How To Maximize Your Smartphone’s Battery Life Over Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend is just days away, which means barbecues, parades, beach trips, music festivals and little time to worry about a low smartphone battery. But never worry, there are many things a smartphone user can do to conserve battery life during the last days of summer. Utilize some or all of these tips to keep your smartphone going as long as you can.

Regulate Screen Brightness

Displays are a major source of battery drain for most devices and can account for nearly 40 percent of overall battery usage. This makes regulating screen brightness a vital method of conserving battery life.

Users usually have two options for regulating screen brightness: Use the auto-brightness option or manually decrease the screen’s brightness to the lowest point that you can comfortably see. Utilizing the auto-brightness option is optimal for Labor Day activities because the device will adjust the screen according to the device’s external surroundings, such as whether the device is outdoors or indoors.

Users can control the brightness of their smartphone’s display by accessing the option through settings. Many devices have a screen-brightness toggle, which can be accessed through the devices drop-down screen. Additionally, users can opt for darker wallpapers as opposed to lighter and brighter ones, which use more battery power.

Utilize Power-Saving Mode/Ultra Power-Saving Mode

Power-saving modes can drastically conserve battery power. By ensuring a device never exerts itself at maximum power while still maintaining performance, power-saving mode is a must for those who wish to save battery power. Users can access the mechanism through their smartphone’s settings, and many devices have a shortcut to the power-saving mode settings in their drop-down menu.

Some devices also include an ultra-power saving mode, which shuts down nonessential functions to conserve battery life. A device with its ultra-power saving mode utilized when charged to full power can potentially last several days as opposed to several hours. Devices that include ultra-power saving mode are the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One (M8).

Only Use Wi-Fi And Data When Needed

Accessing the Internet is one of the most battery taxing operations a smartphone can execute. But when you’re in the middle of a set for your favorite artist, the last thing you will be thinking about is surfing the Web. Partaking in various Labor Day activities is the perfect time to time to turn off mechanisms like Wi-Fi and data until they are needed.

Both Wi-Fi and data are both accessible through settings and many devices have shortcuts to the Wi-Fi and data options in their drop-down menus. It takes just seconds to turn either option on or off, in comparison to all of the battery life that will be saved.

However, having data off does impede certain smartphone functionalities. Devices won’t receive certain multimedia texts such as images or conference texts, which will show up in an un-downloadable multimedia message format until data is turned back on.

Turn Off the Extra Features

Many devices include a number of so-called bloatware features that are often not used by smartphone owners. These features will vary by hardware brand, but Labor Day weekend is a perfect time to make sure they are off and not contributing to unnecessary battery drain. Controls for extra features can be found under the My Device settings for most smartphones.

Other connectivity features such as Bluetooth and NFC can also be turned off to conserve battery power. Turning these features off will also hinder certain functionalities; however, these are features that especially don’t have to be on unless they are needed.

Un- Sync Email Accounts From Your Phone

Unless you still have work obligations while you’re celebrating during Labor Day weekend, you will likely not be checking your email often. Un-Syncing email accounts from a smartphone will hinder new email notifications, which will prevent users from constantly checking their phones; turning on the battery taxing screen and affecting the device’s overall battery life. Controls for emails can be found under the Accounts settings for most smartphones. Users can easily re-sync devices to email accounts when needed.

Bonus: Invest In An Extended Battery/External Charger

Keeping an extended battery or external charger on hand is a great way to maintain full function of your smartphone in the event that your original battery loses power. Many smartphone brands market their own extended batteries and external chargers, but there are also many reputable third-party vendors for these accessories. Brands like Mugen Power and ZeroLemon are known for quality extended batteries, while brands like IOGEAR and Zagg are known for quality external chargers.

External chargers are optimal for long Labor Day weekend outings as many are compact and easy to store. Compatible with smartphones through a USB cable, many external batteries can recharge several devices from low battery in a short amount of time.