Switch off unnecessary services
Services such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS need not be kept switched ON always. Bluetooth is required only when you need to transfer files or use a Bluetooth headset, while GPS is required only if you are having difficulty finding your way around some place while traveling. Switch off GPS Geolocation features in any other app that makes use of it as well. You can use Wi-Fi only when you have an access point around, which is usually at your home or in the office, as we usually don t have free access points elsewhere. When you are on an airplane, switch to the Airplane mode to switch off all of these services at once. You can find this option in Settings > Wireless & networks > Airplane mode. These services drain a lot of battery and it is best to keep them switched OFF unless you really need to use them.
Switch off notifications
While notifications are very useful, it is also true that they silently drain your battery power more than you can imagine. It is best to switch off sound notifications as well as LED notifications to save battery, at the cost of having to manually check the status of your emails.
Disable constantly syncing apps
We told you about switching off notifications. The same reason is valid for this tip too. Certain built-in applications such as Email, keeps on trying to access the internet at regular intervals without user intervention, thus reducing battery power. You can either set it to sync at longer intervals, or simply switch off automatic syncing. You can always sync it manually by hitting refresh button whenever you with to find out if you have got any new mails. This setting can be changed in the Email application in Accounts and sync > General sync settings and remove the checkbox next to Auto-sync. In addition to email, this will affect social networking applications and RSS feeds which tend to keep on trying to sync to find updates. You can manually sync to get updates for these applications.
Upgrade to the latest firmware
Believe it or not, upgrading the firmware of your Android phone can lead to better battery life. This has been documented when upgrading from 1.x to 2.x. One of the reasons for the better battery life with the newer firmware is that it fixed the ever-present message application, which stayed on persistently, and now it goes to sleep, saving battery. In a similar way, it is also a good idea to update your apps to their latest versions as battery optimizations are usually done once in a while in newer versions.
Disable Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is required for the functionality of certain websites. Flash gives an enriching web experience but also consumes a lot of battery. Switching it off is one possible way of reducing battery consumption. You can set the browser to load Flash only when you want it to load. To do this, open the internet browser, press the Menu button on your Android phone, select More, go to Settings > Enable Plug-ins and set it to On demand.
Use Battery Usage Screen
Android phones have a nifty little utility, which lets you monitor what apps consume the most power and thus affecting battery life the most. This is the Battery Usage Screen and you can access it by opening Settings > About Phone > Battery use. You can then decide what action needs to be taken.
Use a task killer
Now that you have found out which apps drain your battery power, it is time to kill them one by one. Unnecessary tasks running in the background suck the battery life out of your Android phone. Use a task killer such as Advanced Task Killer Free to kill any such task that is running in the background and is not required. Just run this app and it will automatically kill the background tasks for you. You will soon notice how much more your Android phone battery lasts once you start using this app.
Uninstall unnecessary and unused apps
Since you now know what applications are running in the background and silently devouring your battery, you can identify the applications not required to be running that way. Some of these applications may be such that you seldom use them. You can uninstall such applications. Some applications have an option to turn off notifications. In such cases, you can turn off notifications so that they don t run in the background.
Switch off haptic feedback
Mechanical vibration happens to be the most battery consuming operation happening in any mobile phone and your Android phone is no exception. While you may leave on vibratory alerts as they may be necessary, you can simply switch off the haptic feedback from your virtual keyboard. Even though it may feel good to have haptic feedback, it is best to switch it off because every time you touch the screen, a haptic feedback takes away your battery power unnecessarily. You can find this setting inside Settings > Sound > Haptic feedback.
Reduce the backlight brightness
Backlight is usually the biggest culprit in reducing the battery life of your Android phone and with bigger screens, this problem is even more evident. You can try to reduce the battery power consumed by the screen by reducing the brightness to suit you. Open Settings > Display > Brightness, and choose to automatically adjust or simply turn the brightness to the lowest value suitable for you. Also set the screen timeout value to a smaller value so that the screen switches off sooner and thus saves more battery power.
Disable unnecessary Home Screen widgets
Widgets in Android phones are meant to make life easier and most of them actually do so. But certain widgets drain battery more than others, such as widgets pulling data from the internet in the background. As far as possible, such widgets must be avoided and removed if possible.
Disable animated wallpaper
While it does look cool, animated wallpaper drains your battery more than you may think it does. Disable animated wallpaper to save some battery power.
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