I love my Epic 4G Touch, but one thing that annoys me is its relatively short battery life that barely gets me through the day (and sometimes doesn’t even last that long). And this isn’t just a problem on the Epic 4G Touch– most Android phones have quicker battery drains because of their larger screens, more powerful processors and 4G chips (all things that help make Android so great).

If you’re like me you’re gonna want to try to make the most of your Android phone’s battery life, so here are four tricks that I use to get the most out of my smartphone.


1. Airplane mode– Even when the screen isn’t on, your phone is using lots of battery because the wireless radios (3G, 4G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS etc.) in your smartphone are still working to connect with the cell networks. This means you’ll still get all your new texts, emails, Facebook messages, etc. but you’ll also still be draining your battery. So how do you solve this problem? Simple: Airplane mode. Airplane mode, which can be found in Settings –> Wireless and Networks, is a feature on your phone that turns off all those radios (which the airlines want you to do every time you go on a plane, hence the name Airplane mode). This way, there will be almost no battery use when the display is off. Since I usually don’t use my phone during class, I keep it in Airplane mode.

Now this doesn’t mean that I can’t play games, read Word documents, or watch videos (though you probably shouldn’t be doing any of those in class), it just means that your device has no access to the internet, texting or calling. So consider keeping your smartphone in Airplane mode during school or at times where you know you won’t be answering your phone or using the internet (when your phone is in Airplane mode you will be able to still use WiFi if you want to be online but in more power efficient way– WiFi doesn’t use as much power as 3G/4G).

You can save around 30-40% of the battery and still use it for non-internet activities. And don’t worry, you will still get all your missed calls, texts, and Facebook updates once you disable airplane mode and reconnect to the network.

2. JuiceDefender– Juice Defender is an app (found in the Android Market here) that “automatically manages the battery draining components of your phone.” So basically what it does is it turns off data connections when you are not using them. For example, when your phone is in your pocket and in sleep mode, it will turn off the 3G and WiFi radios, saving lots of battery. Similar to Airplane mode, it turns off your internet and data connections though it does so “smartly,” meaning that it detects when the screen isn’t on and when you aren’t using the phone. You will still receive texts and calls though, so allow the app to run 24/7 and it will save an hour or so of precious battery life. Since the app is free and automatically set up, just download and install the app to start saving battery!

Quick Tip: How do you use both JuiceDefender and Airplane mode together? So what I do is I keep JuiceDefender running 24/7 so that I am constantly saving some battery, and then when I am in class I turn on Airplane mode so there is almost no battery usage whatsoever during school. Feel free to change how you use these features based on your own needs.

3. Monitor your battery!– In some cases, you might not have much battery left but you need to make sure that it lasts for a certain time. Knowing how much battery you have is an important part to making your battery last longer.  In all Android devices there is a battery symbol in the upper right hand corner of the screen. However, this symbol overestimates how much battery you actually have left. So how do you know how much really have left? Well, a battery widget is a simple way to see how much battery you have (I would recommend this one). You can simply place it on your home screen, and each time you use your phone, you can what percent of your battery is left.

Another way to check battery use is through Settings –> About phone –> Battery usage. There, you’ll see a graph similar to the one above which shows your battery level over time and which activities have been using most of your battery. Use these tools to make sure you have enough juice for that important call.

android brightness

4. Brightness– We understand that you want your screen to be bright, and that when the screen is brighter it looks better. However, setting the brightness at high levels will drain your battery very quickly. I would recommend keeping your brightness at around 50% (or even less) and using the Power Saving Mode of your device. Through Settings, you can set up this feature (just go to Settings –> Power) which can turn off WiFi and decrease the brightness when the battery reaches a certain level (I have mine set to do this when my battery hits 20%).

We hope that these tips help you to save battery on your Android device. After all, what use is a nice phone if it has no battery left? Have any battery saving tips of your own to share with other teens? We would love to hear about them. Leave a comment below!