How to Fix Poor Battery Life on Android Phone Tablet

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

The more you use your Android phone or tablet the more battery power you use. However, there are a handful of tricks you can use to avoid quickly draining your battery.

Tools You'll Need:

• Your Android device's charger
-->

Supplies You'll Need:

• Zip ties
• Any other consumable supplies
• Comment out supplies section if no supplies are necessary

-->

Before You Begin:

• You must have access to a computer with iTunes installed.
• You must have that thing for the other thing so you can do the thing.

You must have this thing before you whatever.

• Title of GP User Should Do First
• Title of GP User Should Do First
• Each individual prereq should have its own box like this. Not all will contain multiple links.
• Comment out prerequisites section if no prereqs are necessary

-->

2. Keeping Your Android Up to Date is Important

Updating your Android is an important part of maintenance. Updating can patch bugs that are causing a drain on your battery.

How to Update Your Android Device:

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Scroll to the bottom, and select About.
   

1. Select System update.
   

1. You'll see if there's any updates available, as well as when your device last checked for updates. If you wish, you can choose Check for update to make sure.
   

1. If an update is available, you can download and install it here.Do not turn off your phone during an update, it can result in serious problems that would require a qualified technician to fix.

3. Turn On and Set Up Automatic Battery Saver on Android

To save power when your phone's battery gets low, you can set Battery Saver to turn on automatically or you can turn it on at any time.

When Battery Saver is enabled your phone or tablet behavior changes:

• Waits until you look at an app to refresh its content, like email or news.
• Stops use of Location services when your screen is off.
• Stops apps from doing things in the background, unless you turn off battery optimization.
• Stops listening for "Ok Google," and instead requires you to squeeze your phone or tap the Assistant icon Assistant.
• Turns on Dark theme.
• Some notifications can be delayed.

Turn battery saver on or off yourself

1. Swipe down from the top of your phone's screen.
   

1. Tap the Battery icon.
   

1. Tap Menu and Battery saver.
   

1. Toggle it ON.
   

Have battery saver turn on automatically

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Select Battery.
   

1. Select Battery saver.
   

1. Tap Turn on Automatically to select when Battery Saver will turn on. If Never is selected, battery saver only turns on when you tell it to. You can also set it so that battery saving turns on at a certain percentage like 5%.
   

4. Reduce Power Usage by Disabling Location Services

Disable WiFi and Bluetooth ScanningInstead of allowing your Android device to eat battery life while trying to more accurately pinpoint your location, you can disable the accuracy services so your device no longer scans for Bluetooth and WiFi networks all the time.

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Select Location.
   

1. Select Scanning.
   

1. Toggle both WiFi and Bluetooth scanning to Off.
   

Disable Location Services

Though useful in determining your exact location and definitely needed for some apps, Location Services can take a serious toll on your battery life.

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Select Location.
   

1. In Location, switch the toggle at the top to Off.
   

5. Turn WiFi or Bluetooth Off When Not in Use to Save Power

Turn Off BluetoothEvery Android device is slightly different because of manufacturer and carrier customizations and launchers. While the icons and exact layout shown may be slightly different, they will be extremely similar.

1. Open Settings, and select Connected Devices.
   

1. Select Bluetooth.
   

1. Set the toggle switch for Bluetooth to Off.
   

Turn Off WiFi

Switching Wi-Fi off will save battery that would normally be used by the Wi-Fi antenna, and can help save battery and generate less heat if the Wi-Fi signal is low, or you are not using Wi-Fi.

Turning off Wi-Fi will not lose your settings.

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Select Wi-Fi.
   

1. Select the switch at the top to turn WiFi Off.
   

Switching Wi-Fi off means you will be using your cellular connection for all data for your phone. Be sure to be cautious of this so you don't use too much data and end up with extra charges from your cellular provider.

6. Reduce Brightness, Set Screen Timeout, Turn on Dark Mode

The screen brightness can often have a major effect on the battery life of your device.

Adjust Brightness

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Select Display.
   

1. Select Brightness Level.
   

1. Use the slider to increase or decrease the brightness of your display.
   

Adjust Your Screensaver Time

To reduce battery drain when you're not using your screen, set a shorter time before your screen turns off.

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Select Display.
   

1. Tap Sleep or Screen Timeout.
   

1. Pick a time. We recommend 30 seconds.
   

Turn On Dark Mode

Dark Mode gives your Android device the chance to not render loads of pixels. This saves battery life.

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Select Display.
   

1. Select Device Theme.
   

1. Select Dark.
   

7. Run the Battery Optimization Tool in Android

Allowing your Android to take control of your battery optimizations not only frees you from having to deal with it yourself, it also saves your battery life!

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Select Battery.
   

1. Here you'll see an overview of battery use for your phone. Select the 3-dots menu in the top-right corner.
   

1. Select Battery optimization.
   

1. It tends to be best to allow the Android system to manage and optimize the battery for you. At the top, select Not optimized.
   

1. Select All apps.
   

1. Your Android phone will begin watching apps closely, and monitoring how they use power. This will decrease the battery use, and heat generated.
   

8. Which Apps Are Draining the Battery and How to Stop Them

Find Out Which Apps Are Using Your BatteryYour Android lets you know what apps are using your battery life the most.

1. Open Settings on your phone or tablet.
   

1. Select Battery.
   

1. From here, you'll see a list of apps that are using your battery. Select an app for more information.
   

1. You can choose Force Stop to close an app that is running.
   

Close the Unused Apps or Apps Using Too Much Power

1. Tap Recent Apps at the bottom of the screen.
   

1. The Recent Apps button may be located on either the bottom left or bottom right as either an onscreen button or a physical button. If you're unsure which button it is, please refer to the user manual of your android device.
2. Either tap the X or swipe to the side to close an app.
   

9. Portable Battery Power Banks

Normally when you need to charge your smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device, you can plug the USB charging cable in to your computer or to a wall outlet. That’s not always convenient or even possible if you’re traveling, or otherwise away from home. This is where an external battery pack comes in handy. With an external battery pack, instead of plugging your charging cable into the wall, you instead plug the charging cable into the battery pack and allow your device's battery to charge normally.

External battery packs range in size from as small as a lipstick tube to as big as a thick paperback book. Typically, the larger the battery pack, the longer it will last as a source to charge your mobile devices. There are hundreds of models available in different sizes and capacities, so choose a battery pack that best fits your away-from-home charging needs.