You’re getting ready to head out for the day, but as you reach for your phone, the battery icon spells disaster. You forgot to charge it, and the percentage is already in the single digits. With the remaining time you have left, you plug it into a charger, but waiting is agonizing. Today’s phones are packed with more resource-intensive apps and services than ever, which means that maximizing your phone’s charging speed and battery life is important. Good news: There’s a tech tip for everything. Here are some ways the experts say you can boost your phone’s battery and make the most of every charge.
- • Switch your phone to airplane mode. That disables WiFi, cellular and Bluetooth. This will keep the battery from draining as quickly and focus the power on charging. You won’t be able to get texts or search online, but you’ll save power because your phone won’t constantly be searching for connections.
- • Turn your phone to low power mode. If you don’t want to switch to airplane mode because you don’t want to miss a call or text, putting your phone in low power mode (“Battery Saver” or “Power Saving Mode”) will reduce the amount of power your phone takes to run by disabling battery-sucking features.
- • Turn your phone off entirely. It probably goes without saying that you should try to resist the temptation to use your phone while it’s charging, as that will divert power away from the battery, but if you really want to boost charging speed, turn it off completely.
- • Close apps you’re not using. You may not realize it, but the apps on your phone can drain your battery even when you’re not using them. They may be running in the background and sending you updates and notification, all of which cause your phone to use more power.
- • Turn off optimized battery charging. Both iPhones and Androids have a setting called optimized charging that, if turned on, will only charge your phone to 80% if you happen to be charging it during the time you would normally be using it. While this apparently stops the battery from aging, it will also stop you from getting a full charge in the middle of the day. To turn this off, go to Settings > Battery. Then simply toggle off “Optimized Battery Charging” (iPhone) or “Battery protection” (Android).
- • Plug your phone into a wall socket. Charging your phone in the car or using the USB port on your computer may be convenient, but a wall outlet will charge your phone faster.
- • Take your phone out of the case. Charging your device when it’s inside certain styles of cases may generate excess heat, which can affect battery capacity and charging speeds.
