How to Maximize Battery Life in Your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch
So, you’ve got yourself a new Apple gadget and in your excitement you’ve used it so much the battery no longer lasts as long as it used to. In that case, what you need to know are ways to keep your battery running as long as possible; that’s where this article comes in. Here are some tips that, while to some people may seem like common sense, will really help you keep your precious iDevice alive and well.
Keep Out of Heat
One of the most important thing you can do is to keep your iPad, iPhone, or any other gadget you have out of the sun. Don’t leave it on a sunny table or even in a hot car or room. Nothing kills a battery like a lot of heat does. If you constantly place your device in hot or sunny areas, don’t be surprised if it suddenly has barely any charge left.
Lessen Screen Brightness
Another thing you could try is reducing the brightness of your screen. Keeping it very bright drains a lot of the battery and honestly is not really necessary. The screens on these things are usually super bright so you could probably get by just fine with 40% brightness or lower. To accomplish this, head on over to Settings then into Brightness & Wallpapers to adjust the brightness to your heart’s content.
Make Sure Screens Lock Quickly
Now that you’ve adjusted the brightness of your screen, take a look at how quickly your device shuts off when you aren’t using it. To find this, look in the General section of Settings, then go to Auto Lock. Choose the lowest time you can; this will save you tons of battery life.
Try Using Airplane Mode From Time to Time
What is both good and bad about the iPads and iPhones is that they’re always searching for an Internet connection. This is be great when you really need the Internet, but if you don’t it’s pretty useless and drains your battery life really quick. One way to fix this would be to switch to Airplane mode when you aren’t using the Internet. Doing this is easy, just go to Settings, find Airplane Mode near the top and switch it on. Be warned though, on an iPhone this has the unfortunate side effect of not letting you take calls.
Use Wi-Fi Whenever Possible
When using your mobile device the best way to get Internet access is with Wi-Fi. If you use Wi-Fi, then your iPad or iPhone should last you about ten hours (according to Apple). However, by using 3G, you only get nine hours on iPad and six hours on iPhone (again, according to Apple). If you use Wi-Fi a lot, this will still drain your battery, but not as much as using 3G will. If you need to switch, then go under Settings, find Wi-Fi, and pick which network you want to connect to.
Reduce the Amount Your Device Checks the Email & Calendar
iPads and iPhones try to make things easier for people and one of the ways it tries to accomplish this is by constantly checking and downloading your email and calendar updates. This drains a lot of battery, so you should probably lessen the amount it does this. Or, if you feel like you don’t need to use this feature at all, switch it to manually. Just go to Settings > Mail > Contacts > Calendars > Fetch New Data. Once there, adjust the settings to whatever works best for you.
Regularly Charge and Discharge the Battery
One of the most important and effective ways to get maximum battery life is to charge and discharge your device. They need to be completely discharge and recharged at least once a month. You should also take care to not leave it laying around dead. This can kill battery life fast so charge it as soon as possible. Vice versa, you should never leave your device charged for too long either; this can have the same effect. Once you know the device is charged completely, disconnect it and start using it.