There are a million and one ways you can improve the battery life on your Android phone, but we’ve sifted through them all to highlight the 10 most effective – plus an obvious bonus.
I’ve spent much of my life figuring out new ways to save battery life on Android phones. That estimate might sound like an exaggeration, but growing up with access to nothing but poorly made Android devices means I’ve always tinkered with their settings to figure out the best ways to maximize charge and push my phone’s battery life to the limit.
So when I started writing this guide on the settings you should use to save battery life, it all came naturally to me. These settings are the most effective, easiest, and quickest ways to save battery life regardless of the Android phone you’re rocking, whether the latest device from Samsung, a fancy Google Pixel, or a cutting-edge OnePlus device. Plus, you won’t have to sacrifice the high-quality experience of using your phone.
Note: While all these settings are available on practically any Android phone you can buy, the process for adjusting them can vary between devices. Keep this in mind when following the steps we lay out because the approach might be slightly different depending on which phone you’re using.
One of the biggest battery drainers for any smartphone is the always-on display. Companies will regularly tell you that this display setting only drains about 1% to 2% an hour, but let’s be honest — it’s always way more. And while it’s nice to glance at your phone while it sits on a table to check the time, it’s probably not worth sacrificing your battery life.
How to: Open the Settings app and locate the Lock Screen portion of the app, whether it’s in the main list of settings or under „Display“. From there, you’ll find the option to „always show info“ or a simple toggle to enable the Always On Display. Either way, turn the option off and check to make sure your screen goes completely blank when you lock it.
There’s a handy feature built into Android called Adaptive Battery, and it’s available on most devices. Adaptive Battery can automatically manage the performance and efficiency of your phone in the background using special processes to extend your battery life. For example, when you don’t need maximum performance for something simple like scrolling through your inbox, the setting will throttle things down and save you some juice.
How to: Go to Settings > Battery > Adaptive preferences and check to ensure „Adaptive battery“ is enabled. If it’s not, flick it on.
Over the past few years, many mid-range and budget Android phones have followed in the footsteps of their flagship brethren in adopting OLED displays. The technology allows individual pixels to dim or completely shut off on their own when not in use, which is far more beneficial for battery life than traditional LCD screens with one big backlight. By switching to your phone’s dark theme, those pixels will be dimmer far more often and, in turn, save some juice.
How to: Go to Settings > Display on your Android phone. There, you’ll find the option to switch between a light and dark theme, and an option to have dark mode turn on automatically at a certain time of day. To maximize battery life, we recommend keeping dark mode turned on all the time.
It’s common knowledge that cranking down your display’s brightness can help save battery, but it’s worth repeating.
