10 Battery Saving Tips For Your iPhone
I know many of you have an iPhone. I know many of you know I have an iPhone. Do many of you know I sometimes end up accidentally sleeping with my iPhone?
Yeah, my husband isn’t too happy with that last one. Nor is my elbow. OUCH.
And the things I am about to list may be second nature to many of you, but when I said them to a friend recently, she looked at me just as my husband does when he wakes up with my iPhone next to his face.
So I am making sure. Cause battery life maintenance is essential to happy iPhone relations.
Just as a dock near the bed is key to marital relations, too.
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1. Stretch Your Battery Every Once in a While
Meaning, let it die, all the way, at least once a month. Then charge it all the way to 100%. This moves the electrons around and reminds them of all the battery space it has to work with.
2. Turn on Auto-Lock
Set it to the shortest duration possible without driving you crazy.
3. Turn Down Your Brightness
This one is hard for me, cause I like my phone bright and shiny – but seriously. The dimmer your screen, the longer it will last.
4. Check Mail Manually.
Does your phone *really* need to be checking mail accounts every 5 minutes? Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap Manually. Then when you enter Mail, it will bring it down right then – and only when you are looking to read it. While you are at it – only have essential email accounts loaded into your iPhone.
5. Turn Off Notifications.
Like you want your phone buzzing at your constantly anyway? Make apps cut it out globally: go to Settings > Notifications and set Notifications to Off.
6. Turn Off Bluetooth.
I only turn Bluetooth on when I need it. Which is almost never. Although don’t tell the cops on 6th Ave that when I sneak a call in to Bryan on the way home from work.
7. Tell Wi-Fi to Stop Searching
This setting drives me nuts anyway – I wish it defaulted to off. What am I talking about? How you are driving around downtown and your phone keeps saying “Would you like to join Joe’s WiFi Network?” – even though it’s locked and you can’t??? – and two blocks later you are in Mike’s network, then Dave’s and then – the one I love from my neighborhood – “Blowjobs Available?” (Seriously). Do this: Settings > Wi-Fi and set Ask To Join Networks to Off.
8. Turn Off the 3G Network.
Hey, you are dropping calls like crazy anyway, right? Go to the Edge network and give it a go.
9. Turn Off Vibrate In Games
Games are fun. My kid likes to play games. My kid kills my battery while playing games that vibrate. I turn them off as much as I can. (Note to iPhone game developers – give us that option!)
10. Download Apps and Music Via Your Computer
I almost never download on my iPhone. OK, unless I *really* need that Lady Gaga song, STAT. Point being, why waste the battery life when I can wait and hour and do it at home, as I am plugged in to the wall?
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OK, those are my suggestions.
How about yours?
Bonus Tip: Have an external charger on hand, such as Mophie, Griffin Tune Juice, Kensington. (I have the Kensington one.)
*Blogger disclosure: No one paid me for this post. I just an a fan girl.
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I didn’t know some of these! Thanks! My main complaints about the iPhone are the battery life and the fact that it’s a crappy phone (better computer). I’m going to make some of your recommended changes right now.
All good points. Thanks for the reminder, Aimee!
I do most of those. I haven’t turned off the 3G but I do notice a difference in connection when I am using the Edge Network.
Something else is if you can turn the volume down. I used to have my ringer set very loudly and I noticed that I wasn’t killing my battery as fast when I turned it down.
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Very cool. I just got my first iPhone (4) … and am astounded at how fast the battery runs down … so your post was super helpful 😉
Auto-Brightness — Turn off the Auto-Brightness detection. If this feature is turned on, it will constantly check the brightness level of your environment. If you set it to manual, the power to do the continuous detection will be saved. Steps: Setting icon –> Brightness –> Auto-Brightness –> Turn To Off Position
Mobile Web — Use the mobile version of the websites you visit. Sure, the iPhone can handle the standard website format, but most mobile versions look pretty sharp on the iPhone. Plus, they are faster on the Edge you just dedicated yourself to using on a constant basis.
Text Messaging — If you follow Twitter or BrightKite, instead of text alerts use the web interface. They both have mobile ports and are fast on the Edge.
Music Volume — It takes energy to deliver that music at bloodletting levels. Just like every other iPod the volume level will determine how long the battery will last. The higher the volume the more pull, so knock it down a couple of notches. You’d be surprised how much it’ll improve.
Bonus: Call Forwarding – If the phone is constantly talking to the cellular servers, it’s using power. If you are near another phone, try forwarding the calls to it. When you leave move it back to the iPhone. Steps: Setting icon –> Phone –> Call Forwarding –> Turn To On Position, Set the Forwarding To number.
Oh, thanks for these! Awesome. -m
This was great; I learned a few new ones! Bluetooth? Who knew??
Uh, I sleep with my iPhone under my pillow. It’s either there or plugged in right next to my bed.
I caution using Edge over 3G if you need important calls. It’s my understanding that if you are on Edge and you are using an internet based app that your phone will not ring. You can’t do internet and phone at the same time. However with 3G the calls will come through.
I use the iGo charger. The great thing is that it can charge your phone when you don’t have an outlet.
Now if only there was a way to turn off multi-tasking. So annoying. I had it set up to launch the camera when double clicking the home button. Worst “upgrade” ever was multi-tasking.