How to Make Your Cell Phone Battery Last Longer

How to Make Your Cell Phone Battery Last Longer

While many of us now use cell phones in place of land-line phones in our homes, the primary benefit of cell phones remains their portability. A cell phone is only as portable as its power source, however, so to get the most out of your phone you need to get the most out of your battery. When it comes to battery life, there are two separate, but connected, considerations: how to make the battery last longer between charges, and how to prolong the overall life of the battery. Get the most out of your battery.
Increase Time between Charges

1. Turn the phone off. This is probably the most effective and simplest way of conserving your battery’s power. If you don't plan on answering the phone while you're sleeping or after business hours, just turn it off. Do the same if you are in an area with no reception (such as a subway or remote area) or in a roaming area, since constantly searching for service depletes the battery fairly quickly. Some phones have an automatic power save feature, but it takes about 30 minutes with no service to kick in. By then, much battery power has been used.
2. Stop searching for a signal. When you are in an area with poor or no signal, your phone will constantly look for a better connection, and will use up all your power doing so. This is easily understood if you have ever forgotten to turn off your phone on a flight. The best way to ensure longer battery life is to make sure you have a great signal where you use your phone. If you don't have a perfect signal, get a cell phone repeater which will amplify the signal to provide near perfect reception anywhere.
3. Get the most out of your battery. Switch off the vibrate function on your phone, and use just the ring tone instead. The vibrate function uses up a lot of battery power. Keep the ring tone volume as low as possible.
4. Turn off your phone's back light. The back light is what makes the phone easier to read in bright light or outside. However, the light also uses battery power. If you can get by without it, your battery will last longer. If you have to use the back light, many phones will let you set the amount of time to leave the back light on. Shorten that amount of time. Usually, one or two seconds will be sufficient. Some phones have an ambient light sensor, which can turn off the back light in bright conditions and enable it in darker ones.
5. Avoid using unnecessary features. If you know it will be a while before your phone’s next charge, don’t use the camera or connect to the Internet. Flash photography can drain your battery especially quickly. If your phone has bluetooth capability, disable it when not in use.
6. Keep calls short. This is obvious, but how many times have you heard someone on their cell phone say, "I think my battery’s dying," and then continue their conversation for several minutes? Sometimes, the dying battery is just an excuse to get off the phone (and a good one, at that), but if you really need to conserve the battery, limit your talk time.