Technology
10 Simple Ways to Make Your Phone Battery Last Longer
A few settings changes can add hours to your day and help your battery age more slowly.
Running out of battery by mid-afternoon is frustrating, and so is a phone that holds less charge every year. Both iPhone and Android phones include settings that help. Here are the ones that make the most difference.
Get through the day
- Lower the screen brightness or turn on auto-brightness. The display is usually the biggest single drain.
- Use dark mode if your phone has an OLED screen; dark pixels use less power.
- Shorten the screen timeout to 30 seconds or one minute.
- Check which apps use the most battery. Both iPhone and Android show this in the Battery section of Settings. Restrict background activity for apps you rarely use.
- Turn on low power or battery saver mode when you know it will be a long day.
- Trim location access. Set apps to use your location “only while using” rather than always.
- Turn off notifications you do not need. Every alert wakes the screen and the processor.
Keep the battery healthy for longer
- Avoid heat. Do not leave your phone on a car dashboard or charge it under a pillow. Heat is hard on lithium-ion batteries.
- Use optimized charging. Many phones can pause at around 80% overnight and finish charging just before you wake up.
- Do not worry about small top-ups. Modern batteries do not need to be fully drained. Topping up during the day is fine.
Quick check: on most phones you can see the battery’s overall health under Settings → Battery. If it has dropped a lot, a battery replacement is often much cheaper than a new phone.
This article is for general information only and is not professional advice. How we work.