What is running down my phone battery

Battery: making it last

There's a lot you can do to make the battery in your Windows Phone last longer between charges. The easiest way is to use Battery Saver. You can set it so that it'll turn on any time your battery gets too low, or if you know in advance that you're going to need to make every bit count, you can turn it on to make sure your battery lasts as long as possible.

When you turn on Battery Saver, your phone automatically turns off some of the features on your phone that use battery in the background. So when Battery Saver is on, your phone will no longer:

    Automatically receive email or calendar updates – You can still sync your email manually whenever you want. To learn more, see Sync my email . Update some Live Tiles – If a Tile uses push notifications to get its updates, it won't receive those updates in Battery Saver mode. Allow apps to run in the background – You'll only be able to use an app if it's open.

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You can still make and receive phone calls and text messages, and browse the Internet.

We've also put together some battery-saving tips to help you get started. The key is to find the balance between getting the most out of your phone while getting the battery life you need.

To turn on Battery Saver

On Start. flick left to the App list, tap Settings , and then tap Battery saver .

Do one or both of the following:

    If you want Battery Saver to turn on whenever the battery gets to 20%, select Always turn on Battery Saver when battery is low . If you want to turn on Battery Saver now and leave it on until the next time you plug in your phone, select Turn on Battery Saver now until next charge .

When Battery Saver is on, the battery icon looks like this:

When Battery Saver is on, you won't be able to change the settings for features that are disabled (like email, for example). To change a setting, go to Settings > Battery Saver. and clear all of the check boxes. You can turn it on again when you're done.

Here are some more tips to help make your battery last.

What is running down my phone battery

Reduce the time before the screen turns off

Set a shorter Screen time-out duration and set your phone to lock. This helps save battery power and also prevents your phone from turning on by accident when you put it away. For more info, see Lock screen FAQ.

Lower the brightness setting

On Start. flick left to the App list and tap Settings . Tap Brightness. turn off Automatically adjust. and then select the Level that you want to use instead.

Use a dark background theme

On Start. flick left to the App list and tap Settings . Tap Theme. tap Background. and then tap Dark.

Sync music and pictures at your computer

When you're at your computer, connect your phone and sync your favorite music and pictures to it using the Zune software. To learn more, see Sync music, pictures, and videos. You can then enjoy your favorite pictures and songs on your phone, even if you're in an area with poor reception.

Of course there's a lot of music out there that might not be in your collection, and streaming lets you enjoy new stuff while you're on the go. But if your battery is running low or you can't be around a computer or an outlet, avoid long periods of streaming music because it uses more power. If you listen to your playlists with the screen turned off, make sure that the current playlist doesn't include streaming items. And if you're not a Zune Music Pass subscriber, you can turn off Connect with Zune in the Music + videos settings.

Turn off connections you're not using

When Bluetooth is turned on, your phone checks continuously for available accessories. So if you're not using a Bluetooth accessory, you can turn Bluetooth off. For more info, see Pair my phone with a Bluetooth accessory.

Also, if you listen to music or talk on the phone for hours, try using headphones instead of a Bluetooth device. And if you are using a Bluetooth accessory or the speaker in a call, press the Power button to turn the screen off. To learn more, see Make and receive phone calls.

Not using games now? Then you can turn off the Connect to Xbox LIVE setting in the Games settings.

Sync email and contacts selectively

To make your battery last a little longer, try one or more of these sync-related tips:

    Change the sync settings for your email accounts to a longer interval, especially for secondary accounts that you don't need to check as often. You can change the sync setting on a per-account basis. (On Start. flick left to the App list, tap Settings , and then tap Email & accounts. Tap the account that you want to change the sync settings for, tap Download new content. choose a longer interval, and then tap Done .) If you don't use any Windows Live services and don't have an email account hosted by Microsoft, such as a Hotmail account, go into the Windows Live account settings and change the default sync setting to Manually . Choose which contacts are synced to your phone. If your email account doesn't include any contacts that you want to keep on your phone, you can choose to not have them synced to your phone. You can also keep your Facebook contacts separate from your other contacts too, which should help reduce the total number of contacts synced to your phone. For more info, see Social networking on my phone FAQ . Be mindful that each time you visit What's New for People and Pictures. your phone uses extra power to sync and update.

Picture-taking tips

When you're done taking a picture, press the Back button to exit the camera viewfinder. (You can also press the Power button to put your phone to sleep.) When the viewfinder is active, the screen stays on longer.

Also, when it's time to upload pictures, upload only the ones you want to keep and skip those not-so-great ones. This saves power—and saves you time later when you want to sort your pics at your computer.

Do not remove or replace the battery when the phone is turned on. If you have a spare battery, turn off your phone, and then replace the battery in your phone with the spare. This helps ensure that your data is saved properly. To turn off your phone, press and hold the Power button for three seconds until the goodbye message appears and the screen goes dark.

Why Does My Android Battery Die So Fast? The Best Phone / Tablet Battery Life Savers!

Whether you’ve got a Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Google, or any other Android phone or tablet, issues with Android battery life almost always be resolved by addressing the one thing all these devices have in common: The Android Operating System. I’m going to explain the real reasons your Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, or Google phone or tablet runs out of battery so fast and show you exactly what to do to make your Android-based phone or tablet’s battery last a whole lot longer.

Before We Begin: Free Apps That Are Life-Savers

We’re going to be changing some settings on your device and the Settings menu on every device is a little bit different. If you’re having trouble finding any of the settings I mention below (or if you just want to make your life easier), I highly recommend that you head to the Google Play store and download these great free apps.

Don’t worry, I’m not getting any kickbacks for recommending these apps to you. I’ve used a bunch of battery life saving apps and these are the ones that I use on my own Android phone. If you’d rather skip the downloads and head right to the first Android battery life-saving tip. you can do that too!

Quick Settings

Smart Quick Settings  is a free app that allows you to change your device’s settings without delving through the complicated Settings menu. I’m going to keep things simple by telling you how to change your device’s settings using the Smart Quick Settings app. If you want to use the Settings menu on your device, feel free – all of these settings can be changed without downloading Smart Quick Settings, if you’d prefer not to.

Super Task-Killer Free  

Super Task Killer Free  is a great app that gives you a quick, simple way to close out all of your apps at once. We’ll cover exactly why you’ll want to use it later on. For now, rest assured, it’s a huge time-saver, and well worth the download.

Now that you’ve opened up Smart Quick Settings, let’s walk through the settings that could be draining your battery without your knowledge. We’ll get to the more secret tips on the next couple of pages. If you’d like to skip ahead. feel free – but these are important!

1. Mobile Data – Turn Off 4G

If you have a smartphone, you’ll see Mobile Data as an option in Smart Quick Settings. If you don’t see it, that’s fine – just skip to the next section.

Do any of these situations apply to you?

  • Your carrier doesn’t have 4G coverage in your area
  • You do a lot of traveling between 3G and 4G coverage areas
  • You simply don’t need to use 4G (because you don’t stream video on the go)

If you answered yes to any of these questions, turn off 4G on your device. When you have 4G on and you’re not in an area with 4G coverage, your phone is always asking, “Is there 4G coverage here? How about here? What about now?”, and this constant searching uses a lot of battery life.

2. Turn Off Mobile Data Entirely (When You Can)

If you’re really struggling with battery life and you travel within areas with spotty coverage, try disabling Mobile Data entirely. You’ll still be able to receive texts and make phone calls, but you’ll save a lot of battery.

A friend of mine has a camp in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, and whenever I travel there I make sure to turn off Mobile Data. A good rule of thumb: The worse the coverage, the faster your battery drains. This happens because your phone’s antenna has to work that much harder to try to find and maintain a signal.

Next up: One of the biggest battery Android battery life drainers, and it has to do with an app we all use: Facebook. I’ll give you the real scoop on why the Facebook app causes your battery to drain so quickly and what to do to fix it.

Why Does My Android Battery Die So Fast? The Best Phone / Tablet Battery Life Savers!

Whether you’ve got a Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Google, or any other Android phone or tablet, issues with Android battery life almost always be resolved by addressing the one thing all these devices have in common: The Android Operating System. I’m going to explain the real reasons your Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, or Google phone or tablet runs out of battery so fast and show you exactly what to do to make your Android-based phone or tablet’s battery last a whole lot longer.

Before We Begin: Free Apps That Are Life-Savers

We’re going to be changing some settings on your device and the Settings menu on every device is a little bit different. If you’re having trouble finding any of the settings I mention below (or if you just want to make your life easier), I highly recommend that you head to the Google Play store and download these great free apps.

Don’t worry, I’m not getting any kickbacks for recommending these apps to you. I’ve used a bunch of battery life saving apps and these are the ones that I use on my own Android phone. If you’d rather skip the downloads and head right to the first Android battery life-saving tip. you can do that too!

Quick Settings

Smart Quick Settings  is a free app that allows you to change your device’s settings without delving through the complicated Settings menu. I’m going to keep things simple by telling you how to change your device’s settings using the Smart Quick Settings app. If you want to use the Settings menu on your device, feel free – all of these settings can be changed without downloading Smart Quick Settings, if you’d prefer not to.

Super Task-Killer Free  

Super Task Killer Free  is a great app that gives you a quick, simple way to close out all of your apps at once. We’ll cover exactly why you’ll want to use it later on. For now, rest assured, it’s a huge time-saver, and well worth the download.

Now that you’ve opened up Smart Quick Settings, let’s walk through the settings that could be draining your battery without your knowledge. We’ll get to the more secret tips on the next couple of pages. If you’d like to skip ahead. feel free – but these are important!

1. Mobile Data – Turn Off 4G

If you have a smartphone, you’ll see Mobile Data as an option in Smart Quick Settings. If you don’t see it, that’s fine – just skip to the next section.

Do any of these situations apply to you?

  • Your carrier doesn’t have 4G coverage in your area
  • You do a lot of traveling between 3G and 4G coverage areas
  • You simply don’t need to use 4G (because you don’t stream video on the go)

If you answered yes to any of these questions, turn off 4G on your device. When you have 4G on and you’re not in an area with 4G coverage, your phone is always asking, “Is there 4G coverage here? How about here? What about now?”, and this constant searching uses a lot of battery life.

2. Turn Off Mobile Data Entirely (When You Can)

If you’re really struggling with battery life and you travel within areas with spotty coverage, try disabling Mobile Data entirely. You’ll still be able to receive texts and make phone calls, but you’ll save a lot of battery.

A friend of mine has a camp in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, and whenever I travel there I make sure to turn off Mobile Data. A good rule of thumb: The worse the coverage, the faster your battery drains. This happens because your phone’s antenna has to work that much harder to try to find and maintain a signal.

Next up: One of the biggest battery Android battery life drainers, and it has to do with an app we all use: Facebook. I’ll give you the real scoop on why the Facebook app causes your battery to drain so quickly and what to do to fix it.

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