Battery preservation over Christmas

The festive season is one of sharing- sharing laughs, great memories and good wishes, and in this day and age there is no better device to help you share than your mobile phone. We also understand that while a lot of the world is on holidays, many of us are working just as hard as Santa Claus through late December and that your smart phone is the perfect thing to help you nail the classic Christmas multi-task.

So we know that you’ll be more disappointed than a child with a stocking full of coal when you reach into your pocket to find that your phone’s battery has died. That’s why we’ve provided you with an early Christmas gift: a list of ways to make your phone battery last longer. Follow these tips and your phone battery will be more reliable that Rudolph.

Keep your apps open

This one goes against what we’ve all been told for years: “Close all the apps running in the background to save your battery.” Well, luckily we got some mythbusters on to this one and found out it isn’t actually the case. In fact, closing the background apps and opening them again later actually wastes more battery than keeping them open. Spread the word.

Let airplane mode be your friend

If you’ve got less battery on your phone than you have self-control at the Christmas dinner table and you don’t need to use your phone, chuck it on airplane mode.

Let the Christmas lights be bright- not your phone

Opt for ambient lighting on your phone this month by dimming it as much as you can and, in turn save hours of battery life for more important things, like taking selfies and sending emails.

Let yourself get lost - turn off your GPS

The GPS on your phone is like the young nephew that steals all the cookies from the Christmas cookie jar, except the GPS is stealing your battery life. Turn off your Location Services when you don’t need it and reclaim your cookies- I mean your battery life.

Turn on Low Power mode

Last Christmas we asked Santa for a way to save our phone’s battery. Luckily, he delivered and gave iPhone users a ‘Low Power mode’ feature- so use it. Your phone will ask you if you want to use it when your battery gets below 20%, but beat your phone to it and turn it on through your Settings.

Turn off your Wi-Fi

The festive season is about connecting with friends and family, and while you’re doing that your phone is trying to connect to the Wi-Fi, and if you don’t have any in range, it’s spending a lot of energy trying to find some. So if you don’t want to connect to the Wi-Fi, turn it off on your phone.

Keep your phone ice cool

For those of us not experiencing a snowy, white Christmas, but instead looking at a warm, beachy festive season, keep an eye on your phone’s temperature. Although surprising to some, your iPhone isn’t turkey and doesn’t thrive in the oven- in fact, hot temperatures can put stress on your battery and cause it to be less effective. So leave your phone somewhere cool.

Say goodbye to push notifications

We understand that the beginning of the festive season does not herald the end of your business or work, so we know the importance on being on top of every email. But if you’re spending time with friends and family and can afford to turn off your phone’s push notifications your battery life will thank you.

Switch it off

This one’s an obvious one, but one we’re all a bit scared to do. If you’re settling in for a post-meal nap or running around with the kids and you’re not using your phone, simply turn it off.

Stay updated

While the ‘Remind me later’ button may be our favourite one to press when those pesky update alerts pop-up mid email, you’re actually doing your phone a disservice by pressing it. Often –although not always- these updates increase the battery efficiency of apps.

Interested in more ways you can use your phone this festive season? Check out this article about an SMS Christmas Miracle!