Battery drain has always been one of smartphone users'
biggest problems, and since the launch of Apple's iOS 7.1 mobile operating
system last month, a number of iPhone
users have complained about poor battery life.
Most of the time it is not iOS itself that is causing the
iPhone's battery to drain quickly, but all the apps that are running on it. How to extend your iPhone's battery life? Here are the guidelines on how to extend the iPhone's
battery life.
1. Disable location and background app
refresh for Facebook
The Facebook app for iPhone consumes a huge amount of
memory and processing power, even when you're not using it. Turning off
background app refresh can
actually cause your battery percentage to increase.
2. Disable background app refresh for
apps you don't care about
Background App Refresh was a feature added in iOS 7, to
allow apps to check for new content and download updates even when they're not
running. However, it can use up a lot of power, and you don't necessarily need
it running for every app that supports it.
3. Stop quitting your apps in
multitasking
Most people tell you that closing your apps will save
your battery life because it keeps the apps from running in the background.
However, this can actually make your battery life worse if you do it on a
regular basis.
By closing the app, you take the app out of the phone's
RAM, so when you open it again your device has to load it back into memory all
over again. All of that loading and unloading puts more stress on your device
than just leaving it alone.
The truth is, apps in your multitasking menu are not
running in the background at all: iOS freezes them where you last left the app.
unless you have enabled Background App Refresh; most of your apps are not
allowed to run in the background.
4. Disable push email temporarily
Push email allows your device to receive instant
notifications every time you get an email. It is great if you need to know when
every single email comes in, but does impact battery if configured incorrectly.
Try changing the setting to fetch emails every hour,
thirty minutes, or fifteen minutes and see if the drain stops. You could also try
disabling Push on individual accounts if you have multiple.
5. Disable push notifications for apps
that annoy you
Every time you get a push notification, your phone wakes
from sleep for 5 to 10 seconds to light up your screen and wait for your
potential action upon each notification. If you receive 50 notifications during
the day and never act on them, that will add 4 to 8 minutes to your Usage time.
6. Turn off battery percentage
People that are anxious about their iOS device battery
life are constantly checking it to see the percentage and how much it has
dropped from the last time they checked it. So if you check your device twice
as much, simply to check on the battery life, you are essentially halving the
time your device will last.
7. Enable airplane mode in areas of poor
cellular service
When the iPhone detects that you are in a place of low
signal, it will increase the power to the antenna in order to stay connected
enough to receive calls and maintain a data connection. This will destroy your
battery life if you are constantly in a location with one bar or no service at
all. If you still need to receive calls there is nothing you
can do, but if your service is so poor that you can't receive calls anyway,
turn on Airplane mode. You can then turn Wi-fi back on if you need to.
8. Go to an Apple retail store
Apple has rolled out a new 'Extended Battery Life Test'
for all iOS technicians that allows them to see a detailed report of battery
usage on your device. If your physical battery is defective, the technicians
can replace it for free if your iOS device is under warranty.