How to Extend the Battery Life of Your Smartphone?

It’s frustrating when your phone runs out of battery mid-day. Whether it’s for work, navigation, or staying connected, most people rely on their devices to last from morning to night. The good news is you don’t always need a new phone to fix battery issues. With a few simple changes to your habits, you can significantly improve battery life and get more out of your device each day.

This blog will provide tips to improve battery life, explain common causes of battery drain, and answer common questions: Does updating your phone improve battery life? and “How to improve iPhone battery life?”.

Before jumping into solutions, it helps to understand what’s causing the problem of frequent battery drain. It usually comes down to a few common factors:

• High screen brightness and long screen time
• Background apps that are constantly refreshing
• Unnecessary running of location services
• Poor network signal, which forces your phone to work harder
• Ageing battery health

Once you identify the cause, it becomes easier to apply the right ways to improve battery life.

Whether you’re using the latest flagship or an older model, these simple yet effective tweaks will stop the drain and keep you connected longer. Follow these proven strategies to get the most out of every single charge.

Adjust Display Settings for Immediate Results

Your screen is one of the main reasons your battery runs down quickly. Making small adjustments here can lead to noticeable improvements. Some simple changes that help include:

• Dim the screen brightness or enable auto-brightness
• Reduce screen timeout duration
• Use dark mode where available

For Apple users, these are some of the most effective settings to improve battery life on iPhones. This is especially helpful if you use your device frequently throughout the day.

Manage Background App Activity

Many apps keep running in the background, even when you’re not actively using them. This can drain your battery without you realising it. What you can do:

• Disable background app refresh for apps you rarely use
• Close apps that constantly use location or data
• Limit push notifications where possible

These small changes are some of the easiest ways to improve battery life on iPhone and Android devices alike.

Check Location Services and Permissions

Location tracking is useful for maps and ride-sharing apps. However, not every app needs constant access. You can optimise your settings in the following ways:

• Change location access from “Always” to “While Using the App”
• Turn off location services for apps that don’t need it
• Disable unnecessary system location features

This is one of the most overlooked yet effective ways to improve battery life, especially if you have many apps installed.

Use Battery Saver or Low Power Mode

Both Android and iPhone devices offer built-in battery-saving modes designed to extend usage when power is running low. What these modes do:

• Reduce background activity
• Limit visual effects
• Lower performance slightly to conserve energy

If you’re wondering how to improve iPhone battery life, enabling low power mode is one of the quickest and most effective steps.

Reduce Connectivity Drain

Your phone constantly searches for signals, including Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and Bluetooth. This can impact battery life. The ways you can avoid that include:

• Turn off Bluetooth when not in use
• Disable Wi-Fi if you’re not connected
• Use Aeroplane Mode in low-signal areas

When your phone struggles to find a network, it uses more power. Managing connectivity is one of the simplest ways to improve battery life.

Control App Usage

Some apps consume more battery than others, especially those involving video, gaming, or constant updates. You can control that in the following ways:

• Review battery usage in your settings
• Limit time spent on high-drain apps
• Replace heavy apps with lighter alternatives where possible

There are also Android apps to improve battery life that can help you monitor usage and optimise performance. Some popular options include:

• Greenify (Android): Helps manage background apps
• AccuBattery (Android): Provides battery health insights

While no app can magically fix battery issues, the best app to improve battery life on Android is usually one that helps you understand and control usage rather than one that promises unrealistic results.

Keep Your Software and Apps Updated

Outdated apps can sometimes cause unnecessary battery drain due to bugs or inefficiencies. That’s why it’s better to:

• Regularly update apps from the App Store or Play Store
• Remove apps you no longer use
• Restart your phone occasionally to clear background processes

Keeping everything up to date supports overall performance and can gradually improve battery life.

Avoid Extreme Temperatures

Temperature plays a bigger role in battery health than most people realise. Here’s what to avoid:

• Leaving your phone in direct sunlight
• Using your phone heavily while charging
• Exposing it to very cold conditions

Extreme heat, in particular, can permanently reduce battery capacity. Maintaining a stable environment helps preserve long-term performance.

Charge Smarter, Not More Often

Charging habits also affect battery lifespan over time. Some better charging practices include:

• Avoid letting your battery drop to 0% regularly
• Try to keep it between 20% and 80% when possible
• Use original or certified chargers

These habits won’t just help in the short term; they’ll also extend your battery’s overall lifespan.

This is a common question, and the answer is that it depends. Here’s how updating your phone affects the battery:

• Positive: Updates often include bug fixes, performance improvements, and battery optimisation.
• Negative (Short-term): After an update, your phone may temporarily drain faster while it reindexes data.

In most cases, keeping your phone updated is recommended. Over time, updates usually help improve battery life, especially when they fix known issues.

If you’ve tried all the ways to improve iPhone or Android battery life and still face issues, the battery itself may be worn out. Many signs can help you identify that, like:

• The battery drains very quickly, even with minimal use
• Unexpected shutdowns occur frequently
• Phone heats up frequently

If you are a heavy user, it might be worth checking which iPhone has the best battery life to see how your current model compares to high-endurance alternatives. In such cases, you can either replace the battery or consider upgrading your device.

Improving your phone’s battery life doesn’t always require major changes. Small adjustments, such as adjusting brightness, limiting background apps, and using built-in power-saving features, can make a noticeable difference.

If you’ve been searching for how to improve iPhone battery life or practical tips to improve battery life on any device, the key is consistency. A combination of the right settings, smart usage, and regular updates can help your phone last longer throughout the day. Over time, these habits not only improve daily performance but also extend the device’s overall lifespan, saving you both time and money in the long run.

That said, if your phone still struggles to last the day despite trying these tips to improve battery life, it might be time to say goodbye. At Mobile Guru, you can trade in, sell, or upgrade your device with ease. Whether your battery is wearing out or your phone just isn’t keeping up anymore, getting value for your old device can make upgrading more affordable.

Visit our website to know how much your phone is worth. For further assistance, call us on 1300 362 017 or email us at hello@mobileguru.com.au. We’ll be happy to assist you.