Best ways to save battery on smart phones?

[Actual_Criminal]

Like a lot of people these days, I have a smart phone but only really use it for a few basic apps (emails, banking, probably 1 SM acc, etc) and using it as my main commuincation device. So not necessarily for gaming / expert photography / etc. All these 'extra' new features or 20megapixel cameras aren't really of use for me. 

 

I currently have a Samsung S20 5G. 

 

However, with all my previous smart phones, I have been set with the mindset to reduce battery usage as much as possible. Here are some things I do that are different from the default settings:

 

(Not sure if some of these ACTUALLY reduce power consumption, just assuming. Feel free to clarify.)

-Turn off Wi-Fi when not in use.

-Turn off mobile data when not in use.

-Turn off location tracking at all times unless using GPS.

-Turn off Blue Tooth when not in use.

-Turn off NFC when not in use.

-Turn off all Samsung smart features.

-No screensaver.

-Close down all windows before locking phone.

-Close down all apps before locking phone.

-Keep brightness at 40% or lower.

-Keep on Power Saving Mode (Not ULTRA PWM).

-Lowered lock and dim-down times.

 

Are there any other things I can do, either within the phone or externally to reduce my battery consumption?

 

(Some things I know that could reduce consumption, but as preference, have not:

-Lowered resolution

-Added an external battery pack {Heard these can be very carcinogenic }

-Reduced CPU speed.)

[Bad5ector]

Have you tried to introduce it to the lord and savior Jesus Christ?

[IPD]

Battery packs are carcinogenic now?  Guess I should have died 20 years ago.

[dilpickle]

How much battery life do you need? You have a top of the line phone and you say you only use basic apps. There is no way you should be running out of battery.

[emosun]

How long are you expecting the battery to last because about 48 hours is all you should ever expect

[GuiltySpark_]

That sounds ridiculous. Are you away from any way to charge your phone for days at a time? I don't do ANY of those things and my modern iPhone 12 Pro Max is at ~50% or so when I return home in the evening. I can charge at work and in the car but I rarely have to. 

 

Before bed I'll charge it to 85-90% and unplug it, barely anything is lost overnight and you don't want these batteries sitting at full charge for long periods of time. 

[Actual_Criminal]

3 hours ago, rickeo said:

That sounds ridiculous. Are you away from any way to charge your phone for days at a time? I don't do ANY of those things and my modern iPhone 12 Pro Max is at ~50% or so when I return home in the evening. I can charge at work and in the car but I rarely have to. 

 

Before bed I'll charge it to 85-90% and unplug it, barely anything is lost overnight and you don't want these batteries sitting at full charge for long periods of time. 

Yes, I will leave for work sometimes in the morning around 8am and use the GPS on it for 4 hours (so it does rinse it there too) and if it dies when i'm out, then it becomes a nightmare. Have to do everything to save battery, even when not using GPS for things like emails etc.

[mdecima]

Force the device to connect to 3G networks. that will reduce the battery when not in WiFi. Also check in settings, the apps that consume battery, and put them in deep suspension.

 

Anyway, its not clear how much battery time are you getting and how much are you expecting to get

[Imbadatnames]

I mean my iPhone 13 PM runs for a good 2 days including games, browsing, hot spotting and video. Would probably last a good 3-4 if I just left it on power saving all the time 

[Kc7vwc]

On 2/3/2022 at 11:29 AM, Actual_Criminal said:

So not necessarily for gaming / expert photography / etc. All these 'extra' new features or 20megapixel cameras aren't really of use for me. 

I currently have a Samsung S20 5G. 

 

Sell it & buy a Motorola G Power. These have none of the flagship flash that you don't need but have massive batteries. 
I get home from a 12hour workday & still have around 50% battery with my 2020 G Power. 

 

Also, closing apps isn't helping you. The OS is amazing at putting apps to sleep. Along with the Adaptive Performance settings you can enable in the System settings, the device will learn how best to sleep apps on its own. 

 

Buy a charger kit for your car & have it plugged in while using GPS. Buy an extra wall-charger & leave it in your car, so you have one wherever you're at. 
Keep a cable with you at all times as well - there's USB ports everywhere that can be used. I live in rural Montana, and even here I'm rarely in a place or situation where I can't charge my phone if I needed to. (even easier to charge if I have that wall charger with me - there's outlets everywhere) 
Worst case, buy a battery bank to go with it. 

 

Unless you work insane hours, you really only need 8-12 hours of battery. Expecting more than that is asking for the moon. By then your usage behavior needs to be adjusted and you need to start planning when & how to charge it while you use it. 
If you keep the Samsung, know it has Fast Charging - use it. That Moto has either 10 or 15watt charging. It's not exactly fast for how big the battery is, but it charges faster than I can deplete it. 

[kirashi]

On 2/3/2022 at 10:29 AM, Actual_Criminal said:

-Added an external battery pack {Heard these can be very carcinogenic }

Source? Cause they're no more carcinogenic than anything else we use on a daily basis. (Unless you're buying battery packs from suspicious no-name brands who manufacturer them out of that plastic material that is "known by state of california to cause cancer".)

[Actual_Criminal]

1 hour ago, kirashi said:

Source? Cause they're no more carcinogenic than anything else we use on a daily basis. (Unless you're buying battery packs from suspicious no-name brands who manufacturer them out of that plastic material that is "known by state of california to cause cancer".)

Well actually, I was looking for a battery pack a couple of years ago and came across 'Mofi' battery packs or something like that from memory. At the time, I did a lot of research on which to buy (the mofi ones were on the high-end market at like £99+ per pack) and found lots of information about them being carcinogenic. Feel free to Google 'Battery pack carcinogenic' and i'm sure you'll find the data.

[GuiltySpark_]

Just now, Actual_Criminal said:

Well actually, I was looking for a battery pack a couple of years ago and came across 'Mofi' battery packs or something like that from memory. At the time, I did a lot of research on which to buy (the mofi ones were on the high-end market at like £99+ per pack) and found lots of information about them being carcinogenic. Feel free to Google 'Battery pack carcinogenic' and i'm sure you'll find the data.

Buddy, i don't know where you're getting your information but the lithium ion batteries in a battery bank are no different than what's in your phone and laptop or any other electronic device. Just get battery bank for $20 and use your phone normally like everyone else. Everything you listed sounds exhausting and is likely making things worse than just letting Android handle it. Especially manually killing apps, sheesh the notion that that did anything was squashed ages ago.

[IPD]

20 hours ago, Actual_Criminal said:

Well actually, I was looking for a battery pack a couple of years ago and came across 'Mofi' battery packs or something like that from memory. At the time, I did a lot of research on which to buy (the mofi ones were on the high-end market at like £99+ per pack) and found lots of information about them being carcinogenic. Feel free to Google 'Battery pack carcinogenic' and i'm sure you'll find the data.

You do realize that every substance in the known universe is "Known to the State of California to cause cancer." right?

[Zodiark1593]

Pretty much, the less you use the phone, the better the battery life. Additionally, having a device with readily available spare parts, repair guides, and isn’t a complete nightmare to open, should be considered.