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Seven mundane things that drain your phone battery
Something as simple as one too many alerts, or how hot or cold it is, among other things, can affect how long you can use your phone before you need to plug it in.
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Low battery on a smartphone. (Shutterstock/File)
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aving a smartphone for your everyday needs, from being a personal alarm clock to notifying you when you have an appointment or date, has become essential.
However, something as simple as one too many alerts or how hot or cold it is, among other things, can affect how long you can use your phone, before you need to plug it in.
Below is a list of inconspicuous things that drain your phone battery, some of which you might not even realize could be the cause, according to former United States Army electronic warfare specialist Kyle Logue who is also a software specialist referenced by Reader’s Digest and other experts.
1. Alerts and notifications
“Each time you install a new application and enable push notifications, you are allowing that application to periodically check to see if there is a new notification to show you on your home screen,” Logue said.
Everything from activities and comments made on your social media accounts, to messages from your family and friends, to the latest news, alerts and notification can easily fill up your lock screen.
“The service, when multiplied by more than 100 applications, can quickly drain someone’s phone battery because of the constant requests being made,” Logue said.
This can easily be remedied by simply going to your settings, then to your notifications list. You should be able to opt for applications that are able to send you push notifications to lessen how much of your phone’s energy goes into constantly checking online accounts.
2. Phone or data service
“While your phone is hanging around in your pocket, it’s constantly sending and receiving signals from nearby towers,” Logue said. “In a way, it’s asking the nearby towers ‘Can you hear me?’”
Like with any service provider, there are places with spotty coverage, some more noticeable than others. According to Logue, phones will commonly use more power in areas with poor coverage or no coverage in an attempt to reconnect to a data or service signal.
“If the tower [does not respond], the cell phone will try to send the message again with increased power,” Logue said.
Read also: Expert tips on how to spend less time on your phone in 2018
3. Bluetooth
“Having GPS and Bluetooth turned on makes your phone battery work harder because that is an active process that requires power,” wireless telecom business strategist Mike McRitchie said. “Don’t need it? Shut it off.”
Similar to what happens with poor reception, phones with Bluetooth are constantly trying to connect and detect other devices with their Bluetooth turned on. Most devices are designed to constantly have it turned on. Like other phone behavior, this can be remedied by going to the settings to turn it off.
4. Photos and videos
Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp and whatever applications are used for sharing, compel most with a phone to take and send photos and videos, due to the advent of social media. This is more so in the case of teenagers who enjoy sharing almost everything about their lives online.
“Be very careful with video because that can drain the battery very rapidly compared to the camera,” McRitchie said. “Taking pictures and especially video require extra power to process the camera’s focus functions and record the images and sounds.”
5. Video and voice calls
“Calling uses quite a bit of power,” McRitchie explained. “It uses more of the available network’s capacity and also has to power up the sound element that is not in play with texting or emailing. If you can text or email, you’ll save your battery.”
Messaging instead of video calling via online applications like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Line and others can help save your battery when used sparingly in place of a phone call.
6. Phone years (or months)
“Batteries are no longer built like the indestructible Nokia bricks of the past,” Logue said. “A quickly dying battery could simply mean that it’s time to replace your phone because the battery is just no good.”
New models and updated versions of phones seem to be released every six months, increasing the chances that an outdated phone has a similarly outdated and worn-out battery.
Read also: Apple admits to slowing iPhones as batteries age
“As cell phones continue to follow the trend of non-replaceable batteries, we learn that companies like Apple are trying to find ways to encourage consumers to buy a new device,” Logue said.
7. Weather
McRitchie said the cold can affect a phone’s battery, especially in climates that receive snow every year. It can affect everything from loading time to how your camera functions as well, not just your battery -- increased loading time and lagging applications means wasting more time on waiting on a phone that barely works.
CEO of Safer Tech August Brice said warmer temperatures can cause your phone battery to overheat, much like the battery of a laptop or the tower of a CPU.
Despite mundane phone behaviors that eat up battery percentage without a user’s knowledge, simple changes such as using dark or black wallpaper to ease how much light your phone uses, turning Airplane mode on, clearing out or closing applications that continue running in the background can help improve your phone’s battery life. (acr/kes)
