My phone is only a year old, but it has started to run out quickly. The charge lasts only two or three hours of active use, or even less. I’m always taking the Powerbank and the charging wire with me – it’s inconvenient. Is there any way to improve the situation?
My phone runs out of power quickly, what should I do?
Quick answer: use power saving mode, disable applications that run in the background, use less applications that consume a lot of power.
Why phone discharges quickly and how to fix it?
Let’s find out what to do if your phone runs out of power quickly, and help you figure out what’s causing the problem.
Sometimes people just buy a new phone when the old one runs out quickly because they think the battery is dead. But the problem may be more than just the battery. Often the phone runs out due to background applications and it is possible to fix the situation yourself.
Why does the smartphone run out quickly?
The ability to work for a long time without power is valued in smartphones on par with other important functions. Manufacturers are trying to provide the longest possible autonomous work of the devices, but at the same time, they are improving the functionality, which requires more charge.
The solution to any problem begins with finding the causes of its occurrence. Therefore, first of all, we should understand what processes or applications consume the most energy.
To do this, go to the Device Settings and find the Battery item there. In most cases, you will see a little informative graph there that shows you how fast your smartphone is wasting energy.
Just tap on this graph and you will see a list of apps sorted by their power consumption. In our case, the Chrome browser uses the most power. Sometimes it may be replaced by Google services, messenger, or another application you or the system itself actively use.
My phone runs out of power quickly what should I do?
The battery is wearing out
More often than not, fast discharging is due to the poor condition of the battery. Over time, any battery will become dead – it quickly wears out and uses up its charge. This is due to the inevitable chemical aging of lithium-ion batteries, regardless of capacity or manufacturer.
System efficiency decreases after upgrades
Often updates are designed for the latest phones with powerful and energy-efficient components. This means that older smartphones may require more battery power to run the same programs than newer ones.
This is not always the case, because updates are just released to reduce power consumption. But over time, developers stop taking older devices into account. For example, they add complex design and animations, which are hard for outdated models.
How do I check the battery status?
Usually the battery capacity decreases in phones older than a year. If the device is about that age, it is worth checking the condition of its battery.
Check On iPhone
Go to settings, click on “Battery” → “Battery Status”. iOS will show the maximum charging capacity – this is the battery status. If it’s above 80%, there’s nothing to worry about.
Apple advises you to turn on optimized charging so as not to strain the battery. In this case, the phone charges to 80% and then waits for the optimal time to charge the remaining 20%.
Check on Android
On Xiaomi, you can check your battery status under Power and Performance. You can’t see the battery capacity right away – you have to wade through the settings menu.
In the “Battery” window that opens, click on “Optimize”. Check the checkboxes and select the “Add to battery life” option. After that, scroll down the page and look at the “Battery Status” line. If it’s normal, there’s nothing wrong with your battery.
For other Android smartphones, you can do it this way. You can’t check the battery status programmatically, you can use the third-party “Battery” app in Google Play.
Once installed, go into the program and swipe to the left – in the additional information section. In the line “Working status” you will see the status of the battery.
You can also use AccuBattery, a useful Android app that helps you check your Android battery’s health and performance.
AccuBattery is a free Android app that measures actual battery usage using information from the battery controller.
This app can also measure battery usage for each app, and it is determined by combining these measurements with information about which app is on the front panel.
If your phone’s battery is fine?
Reduce the load on your phone
Check the most used applications. On your phone, you can see which programs consume the most battery power. Most often these are social networks, messengers, video chats, and video games.
On iOS, you can find out your activity in the same Battery section of Settings. On Android, in settings, go to “Apps and Notifications,” then tap “Usage Time.
If possible, open these apps less frequently or replace them with light versions. For example, Telegram on Android has a lightweight Telegram X with improved optimization and power consumption.
Check battery capacity
If your smartphone charges quickly and discharges quickly, we can assume that your battery has very little capacity. Over time, batteries lose capacity due to frequent recharging – and this is quite normal. However, in one or two years of use it is quite difficult to noticeably “run down” a quality battery, but over a longer period of time it is quite real. The problem can be solved by replacing the battery with a new one.
Sometimes it happens that even a new battery quickly runs out in the phone – for example, after replacement in a private service. If you have optimized the settings of applications and system, but the battery is still rapidly losing charge, it may indicate that the service did not change it at all, or put a less powerful battery in the phone.
To check the battery capacity, you will need a special USB tester, which is connected to the phone with a wire. You can also measure the capacity using the AccuBattery controller app for Android or Battery Life for iOS by activating it during the charging process. If the actual battery capacity is lower than the manufacturer’s stated capacity, it should be replaced. By the way, a battery with more than 30% wear and tear is no longer safe to use.
Turn on power saving and night mode
Power Saving reduces the background activity of your phone, and Night Mode saves the battery on brightness. In a pinch, you can leave them on permanently.
On iOS, power saving can be turned on in the Battery section or in widgets by swiping the screen down from the right corner. The night mode is set in the section “Screen and brightness” or in the same widgets.
On Android, power saving and night mode are enabled in the same way.
Disable VPN
VPN consumes a lot of power in the background – remember to turn it off when you don’t need it.
Turn off background apps
Even if you’re not opening any programs, they’re on by default to download updates or send notifications and statistics.
Often there are too many apps running in the background while using the Internet and sending notifications. For example, constantly running in the background FaceBook will very quickly drain the battery of any smartphone. Not to mention a forgotten tab with an active game.
Fortunately, you can reduce the app’s appetite. For starters, check which programs on your smartphone can run in the background. You can find this out in the settings under “Applications”-“Launching apps”. On Android, you can adjust the startup settings manually by disabling the background and indirect launch of the program by other applications.
Disable unnecessary connections and services
The battery will drain quickly if you are constantly using wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS. Apps that access these services in the background will consume battery power.
To save battery power, you should turn off the GPS unless you are using maps or other programs that need your geolocation to work properly (such as weather apps). Also, you should refuse to constantly turn on Wi-Fi – if it is active, the smartphone will be constantly looking for free networks to connect. Although Bluetooth uses almost no energy (especially in the latest fifth version), it’s also best to turn it off if you’re not currently using a fitness bracelet, headphones, or other wireless gadgets.
Reduce your smartphone’s runtime
As strange as it may sound, your smartphone can run out of power quickly because you’re constantly using it. You can turn off unnecessary services and apps all you want, but if you have your gadget in your hands all the time with Instagram or YouTube videos on, it will drain quickly. Applications consume different amounts of energy: the most voracious can be rightly considered games and videos. Also the charge is quickly consumed when working with the camera, for example, if you are constantly photographing something.
If you do not have the opportunity (or desire) to put the phone aside, you can extend its working time with a power bank.
Turn off notifications
On your device, turn off notifications and auto-refresh for those apps you don’t use often. If possible, remove the ones you don’t need.
iOS shows you which apps are running in the background. You can turn them off so they waste less battery power
Use only tested chargers
Cheap models can put more strain on your battery and wear it out faster. To be sure to keep your device’s battery safe, use chargers from manufacturers. Make sure you are not sold a counterfeit, and read the reviews.
Connect to wifi at every opportunity
Your mobile network can put more strain on your device than your wi-fi. But connect only to trusted networks: public ones may not be safe.
Reduce the brightness of the device
You won’t need maximum brightness everywhere – in well-lit rooms, set the brightness to medium or low. The automatic brightness adjustment feature usually helps. In modern models it is enabled by default, but some applications select the brightness by themselves.
One of the main reasons why the battery drains quickly on your phone is the high brightness of the screen. It is the display that consumes the most energy, and the higher the resolution and brightness – the more the smartphone will run down.
To save power, set the automatic brightness detection – this feature is available on all modern smartphones and tablets. You can also choose the “smart resolution” option in your device settings or manually set a lower resolution to save power. If you’re using a device with an AMOLED screen, activate the dark theme: these matrices don’t waste energy backlighting black pixels.
Also, on some new models, you can adjust the refresh rate of the screen: for example, 120 Hz or 60 Hz. The higher it is, the faster your smartphone will run out of power. Why do you need a higher hertz display on the phone, we told in a separate article. So, at 120 Hz it is much more convenient to play and work with the application interface, but if you want to prolong the life of your smartphone, it is better to choose a low refresh rate.
Also in Android, you can turn off all sorts of animations and visual system effects. But this will save very little battery, so it does not always make sense to give up the beautiful visuals. All settings to disable animations and other “decorations” are in the settings section Special Features – Additional visual effects.
Disable GPS and Bluetooth
Location and Bluetooth connectivity also take up battery power, so turn them off in the settings when you don’t need them.
Reduce screen timeout
By default, the screen goes out after 30 seconds or a minute. On Android, you can reduce that timeout to 10 seconds, but on iOS, you can only reduce it to 30 seconds. You can do this in the screen settings on any device regardless of operating system.
Optimize your geolocation and its settings
Updating your geolocation requires the most battery power. Therefore, the answer to the question of what to turn off in your phone so as not to drain the battery is pretty obvious – GPS. Completely disabling this function can significantly reduce power consumption.
Turn off push notifications
The question why the battery began to run quickly on the phone can be answered by an overabundance of push notifications. In mobile operating systems, constant checks for new notifications bistrofully consume the battery.
To solve this problem, you need to manually disable such pop-up messages for some programs. This is done by double-clicking on the notification, going to the permissions settings, and setting the “Allow notifications” function to inactive.
Disable account sync
Background data synchronization with your account and cloud drive is a big drain on your battery. In fact, all information from your phone is constantly being reloaded to the cloud, which greatly reduces the battery life of your device.
Buy a quick charger
It doesn’t reduce the strain on your battery, but it charges your phone faster if you need it right away. You won’t have to sit on a cord for two hours at a time.
Battery Saving Software
All of the above methods can be combined with the use of special programs that help save battery power. All utilities are freely available on the Internet. The user just needs to download them and install them on his smartphone.
Greenife
The program operates in the background mode and reduces the activity of the smartphone when the user does not use it. The advantage of this program is that it detects and disables all unnecessary processes (even those that are not displayed in the task manager).
DU Battery Saver
This program deactivates background processes and shows all the information about the battery usage. There is a separate “Optimize” button that allows you to disable any resource-intensive utilities.
Amplife
This software disables all unnecessary processes when the smartphone is not used. The program functions in automatic mode, turning off unnecessary applications. Manual tuning is possible.
GO Battery Saver
This program has several power saving profiles. They can be switched between them, to do this, you need to place a widget on the screen of the device. In addition to the free version, there is also a premium version in which you can make a schedule to enable/disable the profiles.
Using these programs and correctly using the smartphone, it is possible to provide excellent indicators of the autonomy of the device. The main thing is to learn all the nuances of charging and do not tempt fate, downloading suspicious software. Then you can count on the fact that the declared in the characteristics of the phone battery life will really come true in practice.
What to do if the battery is in poor condition?
Change the battery
The above tips are unlikely to help if the battery is worn out. Then it is worth contacting an official service center for your devices.
Service hours and their ability to replace batteries should be found out in advance by phone or email. As a last resort, you can go to private repair services, but you will have to do it at your own risk.
Buy a phone with an energy efficient battery
When buying pay attention to two parameters: battery capacity in mA/h and battery life.
Usually the higher the capacity, the better. But this does not always mean a longer run time: often phones with a lower capacity hold a charge longer due to improved energy efficiency. So it’s a good idea to read phone reviews with real battery life tests before you buy.
Pay attention to support fast charging. If the phone has this feature, its battery will be able to charge in 30 minutes or even less.
Conclusion
We have listed all the known causes of fast battery discharge and pointed out the ways to solve this problem. We hope that you enjoyed our article and that you will share it with your friends.
