How to Extend the Battery Life of Your Devices

From smartphones to laptops and tablets, our reliance on electronic devices is higher than ever before. But no matter how advanced the technology, one of the biggest frustrations users face is dwindling battery life. Running out of battery when you need your device the most can be a nightmare. Fortunately, there are ways to maximise the lifespan of your device’s battery, and with a few simple adjustments, you can keep your gadgets running efficiently for longer. In this guide, we’ll cover essential tips and tricks to extend the battery life of your devices.

Understanding Battery Degradation

Before diving into specific tips, it’s important to understand why batteries degrade over time. Most modern devices use lithium-ion batteries, which are known for their high energy density and ability to recharge quickly. However, these batteries gradually lose capacity after each charging cycle. A charging cycle is counted every time you discharge your device from 100% to 0% and recharge it to 100%.

The goal is to minimise stress on the battery and reduce the number of full charge cycles to maintain the health of the battery for as long as possible. By adjusting how you use and charge your devices, you can significantly improve their battery longevity.

Tips for Extending Smartphone Battery Life

Optimise Screen Settings

The display is often the biggest battery drain on a smartphone. Here are some tips to help mitigate this:

• Lower Brightness: Keeping your screen at maximum brightness uses a lot of energy. Reduce brightness or use auto-brightness to adjust it based on your surroundings.
• Dark Mode: If your smartphone has an OLED or AMOLED display, enabling dark mode can save battery by reducing the amount of energy needed to light up the pixels.
• Reduce Screen Timeout: Shorten the amount of time your screen stays on when not in use. Setting the screen timeout to 30 seconds or less can help conserve battery.

Manage Background Apps

• Limit Background App Refresh: Apps that refresh content in the background use up battery life. Go to your phone’s settings and disable background app refresh for apps that don’t need constant updating.
• Close Unnecessary Apps: Even though most modern devices are designed to manage memory well, keeping unnecessary apps open in the background can consume energy. Regularly close apps that you are not using.

Turn Off Unnecessary Connectivity

• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS: If you’re not using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or GPS, turn them off. Keeping these features enabled unnecessarily can drain your battery.
• Use Plane Mode: When you’re in areas with poor network coverage, your phone uses extra energy trying to find a signal. In such cases, enabling Plane Mode can save battery.

Proper Charging Habits

• Avoid Full Discharges: Try not to let your battery drop to 0% regularly. It’s better to keep your phone’s battery between 20-80% whenever possible, as this helps reduce strain on the battery.
• Avoid Overnight Charging: Charging your phone overnight can expose it to prolonged periods at 100%, which stresses the battery. Instead, charge during the day when you can unplug once it’s fully charged.

Tips for Extending Laptop Battery Life

Power Management Settings

• Use Power Saver Mode: Most laptops have a power saver mode or similar feature that reduces energy usage by dimming the display and limiting background activity. Enable this power saving mode when you’re looking to extend battery life.
• Adjust Display Brightness: Like smartphones, laptop screens can be a huge drain on battery power. Reduce brightness to a comfortable level, and consider disabling keyboard backlighting when it’s not needed.

Limit Resource-Intensive Activities

• Close Power-Hungry Applications: Programs like video editing software, games, or anything else that uses a lot of processing power can significantly drain your battery. Close these applications when running on battery.
• Disable Startup Programs: Some programs start automatically when you turn on your laptop and continue running in the background, draining battery life. Disable unnecessary startup programs via your system settings.

Keep Battery Temperature in Check

Heat is a major enemy of lithium-ion batteries. Avoid using your laptop on soft surfaces like beds or couches, which can block air vents and cause overheating. Instead, use a hard, flat surface or a laptop stand to improve airflow and keep your laptop cool.

Proper Charging Practices

• Avoid Constant Plugging In: Keeping your laptop plugged in all the time can degrade the battery’s health. Ideally, use the laptop on battery power occasionally and let it drop to around 20-30% before charging it back up.
• Remove the Battery When Plugged In: If your laptop has a removable battery and you’re using it plugged in for an extended period, consider removing the battery (if possible) to prevent wear.

Tips for Extending Tablet Battery Life

Tablets often serve as a cross between a smartphone and a laptop, so many of the tips for extending smartphone and laptop battery life apply here as well. Here are a few tablet-specific tips:

Control Screen Brightness and Timeout

• Auto-Brightness: Use auto-brightness to adjust screen brightness according to ambient light. Reducing brightness will have a noticeable impact on extending battery life.
• Shorter Timeout: Set the screen timeout to a shorter period, such as 30 seconds, to reduce the amount of time the screen stays on when not in use.

Update Apps and Software

Keeping apps and your tablet’s software updated ensures that they are running efficiently. Developers often release updates that include battery optimisations, which can improve battery performance.

Disable Push Notifications

Notifications can cause your screen to wake up frequently, using up battery life. Go to settings and disable push notifications for non-essential apps.

Use Wi-Fi Instead of Cellular Data

If your tablet has a mobile data option, try to use Wi-Fi whenever possible. Mobile data consumes more battery compared to Wi-Fi, especially if the signal strength is poor.

General Battery Care Tips

Avoid Extreme Temperatures

Batteries are highly sensitive to temperature. Extreme heat or cold can significantly impact battery performance and longevity. Try to keep your devices in moderate temperatures—avoid leaving them in hot cars or using them outside in freezing weather.

Use Original Chargers

Using third-party chargers that are not certified can harm your battery over time. Stick to original chargers or high-quality certified alternatives to ensure proper voltage and current supply during charging.

Battery Calibration

Every few months, let your device’s battery drop to 0% and then fully recharge it to 100%. This process, known as battery calibration, helps ensure that your device’s battery readings are accurate, but it should not be done too often as frequent full discharges can wear down the battery.

Unplug When Fully Charged

To prevent stress on the battery, avoid leaving your devices plugged in for extended periods once they’ve reached 100%. Consider setting reminders to unplug your devices when they’re fully charged.

Extending the battery life of your devices requires a combination of good charging habits, proper settings adjustments, and avoiding extreme conditions. By following the tips outlined in this guide, you can maximise the longevity of your smartphone, laptop, or tablet and keep your devices functioning effectively for longer.

Battery technology may have its limitations, but by making a few simple changes, you can keep those frustrating low-battery warnings at bay. Whether it’s dimming your screen, managing apps, or practicing proper charging habits, these small adjustments can make a big difference over time.

Remember, a healthy battery means a longer-lasting device, and that not only saves you money in the long run but also contributes to a more sustainable tech lifestyle.