Extend your mobile phone's battery life

By Andrew Lim, CNET.co.uk on 04 July 2006

There's little in life more frustrating than having your mobile phone run out of battery in the middle of the day, when you've left your charger at home. But you don't just have to accept this -- follow these simple tips to extend your phone's battery life and avoid being caught short.

Tip 1: Features and settings
Tip 2: Signal strength
Tip 3: Understand your battery

Tip 1: Features and settings

Nowadays phones have a tonne of functions and all of them drain battery power, so if you don't need something, switch it off. Some phones provide ways of saving energy by putting the phone in standby mode or turning off non-essential features when idle. You can usually make any changes to your phone's features via the "Settings" or "Tools" section in the menu. Almost every modern feature on a mobile phone puts a strain on the battery and while batteries are improving, they're still not good enough to support all the features available on modern mobile phones for long periods of time.

Turn off your Bluetooth when you're not using it
One of the most infamous battery-draining culprits is Bluetooth, which can be left on unintentionally. Bluetooth is a radio standard that can receive and transmit information, but to do this it consumes battery power. Unless you're using a Bluetooth headset, transferring files or sending information to someone, then you should turn it off and only use it when you need to.


You can usually turn Bluetooth off in the "Settings" section of the menu. Here we have done it on a Nokia mobile phone.

Lower your screen's brightness
Another feature that you should keep an eye on is your screen's brightness. Some phones adjust the display's brightness automatically according to the ambient light, but most don't. The majority of mobile phone displays will be set to full brightness when you first switch them on and, unless you change it manually, they will stay on that setting.

You don't usually need full brightness to view the screen properly and setting it as low as possible will save plenty of energy. Some phones also have an option letting you adjust how long the backlight stays on for. It's best to keep the backlight on for as short an amount of time as possible, so turn it down to around 15 seconds, or less if possible.


You can change screen brightness in the "Settings" section of the menu. Here we have done it on a Sony Ericsson mobile phone. Reducing screen brightness will save battery life, but make sure you can still see it in daylight.

Keep it plain and keep it quiet
Screensavers and moving wallpapers may look pretty but they use up battery power, so turn them off. A loud ring and the vibrate mode also use up a lot of power, so turn down the volume and turn off the vibrate mode if you don't need it.

Watch out for GPRS, 3G and Wi-Fi
Other features that drain power but aren't featured on every phone are 3G connectivity and Wi-Fi adaptors. You should be able to turn off a Wi-Fi adaptor and switch from 3G to GSM in the "Connectivity" section of your mobile's menu. If you enjoy browsing the Web on a GPRS connection, make sure you set the GPRS connection to "only when needed" so that it turns itself off when you stop using it.

Use your phone sparingly and turn it off when you don't need it
If you restrict your phone usage to text messaging or phone calls and turn it off when you don't need it, your battery will last much longer. It may be fun playing games or browsing the Web at the bus stop, but your battery will have run out by the time you get to work.

Topics: battery, phone charger, extend battery life, mobile phone, phone, tip, lithium

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Comments (17)

  • dellbatt commented on 19/06/2009 02:17 Report abuse

    How to save precious battery life and keep your mobile phone going for days and days? Most smartphone users have been encountering the same problem lately. (ad: http://www.dell-laptop-batteries.net/ ) Since their phones are smarter, have bigger, brighter displays, and are more energy thirsty than before, there are certain things the smartphone user should do in order to try and extend battery life. The people from Nokia E50 Blog have a few tricks and tips concerning this matter. (ad: http://www.dell-laptop-batteries.net/1691p.htm ) They recommend the disabling of Bluetooth when not in use (as Bluetooth is the most power hungry application), as well as keypad tones or vibrating alert when you don't really need it. Brightness of the display should also be lowered and you are advised to turn off the phone whenever you don't use it. Also, you'd better stay away from games, since they are really battery-consuming. I don't know about you, but to me it sounds a little scary, because having a smartphone means that you have that phone specifically for using all those features that you are advised to use as rarely as possible in order to keep your phone 'alive' longer. You might sometimes find these tips very helpful though, when you are stuck somewhere, away from home without your phone's charger. It might be a nice idea to turn off your phone at night, when you are sleeping whenever you think that you might need the phone's battery to last more. It might also be a good idea to turn your smartphone off when there is no coverage, because the mobile keeps searching for the network and will drain your battery at a fast pace.

  • betty320 commented on 08/11/2008 19:21 Report abuse

    1.New Battery come in a discharged condition and must be fully charged before use it. It is recommended that you fully charge and discharge your new Battery 3 times to allow it to reach its maximum rated capacity. 2.Fully charging and then fully discharging the battery at least once every two to three weeks.With lithium-ion batteries packs, partial charges and discharges are best on a regular basis. These batteries do not suffer from the memory effect. 3.Avoid piercing, hitting, crushing or any abuse use of the battery. 4.The b1900 battery should always be stored in a fully charged state and kept in a cool, dry and clean place. 5.To maximize your computer battery Performance,You had better circle the it at least once a month. battery tips from: http://www.diggingshop.com

  • raul commented on 16/07/2008 13:30 Report abuse

    Some tips for Battery Maintenance and User Instructions 1. A new battery usually maintains a discharged condition with very low capacity. It is highly recommended to fully charge new battery packs before using. You can refer to the users' guide of your electronic device for charging instructions. 2. A new battery pack needs to be circled (fully discharged and recharged) three to five times to reach its optimum performance. 3. Rechargeable battery will undergo self-discharging when left unused for a long period of time. Thus, it should always be stored in a fully charged state and kept in a cool, dry and clean place. 4. To maintain the optimum performance of a battery pack, it is highly recommended to circle (fully discharging and recharging) it at least once a month. 5. It is normal if a new battery gets warm when being charged or used. However, please pay special attention if the battery pack becomes excessively hot. This may indicate there is a problem with the charging circuit of the electronic device. Please consult a qualified technician if necessary. 6. New batteries are hard to be charged. Sometimes, your electronic device may indicate a fully charged condition about 10 to 15 minutes when the new battery pack is being charged for the first time. When this happens, remove the battery pack and let it cool down for about 10 to 15 minutes then repeat the charging procedure. Sometimes, a new battery will suddenly refuse to be charged. If this happens, a suggested solution is trying to remove the battery from the device and insert it again. http://www.toshiba-laptop-battery.com/toshiba-pa3291u-1brs.htm

  • linda commented on 14/07/2008 13:10 Report abuse

    Why can't the battery be charged? How to solve this problem? 1)Reason: a.The battery has no voltage. b.There is problem with charger, as it has no output electric current. c.Low charging efficiency due to external cause. 2)Solutions: a.Test whether the charger has voltage and output electric current or not. b.Check if the charger is well contacted with battery. c.Activate the battery with voltage and current 1.5 time higher then the highest ones of battery. (Use this method only when the battery can't be charged.) if you want to know the others tips,you get them on <a href="http://www.digital-camera-batteries.net">http://www.digital-camera-batteries.net</a> .

  • raul commented on 25/06/2008 20:00 Report abuse

    What causes short lifetime of battery? 1. Charger or electro circuit can't be fit for the battery. 2. Overcharge and over-discharge, etc. 3. Battery can't comply with the charging requirement The lifetime of a battery can be prolonged by: 1. Using the original charger 2. Charging the battery after it automatically powers off, then full charge the battery 3. Avoiding erroneous usage of battery, such as heavy pressure, short circuit, fall off and so on ---------------------------------------------- http://www.toshiba-laptop-battery.com/toshiba-pa3383u-1brs.htm

  • beyond commented on 27/05/2008 14:31 Report abuse

    Battery run-time on a mobile phone is difficult to determine. Actual battery running time depends upon the power demands made by the equipment. The use of the screen, the hard drive and other accessories also results in an additional drain upon the battery, effectively reducing its running time. The total run-time of the battery is also dependent upon the design of the equipment. Generally, a new Hi-Capacity battery will run 30% to 50% longer than the old battery did when it was new. The life span of a Notebook battery is about 1.5 to 3 years under normal conditions. As the rechargeable battery begins to die, the user will notice a decline in the running time of the battery. info from: http://www.cheap-laptop-batteries.com

  • beyond commented on 27/05/2008 14:31 Report abuse

    Battery run-time on a mobile phone is difficult to determine. Actual battery running time depends upon the power demands made by the equipment. The use of the screen, the hard drive and other accessories also results in an additional drain upon the battery, effectively reducing its running time. The total run-time of the battery is also dependent upon the design of the equipment. Generally, a new Hi-Capacity battery will run 30% to 50% longer than the old battery did when it was new. The life span of a Notebook battery is about 1.5 to 3 years under normal conditions. As the rechargeable battery begins to die, the user will notice a decline in the running time of the battery. info from: http://www.cheap-laptop-batteries.com

  • beyond commented on 27/05/2008 14:30 Report abuse

    Battery run-time on a mobile phone is difficult to determine. Actual battery running time depends upon the power demands made by the equipment. The use of the screen, the hard drive and other accessories also results in an additional drain upon the battery, effectively reducing its running time. The total run-time of the battery is also dependent upon the design of the equipment. Generally, a new Hi-Capacity battery will run 30% to 50% longer than the old battery did when it was new. The life span of a Notebook battery is about 1.5 to 3 years under normal conditions. As the rechargeable battery begins to die, the user will notice a decline in the running time of the battery. info from: http://www.cheap-laptop-batteries.com

  • fanni commented on 08/04/2008 16:21 Report abuse

    1) Do not modify or disassemble it. 2) Do not incinerate or expose battery to excessive heat, which may result in an exposure. 3) Do not expose battery to water or other moist/wet substances. 4) Avoid piercing, hitting, crushing or any abuse use of the battery. 5) Do not forget to take away your battery from the device if you will not use it for a long time. 6) Avoid short circuit of the terminals by keeping your battery pack away from metal objects such as necklaces or hairpins. battery tips from http://www.lithium-batteries.net

  • Andre commented on 27/12/2007 07:02 Report abuse

    As someone asked for a tip for Motorola, I have a Rokr Z6 and when I bought it, the battery couldnt last more than a day... Then, after searching for some options around the settings, I lowered the brightness, the backlight timeout, the display timeout and turned on the "battery save" option (not sure if all the morotolas have this) ... I still testing, but I can say that im having good results so far... hope this can help !

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