but if you happen to have one, you could choose to replace the battery rather than the phone itself. This does require some technical knowledge and could risk damaging the phone.
Other Quick Fixes
There are plenty of other reasons why your phone battery could be draining too fast, and most are a fairly easy fix. Here are a few more reasons you might find yourself being lost without a charger:
- GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth – These can all contribute to using battery life. Turn them off when they’re not being used to help your phone live a little longer.
- 5G – 5G is even faster, using more of your battery life. Turn it off or change the settings so your phone uses 4G to buy your phone more time.
- Camera – Taking videos and photos uses more battery thank you might think. Avoid using your camera to save battery life.
- Avoid the cold – Low temperatures can affect your phone’s battery. Long exposure to the cold can even permanently damage your battery, which might be what is causing your phone to suffer.
- Keep your phone updates – Software updates can improve your battery life. It’s worth checking for an update if your battery life is bad, as it could help solve the problem!
This article should help you to improve the battery life of your phone. If you think that the poor battery life might be because of accidental damage, it might be worth looking for phone insurance in the future. SO-SURE offer plans for as low as £2.20 a month, this covers you for theft, loss and accidental damage.