(dpa) – People who play games or check social networks a lot on their smartphone have to accept that the battery won’t last too long. But even so, there are a few tips to eke a bit more life out of it before it dies.
Turn off location services: These run continuously in the background, draining your battery.
«Location services are major power guzzlers,» says Yasmin Vetterl from German magazine Chip. Fortunately, they’re easy to disable if you go into your phone’s settings.
Radio silence: When activated, WiFi, NFC and Bluetooth are continually looking for connection possibilities, thereby using up power unnecessarily. For that reason you should turn off these connections when you’re not actively using them, recommends Matthias Baumann from the German product tester TUV.
Dim the screen: In the case of most mobile devices, you can reduce the brightness of the display or even turn it off when you put the device down. The display is the greatest consumer of power in smartphones, Baumann says.
Disable synchronization: Many apps synchronize at short intervals in order to always have the most up-to-date content on hand. For example, an email programme may constantly check the mail server for new messages. Whoever can do without this «push» feature should disable the function under mail settings, Vetterl advises. Then you’ll have to open the mail programme yourself to get new messages.
As a compromise, you can extend the synchronization interval so the app checks less often. At least that way, the app consumes less power. This is an option for several apps, Baumann says.
Be frugal: When the battery level falls below a certain level, some smartphones suggest putting the device into sleep mode. This makes the smartphone more energy-efficient.
But what if the battery is almost dead and you need the phone soon to make an important call? There’s a very simple answer, Vetterl says:
turn it off.
