How to save your phone's battery on a long day

In the morning your phone is at 100 %, and by the afternoon you are already looking for a socket. Navigation, photos, messages, music in your earbuds: a long day asks a lot of a battery. With a few simple habits, though, it can last quite a bit longer.

Most of the tips below need no special apps. A few minutes in the settings and a little attention to how you use your phone are enough. You do not have to give up anything important: these are small changes that add up.

Why the battery drains so fast

Before you start saving, it helps to know where the power goes. These are the main culprits:

• The screen. High brightness and a long auto-lock delay are among the biggest costs.
• Navigation and GPS. Constant location tracking and a lit-up map quickly eat into the percentage.
• The camera and video. Shooting, especially video, works the processor and the screen at the same time.
• Weak signal. When reception is poor, the phone works harder to stay connected: in the metro, in the mountains or in buildings with thick walls.
• Background apps. Updates, syncing, notifications and location keep running even when you are not looking at the phone.
• Cold. At low temperatures lithium batteries temporarily deliver less power, and the percentage drops faster.

Not everything is in your control: you cannot change the signal or the weather. Most of the rest, though, you can reduce. Once you know what uses the most, it is easier to decide what you can do without for a few hours.

Adjust the screen

The screen is the first place where you can save charge without it getting in your way.

• Turn on auto-brightness or lower the brightness yourself. In most situations you do not need the maximum.
• Shorten the auto-lock time. A phone lying unlocked on the table is lit up for nothing.
• If your phone has an OLED screen, dark mode helps too, because dark pixels use less power.
• Turn off the always-on display if you do not need it.
• If you use an animated wallpaper, switch to a still image. It looks plainer, but it does not waste power.

Connections and location

Wi-Fi or mobile data

When you are somewhere with stable Wi-Fi (at home, at the office or in a venue), use it. It usually costs less power than mobile data, especially when the mobile signal is weak. When you are far from any network you know, turn Wi-Fi off so the phone does not keep searching for networks.

On a weak signal

If the signal is very weak and you are not expecting important calls, airplane mode will save charge. On many phones you can turn Wi-Fi back on while airplane mode is active.

Location and Bluetooth

Check which apps have access to your location all the time. Keep that access only for the ones that really need it, and allow the rest only while you use them. Bluetooth uses little power, but if you are not using it, there is no reason to keep it on.

Apps and notifications

• Limit background refresh. In the settings you can turn off background refresh for apps that do not need it.
• Turn off unnecessary notifications. Every notification wakes the screen and the phone. Keep only the ones you really want to see straight away.
• See which apps use the most. The battery settings show which apps have used the most power. Often one or two culprits explain why the charge does not last until evening.
• Keep the system updated. Operating system updates sometimes bring improvements in power management.
• Do not close everything. Modern systems manage memory on their own, and restarting an app can sometimes cost more. Close the ones that are visibly working: navigation, video, games.

Battery saver mode combines many of these steps at once. Turn it on earlier in the day if you know you will not have access to a socket until evening.

Navigation and photos without surprises

Offline maps

If you will be walking around a new city a lot, download a map of the area in advance while you are on Wi-Fi. That way you will not download maps over mobile data, and navigation will keep working on a weak signal.

Navigating on foot

When you are walking, the screen does not need to be on all the time. Check the route, lock the phone and unlock it again at the next turn. Voice directions in your earbuds help too. If you navigate while driving, keep the phone on a charger whenever you can.

Photos and video

Take photos freely, but do not leave the camera open between shots. Video is especially power-hungry, and high-resolution video even more so. Uploading lots of photos to the cloud over mobile data also takes a fair amount of charge. You can postpone syncing until you are back and connected to Wi-Fi.

Looking after the battery in the long run

How long your phone lasts today also depends on how you have treated the battery so far.

• Keep the phone away from heat. Do not leave it in direct sun or in a hot car. High temperatures speed up battery wear.
• Protect it from cold too. In cold weather keep it in an inside pocket. Cold temporarily reduces the charge the battery can deliver.
• Charge when it suits you. Partial charging is perfectly normal for lithium batteries. There is no need to wait for 0 % before plugging in, or to charge to 100 % every time.
• Use reliable chargers and cables. Dubious accessories sometimes charge slowly or make the phone hot.
• Keep an eye on battery health. If it holds noticeably less than it used to, check its condition in the settings or at a service centre.

If the charge still runs out

Sometimes the day is simply longer than the battery: a wedding, a football match, a trip or a long walk around a new city. If you know in advance that such a day is coming, charge the phone fully in the morning and turn on battery saver before noon. If even that is not enough, a backup helps: your own power bank, if you remembered to charge it, or a rented one.

Venues, shopping centres and hotels in Plovdiv and Sofia have HUBO stations. In the HUBO app you find a station on the map, scan its QR code and take a charged 8,000 mAh power bank with three built-in cables: USB-C, Lightning and micro-USB. A rental costs €2 per 24 hours, with no start fee, and you can return the power bank to any HUBO station.