I was talking to my sister the other day, and she said, “I’m red-lining. I’ll call you back.”
"He's dead, Jim!"
After we hung up, I realized that I was red-lining, too. That wicked red line on your battery life indicator, the one that should come with a loud voice to proclaim, “Hang up! Hang up, now!” Because, here’s the thing; bringing your battery back from the dead is hard on it. Similarly, charging it all the way to 100% is also hard on the battery. So, try to keep the charge somewhere in between. And speaking of battery usage, try to talk on the phone a little less.
No lower! Please!
What else kills your battery? Well, open apps, for one. There is a certain member of our family who regularly has ten apps running at once. If you get into the habit of giving the home button a double press and then sliding all those apps up and out, your battery will thank you.
Here are some apps with the mercy of a succubus:
Games. We love the games. But they don’t love our battery, and their flash and spin will drain our battery even faster if they’re connected to the internet. Pokémon Go, you are my darling and my battery’s nemesis.
Facebook. “But I NEED to know if Uncle Earl’s gall bladder surgery was a success!” you say. Wait until you get home, I say. Or else peek real fast and don’t take the time to post personal thanks to every member of his surgical team. If the FB app is killing your battery too badly, you might just want to use your browser. Here’s how: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/facebook-iphone-battery-life_us_56b8b6c5e4b08069c7a7fc54
Another reason FB is so draining is our next item, which is…
Location services. Oh, Maps and Directions, you’ve saved me so much wandering and confusion! But you’re like an overfull boat during high tide and you're running my phone battery aground. Frequent users of location services are Yelp, Find a Friend, and shopping apps. Review to decide which are important to keep in the loop, and then let them access your location ‘while using’ in settings/Privacy/Location Services.
FB also uses location services, which brings us to another reason FB is such a battery bleeder…
FB Messenger. Good morning, Vietnam! With the FB Messenger, you’re instantly connected to friends all over the planet--It’s such a pleasure to speak with you--Now, shut them up by looking on the app for their conversation, clicking on their name and then turning the notification to ‘off’ for (it lets you choose a time length of 15 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, or until I turn it back on). This is especially useful if you’re in a group chat, because you can shut them off until you’re back where you can charge your phone and read the 47 messages you missed. If you want to shut everyone up, click on ‘me’ in the lower right-hand corner, and under notifications there is a ‘do not disturb’ option. While you’re there, you have the option of turning off the vibration when there is a message. That’s another little battery drain.
Snapchat. Another app which is a sucking chest wound in the life of your battery. Everything with moving pictures, including Wimp, Netflix and You Tube, too.
Snapchat kills your battery. Even when it looks like a baby deer...
Display and Brightness. You know it’s too high if you turn on your phone, and it’s bright enough to make a baby gremlin squeal and shriek, “Bright light! Bright light!”
Sigh. For those of you who were born in the last thirty years, waste some battery life so you can get in on the joke here >> https://youtu.be/grrADdmfrSI
Luckily, you can turn brightness down in Settings/Display and Brightness.
Is your phone screen too bright?
If you can’t see it well when you’re outside, you can use auto-brightness or you can turn your off. You’re outside. It’s a beautiful. Quit looking at your phone and enjoy the day!
Actually, that might not be entirely accurate. Turning your phone off and on is another huge battery drain. So, the best time to actually shut your phone off is when you’re going to bed or some other activity which will require several hours. You know that notice in your doctor’s office that says, ‘Please turn your cellphone off’. You don’t need to heed that advice unless you’re having a major medical procedure right then or your doctor is just really busy and very slow. Very, very slow. Turn the phone to ‘mute’, instead.
The second place you’ll want to shut your phone off is if you’re in areas with low or poor reception because it automatically starts seeking better reception. While you’re in ceiling-dense buildings (I’m looking at you, Kohl’s!), the underground or the middle of the desert, your phone is grasping over and over for better reception, which drains the battery. Turn on airplane mode until you’re in a better place. If you can’t go without (like if your home is in one of those areas), consider buying a cell phone repeater Incidentally, that power save? Only works when you’re halfway across the prairie.
And finally, if you’re not honestly sure which of your apps is using up your precious power, you can look in Settings/Battery/battery usage and it will give you usage percentages for each app. You can check for 24 hours or 7 hours. What an education!
See what happens when you accidentally leave Toy Blast on?
Talk on.
