Image via Flickr/ TPapi

Like many, I’m connected at the hip to my iPhone—or at the hand, as the case may be. But the stinking thing is always running out of juice, which is such a pain in the ass. It’s gotten to the point where I can’t go more than three or four hours without having to plug in, or my phone is going to be dead, and then I’m in serious connectivity withdrawal. But finally, after being pissed off for quite a while, I found some easy tips for extending my battery life. Some are so simple I feel really stupid for not thinking of them before, while others involve changing settings I had no idea were even an option. And you know what? They really work!

1. Turn off apps you aren’t using. I had no clue how many apps were running on my phone. Seriously. I thought when I closed an app, that meant it was closed, period. But really every every single app that appears in the task manager is still running in the background. Now, many Apple officiandos say these background apps don’t drain the battery, and maybe one or two don’t. But when I checked, I had like 80 apps running in the task bar! I had no clue every app I ever opened was still running down there, even if I only used it once. Once I closed all that—huge difference!  All you have to do is hit your home button twice to open the task manager. Then press down on one of the apps until they all get wiggly. Each one will then have an “x” in the top left corner. Just go through and close any that you don’t need to be running.
2. Turn off your email push service. The email push service allows your iPhone to automatically check for new emails every 15 minutes or so.  That means the phone is connecting to the mobile network four times an hour, even when you’re not using it. You can change this setting so it only updates emails manually. Then it will check for new emails only when you open the app.
3. Turn off your “auto brightness” feature. The iPhone display is a major power drain. Your battery will last a lot longer if you turn the brightness down as far as you can while still being able to see your screen. Then turn off the “auto brightness” feature so it doesn’t automatically turn the brightness back up if you’re in a dark room.
4. Turn off location services. The iPhone’s built-in GPS is great if you need to get directions. But it drains the battery if its running all the time. Turning it off when you don’t need it will extend your battery life. The same thing goes for time zone updates. If you’re not traveling between time zones, do you really need your phone to constantly check what time zone you’re in? Probably not. It’s just one more thing to drain your battery.
5. Turn off alerts. Oh sure it’s great to get a little buzz when you’re getting a call or a text. But the iPhone also sends a lot of alerts that you can probably do without. Will you really miss that alert for a new crossword puzzle or every single Facebook post? If you’re like me, eliminating a lot of those alerts will be a welcome break. And it will save your battery, to boot.

Apple may say any individual one of these features isn’t going to kill your battery. And there may be some truth in that. But when you put them all together, they equate to some major power drainage. And the great thing is, you’ll barely notice—or even welcome—a lot of these adjustments. But you’ll most definitely see the time between charges increase.

Samantha Lile

Samantha Lile is a 2002 Missouri State University graduate of journalism and mass media. She has served as a reporter and editor for various newspapers throughout her journalism career. She made the leap into writing full-time after working for a major financial institution since 2000.

Because of her banking background, Samantha is knowledgeable in finance reporting, but is also strong in commentaries, personal profiles, youth studies, horticulture, history and entertainment-related works.

Samantha lives in Ozark, Mo. with her husband of nine years, four dogs and two cats.

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