Tweaking some settings on your phone can add years of life to your device, according to a tech repair expert.
Kewin Charron, a tech expert with the French company Back Market, told DailyMail.com that there are some hidden settings for Android phones and iPhones that can help preserve your phone by reducing strain on the battery.
Basic steps like switching to dark mode can reduce battery drain caused by bright displays and help keep phones running longer. So you can turn off location services when you’re not using them and make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
Kewin Charron, Senior Director of Renewal Operations at Back Market
Not only will maintaining your device save you money and effort, but it’s also better for the environment.
‘The battery is a key component when it comes to making your iPhone last longer,’ explained Mr Charron.
Auto-brightness is the key to making your phone use less power (Apple)
“One way to reduce your phone’s battery drain is to enable the auto-brightness feature and set the maximum brightness to around 50 percent — as long as it doesn’t strain your eyes,” he said.
This setting automatically adjusts the brightness level based on the ambient light.
To activate it, go to Settings, tap Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Auto Brightness and turn it on.
Using Apple’s High Efficiency Image Format (HEIF) also helps protect your battery, by reducing the file size of your photos and videos.
This reduces load display images load on your phone’s battery.
Charron continued, “This setting can reduce the file size of both photos and videos by up to 50 percent.”
To turn this setting on, tap Settings > Camera > Formats, then turn on High Efficiency.
Charron also recommends turning on battery optimization, so you don’t overcharge your phone (which can affect battery life).
For iPhones running iOS 13 and later, go to iPhone Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging, and select Optimized Battery Charging.
If you really want your battery to last, Low Power Mode is your friend, though it can change your experience of using the device, warns Charron.
“This setting means you won’t be notified of new emails until you launch the Mail app, lower the screen brightness, and set the auto-lock timer to about 30 seconds,” says Charron.
“But it will ensure that your battery is used as efficiently as possible, helping it last both in the short and long term.”
To enable Low Power Mode, tap Settings, then Battery to turn it on. If you’re keen to make Low Power Mode the default, tap Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls, then select Low Power Mode.
For Android users, there are several settings that can help conserve battery — and make sure your phone stays powered on.
“Adaptive Battery is a key Android setting, helping to prevent apps you don’t use often from running in the background, unless you’re actively using them,” says Charron.
Over time, your device will learn about your app usage and optimize your battery in line with your behaviour. For Android devices, enabling this setting may be different. Try tapping Settings > Battery and then turning on Adaptive Battery.
Turning on Low Power Mode will make your device last longer (Apple, left). Adaptive battery can help your Android device last longer (Google, right)
As with iPhones, preventing your Android device from burning power on the screen can take more life away from the phone, says Mr. Charron.
This is easy to achieve by using the automatic screen brightness or adaptive brightness in your phone.
To do this, go to Settings > Display > and turn on Auto Screen Brightness or Adaptive Brightness.
Adaptive brightness reduces screen power consumption and can save your battery
Says Mr. Charon, “Reducing your brightness to about 50% can also help conserve battery life, but ensure you don’t strain your eyes to read the dim screen.”
It is also advised to stop your devices from overcharging (this can affect the overall battery health.
Tap Settings > Battery > then turn on Battery Care to enable this feature — or on some devices, try tapping Settings > Battery > Battery Usage, and then tap Optimizer.
The French expert continued, “Setting up Battery Saver on Android devices is another way to help your phone last longer. But, similar to iPhones, this setting can change your experience of using the device.
When the Battery Saver setting is enabled, you may notice that your phone will automatically switch to the dark theme, some visual effects and features may become limited, and apps may take longer to load.
However, this setting will help increase battery life. To enable the Battery Saver setting on most Android devices, open the Settings app, select Battery, and tap Battery Saver.
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