5 Tips To Extend Your Smartphone Battery Life

I'm very excited, People! After the non-battery related death of my Samsung Galaxy Note II a few weeks back, I received a replacement (you can read about my misery here). Now, in the past I did have problems with the Galaxy's battery capacity, so much so that I was carrying an extra charger on me. I mean, it's a BEAST of a phone with a large display, so if I'm using it a lot, it's not wonder that it's taking a toll on the battery. But this time, I'm determined to prolong the battery life of my beautiful device. 

I love this phone!

So are 5 tips I've learned, and what's working for me, to extend the daily charge of the battery:

Turn off location services. Okay, so most apps only want my location to “improve” my smartphone experience. But unless I'm using a Maps app, I really don't need the location on. Facebook doesn't need to know where I am.  Plus,  I'm not fond of letting people know when I'm not home (aka being “tagged”) - I mean, why not just hang a sign on your front door telling burglars you're not home?!

Periodically clear out apps. Even if you're not using an app, it can run in the background and drain battery life. I just go to “Application Manager” and turn off apps I'm sure I'm not using.

Use a very dark wallpaper. I noticed that my display was draining a LOT of power from the battery, even though I've got it pretty dim. Since my Android has an AMOLED display, each pixel on the screen drains a little power in order to light up. Using black pixels draws less power. I'm even using a dark screensaver.

Don't use a live screensaver! Yes, they're cool and I love them, but they drain battery life QUICKLY! Honestly, I just don't think they're worth it for two seconds of "oohing" and "ahhing."

Turn off wifi when driving. Smartphones are always trolling for networks. If I'm not in a place with wifi or at home, there's no reason for it to be on, draining my battery. Of course, the flip side is that when I'm in a store or at home, I need to remember to turn it back on!

These tips are DEFINITELY extending my cellphone battery!

Yep, I'm definitely getting more life out of my battery!  It's lasting longer and doesn't get as warm as it used to. Sure, I still carry a battery backup and have a charger in the car, but I'm delighted by how long an initial charge is lasting.

And in case you're wondering why I LOVE the Samsung Galaxy Note II:

• I LOVE the stylus! Whipping the stylus from the phone brings up a note screen and I can jot down phone numbers, draw, etc. The stylus also let me take screen shots which I can save to Photos.
  
  
• It's not that heavy and even though it's big, fits nicely in my purse (if I had to put it in a pocket, I might love the phone less).  And it's not cumbersome at all to talk on. 
  
  
• The display is gorgeous!  Considered a phablet, it gives me the combined benefits of a phone and a tablet. 
  
  
• The Best Faces mode on the camera which snaps 20 shots so I can choose which shot of the kids I like the best (usually it's the one where they're not blinking or squinting). 
  
  

For more on this phone, check out thislink to Cnet.com's review of my beloved device.

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THANKS FOR READING!!!