iPhone Battery

(Image via iPhoneSkinning.com)

One of the frequent owner complaints after switching to the iPhone is that the battery drains quicker than the one in their previous cell phone. With a little know-how and common sense, you can extend your iPhone’s battery life. Check out the tips below to get more out of the iPhone’s battery.

Avoid Extreme Heat

Heat can degrade the iPhone’s lithium ion battery much more quickly than normal usage, meaning you’ll get less power from the battery as it ages. Avoid leaving your iPhone in hot cars or laying in sunlight. Specifically, avoid exposing the iPhone to temperatures above 114 degrees farenheit.

Update the iPhone’s Software

Apple is constantly fixing bugs and finding new ways to conserve battery life. Keeping your iPhone software up-to-date will not only improve battery performance, your iPhone will work better in general.

Turn Off Wi-Fi

Searching for Wi-Fi networks can cause the iPhone to lose power. Turn off it off if you rarely use a Wi-Fi network.

Use Wi-Fi Instead of 3G or EDGE

The Wi-Fi radio uses less power to connect to the Internet than 3G or EDGE radios. If you have a choice, go with Wi-Fi to conserve power.

Set Automatic Email to Check at Longer Intervals

The iPhone can check your email automatically at set intervals. To conserve power, set the intervals further apart (eg, hourly instead of every 15 minutes) or set it to Manual so that it won’t check email until you open the Mail app and tap on your email account.

Minimize GPS / Location Services Usage

GPS is one of the biggest battery hogs on the iPhone. Minimize its usage. You can even turn it off entirely in the settings menu under the General tab (it’s called Location Services in the settings).

Turn Off 3G

The 3G radio consumes more power than the EDGE and Wi-Fi radios. If you don’t use 3G (eg, you don’t browse the Internet much, or you spend a lot of time around a Wi-Fi network), you can turn it off in the iPhone settings. Don’t worry, you’ll still receive phone calls.

Check Fewer Email Accounts

The more email accounts, the more power needed to check each one. Set the iPhone to check less important accounts at longer intervals, manually, or even delete them from the iPhone if you don’t need them.

Turn Off Push Mail

Push email services like Yahoo, Microsoft Exchange, and Google
can drain your battery quicker than using the regular fetch (POP3) email. Turning off push in the iPhone’s settings will not prevent you from receiving email, as the iPhone will default to the fetch email settings.

Turn Off Bluetooth

Turn off Bluetooth to prevent your iPhone from searching for Bluetooth devices.

Lower the iPhone’s Screen Brightness

The brighter the screen, the more power used. You can lower the iPhone’s screen brightness in the Settings menu.

Turn On Airplane Mode When Traveling

No, this has nothing to do with the airlines’ request to turn off cell phones before takeoff. While traveling, you may pass through areas with low or no cell service. The iPhone will use more power searching for a signal in these areas. You can turn on Airplane Mode in the iPhone’s settings.

Minimize Game Playing and Use of Third-Party Apps

Some games and other third-party apps are cpu intensive, and thus use up the iPhone’s battery quicker. Be aware that using these apps over long periods will wear down the battery much quicker than functions like playing a song.

Check out more of our iPhone Tips.