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How Do I Extend My Cell Phone Battery Life?

Christina Edwards
Christina Edwards

Several strategies can help extend a cell phone battery life, like turning the phone off when it is not in use. Operations and features that are not being used should be turned off or limited. Adjusting the brightness and volume levels of the phone can make a cell phone battery last longer as well. Additionally, routine charging of the battery can help keep the phone on longer.

Many times, people will leave their cell phones on when they are not using them. To extend your battery life, turn off your phone when it's not being used, such as when you are sleeping. Your phone should also be turned off when there is little or no network coverage, since a cell phone battery drains quickly when it is trying to establish or maintain a signal.

Playing games and listening to music on your cell phone will also drain the battery very quickly. The same is true for taking pictures and videos. These activities should be kept to a minimum if you want prolong your cell phone battery life.

Avoiding certain power-hungry features on your phone also may preserve the battery. Wireless Bluetooth® or WiFi® connections are two of the biggest energy wasters, for example. To extend your battery life, these features should be turned off.

Charging the cell phone regularly helps get the most out of the battery.
Charging the cell phone regularly helps get the most out of the battery.

If you have a smart phone, you may also have a number of applications that use a lot of battery power. If these are not closed correctly when you are done using them, they will continue running in the background. These applications should be terminated completely to prevent them from draining the battery.

Keypad and screen brightness can also be turned down to prolong the battery life on your cell phone. These lights can drain a battery quickly, especially if you use your phone often. Most phones also allow the user to set up the phone so these lights turn off after a few seconds.

Besides lights, sounds can also drain the batteries. To prevent this, you can turn down your ringer volume. Avoid setting up your phone to vibrate, however, since the vibrate mode will often drain a battery more quickly that a loud ringer.

Turning off the cell phone when it is not in use can extend the battery life.
Turning off the cell phone when it is not in use can extend the battery life.

Obviously, a fully charged battery will last longer than one that isn't charged completely. One of the easiest ways to prolong your cell phone battery life is by using a cell phone battery charger. If you are on the go constantly, you can invest in a portable charger, which you can plug into a vehicle cigarette lighter.

Discussion Comments

LisaLou

I used to use my cell phone for a mini flashlight. This is one quick way to drain your battery, and it really didn't work all that well anyway. The light isn't bright enough to really see much, and then you don't have the battery you need when you need to make a call.

I think there is a difference in the types of cell phone battery you use. Once I bought a discount cell phone battery thinking I was saving some money, but it didn't last nearly as long as other batteries I have bought.

This is the last time I will do this. I probably ended up spending more money because I had to replace it sooner.

honeybees

When I got my first smart phone I downloaded and tried a lot of apps. I noticed a big difference in how much faster I used up my battery. I also discovered that many of the apps would continue to run in the background when I thought I had closed them out.

There is a difference between completely closing the app and just minimizing it so you can't see it on the screen. Once I realized this, I made sure to completely close out an app when I was done using it.

Before I figured this out, I had ten applications open at one time. It is no wonder my cellular phone battery was going down so fast that day. Sometimes I will want more than one app open depending on what I am doing. I just get in the habit of making sure it is completely closed when I am done using it.

John57
We spend time in the mountains every year and many places we go don't have cell phone coverage. When we head into town, I have noticed that it takes a lot of battery for the phone to constantly be searching for a signal.

On our way down the mountain, we go in and out of a signal range for about 30 minutes. I have found that if I want to save on my battery, I just keep it off until we are in town and I know I have a signal.

I have also noticed that I have the best cell phone battery life when I keep my phone charged up all the time. I don't let the battery run down before I charge it. It is just habit to plug my cell phone into the charger every night, whether the battery is low or not.

bagley79

Most of the time my cell phone is set on vibrate. I had no idea that a vibrating signal could run your battery down faster than a ringtone. If I am going to keep my cell phone on during the day, most of the time, it needs to be set on vibrate.

When I am at work I keep my phone turned on in my purse so I will know if I get a phone call or text. I know it runs my battery down faster to keep it on all the time, but I usually don't have to buy a cell phone battery before I buy a new phone.

I also keep my cell phone on at night. This is my only phone so it is important that people can contact me if there is some kind of emergency.

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    • Charging the cell phone regularly helps get the most out of the battery.
      By: Xuejun li
      Charging the cell phone regularly helps get the most out of the battery.
    • Turning off the cell phone when it is not in use can extend the battery life.
      By: Tanusha
      Turning off the cell phone when it is not in use can extend the battery life.
    • A smartphone with a touch screen.
      By: N-Media-Images
      A smartphone with a touch screen.
    • Running multiple applications can drain a phone's battery.
      By: slasnyi
      Running multiple applications can drain a phone's battery.
    • If a battery will no longer hold a charge, it should be replaced.
      By: Xuejun li
      If a battery will no longer hold a charge, it should be replaced.
    • A cell phone charger that plugs into a vehicle's cigarette lighter is ideal for charging on the on-the-go.
      By: aris sanjaya
      A cell phone charger that plugs into a vehicle's cigarette lighter is ideal for charging on the on-the-go.