Battery Life – Why does my phone keep dying?
Do you often find your phone out of charge? Does your battery run flat sooner that it should? Battery life is an important asset on many smart phones and yet everyone seems to complain about it. If you have found your phone’s battery life to die a lot sooner than expected, then have a read of our solutions. If they work for you then your phone will live longer, if not then you might need to purchase a new battery.
In this article we will cover all aspects of your battery life, even try and teach you a few things about batteries through the ages. This should shed some light on why your phone battery isn’t lasting as long as you hope. There are many ways to assist your phone and keep your battery at its best. The sad thing is that you can’t learn any of this from the manufacturer. So whether your battery has already started to lose life or if you just want to be proactive with your new phone, following the advice in this article should help you.
Battery Deterioration
Sadly, the most common battery fault is the one that is unfixable. This is battery age. As your battery gets older it will deteriorate which is why you often find that by the end of your contracted two years, your battery barely survives half a day. Although this issue is unavoidable, it is manageable. There are many apps that can help monitor your battery life for you. These will let you know when you are using your battery excessively so you can change how you use your phone at the times you need to conserve battery life.
Some batteries visibly expand when they have reached the end of their lifespan. When this happens you need to change your battery as soon as possible. There is a high chance of expanded batteries exploding and damaging not just your phone but also yourself if the phone is in active use at the time. At the point, batteries can be very dangerous which is why you should always check for expansion if your battery life suddenly drops. For those that cannot see their batteries, if your screen starts to flex out of the casing then this is a sure sign that your battery is expanding internally. You must get this changed by a qualified technician ASAP.
An Example of an Expanded Battery Next to a Fresh Battery
Overheating
If your phone gets hot it can lead to faster battery deterioration. No matter why your phone is overheating, you can find your battery will not respond well to the heat. Phones will generally get warm with slight overuse, this can be leaving applications running in full or having it constantly searching for services. Hopefully the only time your phone gets warm will be the initial set up, this is because it hasn’t installed all the settings it needs to run smoothly yet. Also if you are taking information from a previous handset then it can get warm while having the communication channels open constantly. This is normal so don’t panic if your phone is warm after you have just set it up.
Your phone should not get hot with everyday usage. Your phone should not become too hot for you to hold or use. If this is the case, then usually it means that there is a process running on the phone that hasn’t stopped. This is quickly remedied with a battery pull. For those who cannot remove the battery, you can switch the phone off and leave it for a few minutes to cool before restarting. This is just a quick fix and if the problem persists then you have to think about what could be causing this overheating. You can get apps from the various stores, which can “kill” hidden processes so that if this does happen constantly, you can see what is causing it and end it before your phone gets too hot.
App Management
The easiest way to extend battery life is through app management. This can be as simple as closing your apps after you have finished using them or you can get new apps to help push your battery further by limiting the battery used by other apps. In other words, these apps optimise your phone to use the least amount of battery. If you find your phone’s battery dying frequently try one of these first to see if it’s simply your phone using excess battery.
App Killers are a great way of not only preventing your phone from getting hot but also to manage your battery life. They keep your phone in check and make sure that nothing stays running in the background that shouldn’t be. This means your phone will stay running cool and smoothly for as long as you have it. This form of app management is slightly more extreme than optimising as it will actively make sure that no apps are running in the background which means if you close an app, you will have to open it again rather than resume from where you left it.
Samsung have a built in feature which helps manage your phone if it is running low on battery. It is called Ultra Power Saving Mode. This feature turns off all extra services and turns the phone into black and white. It also limits app access so you can only do the bare essentials so you cannot use extra battery power.
Ultra Power Saving Mode – Galaxy S7
Extra Features That Drain Your Battery
It’s not only apps that drain your battery life. There are lots of features on modern day phones that can leech your battery without you realising. Some of these features are enabled from the moment you switch on your phone like NFC. Most people don’t use NFC in their everyday lives so to have this enabled all the time is just a waste of battery. Another feature often enabled is Location or GPS, this is great if you use your phone as a sat nav but again, it likes to eat your battery. Most phones have a quick access menu that let you find these features and turn them off easily. If your phone doesn’t have this, then you can find all of these in the Settings menu. Bluetooth is another one that likes to drain battery, if you use Bluetooth a lot then it is better to leave it on but if you only use it sparingly then it is best to switch it off between use.
There are more that are there to simply damage your battery life if you don’t use them constantly. These are; Wi-Fi, Sync, Screen Rotation, Always on Screen and More. When you get a new phone be sure to check which features you will be using and which should stay switched off. The other main cause of battery loss is your screen. Nowadays most smartphones are offering HD displays of varying sizes, each manufacturer stating that theirs is the best. What they don’t mention is that the bigger the screen, the more battery it takes to power it. It’s not only size that is a factor either, your screen brightness plays a huge part in battery life. If you are watching movies on your phone, it’s not the fact that it’s playing a video but more the fact that the screen is on constantly that drains your battery. The best remedy for this is to simply turn your screen brightness down. “Live Wallpapers” are another feature best left switched off. This feature lets you have a moving background image on your phone which looks great however it doesn’t do your battery any favours. Keeping a moving image active on your screen and loading applications and keeping your screen bright will drain your battery in no time. Remember, if you do not use it, don’t have it switched on.
Battery Replacement
Here’s the bottom line. If none of the above helped, then you most likely need a new battery. Those of you with a removable battery, it is easy enough to purchase a new one and just swap it out. If you have an iPhone or a handset with a non-removable battery, then it is slightly more difficult. You can have your battery replaced but this has to be done by a qualified technician and you will most likely have to give your phone over to them for 2-3 days. This time frame can be difficult for those that use their phone constantly or for business but trust us when we say, it is very much worth it. To be able to use your phone the way it should be used is a great feeling.