How To Extend Battery Life

How to extend your mobile phone’s battery life

For any mobile phone user, the battery is like the life line. None of the cool features of your mobile are of any use if the battery runs out right when you were about to tweet that you have cracked the Da Vinci code.

So here are some simple measures you can take to ensure a healthy and happy battery in your mobile phone:

Charge your phone properly

You would be justified to ask “what does that mean?” Here it is.

It’s a bad idea to charge your phone anytime you see a plug point. Charging your phone when the battery is only half discharged will actually decrease the life span of your battery. It is usually recommended that you charge your battery only when 1/4^th of the charge is left.

Also, don’t overcharge your battery. At the same time, make sure that once you have put your phone on charging, you do not take it off until the battery is full. Your phone will light up and splash the message “Battery Full”. That's your cue.

Turn off the Vibration Mode

This is one of the most obvious battery killers. The vibrating mode in your phone sucks away the battery’s energy very rapidly. Use the vibrating feature only when absolutely necessary, for example in an extremely noisy area. Remember, even in meetings or cinema halls the phone doesn't need to be on vibration. Just keep it on silent and keep the light effects on. When your phone shines, you’ll know its ringing. This way you lose less power.

Use the right Display Settings

A few changes in the display settings of your phone can go a long way in protecting your battery. Choose a simple wall paper; animated wall papers are bound to use more charge. Switch off the screen saver. Those 10 seconds of pretty effects are a sure shot battery killer. Keeping the Power Saver and Sleep mode on also save battery. The advantage here is that these simple choices will preserve your battery without interfering much with other features or applications in your mobile.

Use Applications Cautiously

While apps make mobile phones more entertaining and useful, they tend to use up battery life very quickly. It’s good to have a sense of how energy hungry an application on your mobile is and use it accordingly. If an application is likely to use up half your battery power, it is advisable to use it only when close to a power output and never when low on battery.

Also, make sure that the application is fully turned off when you are done with it. Some apps have a tendency to stay active in the background, which means that just hitting the End button won’t turn it off. Same goes for Games, Music and Videos.

Keep your phone at the Right Temperature

It’s important to keep your phone at room temperature. Excessive heat or cold will deter the capabilities of you battery. Direct exposure to sunlight can prove very harmful for your battery as well as the handset itself. It can also be dangerous. So don’t leave your mobile hanging around in the car, especially on the dash board, and never in the middle of a sunny day.

The Flight Mode

If you are in a no network area or if the network is weak just put your phone on the flight mode. This will prevent it from searching for networks, which also uses up a lot of battery. It can be quiet a waste if you are on vacation, not expecting calls and your phone runs out of battery searching for a network. Use your phone wisely.

Give your phone some Shuteye

In other words, let it sleep for a while every day. Consider this: All your electronic gadgets including your laptop and ipod and television get there time of rest when they are switched off. Your cell phone needs a breather too, to get refreshed and feel alive. We can all do with a few minutes away from the stress of the world around us. So switch your phone off for 5 minutes a day and let the battery get some much needed shuteye.

Other handy tips:

- Turn off wireless connections, like Bluetooth, Infrared or Wi-Fi, when not in use.

- Disable automatic updates. Most service providers give live updates. Keeping these activated uses up a lot of battery too.

- Follow the advice in your Accord Mobile manual. This is one of the best ways to protect you battery. Charging the battery as instructed can be the most crucial step towards a long lasting battery.