The daily battery drain is a common problem for modern phone users.
Back in those heady early days of mobile use, your phone could be on standby for weeks without needing a recharge.
And, although you could only text, call and play a very limited selection of games, it was almost always there when you needed it.
However, these days, unless your favourite function on your smart phone is the off button, or you’re sporting a retro style feature phone like the Nokia 515 with its fabled 38 day standby time, you’ll probably find yourself searching for a charger in order to continue that game of Bejeweled before the day is out.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), more than 1.2 billion smart phones will be shipped in 2014. It’s a major challenge for smart phone manufacturers to try and match the battery life of those earlier phones whilst delivering ever more powerful functionality.
And it is one that’s being addressed by the latest models, including the Galaxy S5 and new iPhone 6 Plus which both feature improved battery power.
But, the reality remains that the more we demand from our phones the greater the potential strain on our batteries.
So, what can we do to maximise our mobile power right now?
According to power management expert Charles Limonard at electronicdesign.com, the key to maintaining good battery life is to stop your device “from trying to do too much at once”.
Sounds simple in practise, but do you know exactly what your phone is getting up to in the background and just how much 4G could be draining your power even when you’re not using it?
With this in mind, here are 10 great hacks to help you check what your phone is doing and boost your battery life.
Tips For Extending Battery Life
Turn Down The Lights(01 of06)
Open Image ModalLimit 3G And 4G(02 of06)
Open Image ModalThe faster your data speeds are the more energy your phone will use. 3G and especially 4G LTE are big energy guzzlers, so switching off cellular data when you don’t need it, will extend your battery life. (credit:merznatalia via Getty Images)
Buy A Battery Case(03 of06)
Open Image ModalAn external phone battery case, like the PowerSkin can protect your phone and double battery life at the same time. (credit:MacFormat Magazine via Getty Images)
Turn Off Wireless, Bluetooth And GPS When You Don't Need Them(04 of06)
Open Image ModalEven when your phone is at the bottom of your bag or you're out of range, if wireless or bluetooth are on they will be constantly searching for signals to make a connection. On top of this, the weaker the signal, the harder the phone will try to pick it up and the more battery that will be wasted. If you don't need them, it's best to switch them off by default. The same goes for GPS, which will keep on trying to track your location as long as it's enabled. (credit:Yagi Studio via Getty Images)
Make Sure Your Software Is Up To Date And Check For Bugs(05 of06)
Open Image ModalEarlier in the year iOS 7 users reported bugs in the software that were causing their phones to freeze or battery life to drain too fast. Make sure you install the latest updates to deal with glitches like this on a regular basis. (credit:Artur Debat via Getty Images)
Stop Pushing(06 of06)
Open Image ModalPush notification features allow apps to send updates to your phone even when they're not in use. Handy sometimes, but still another excuse for your phone to use power when it's technically on down time. Do you really need to know the instant someone likes that picture you posted a Facebook or can you wait to check manually later in the day? it will save you power.. (credit:cote/Flickr)