Running out of battery too soon? Here are 5 tips to extend your Android phone’s life

Thinner designs, brighter screens, faster processors, and constant internet use are key reasons many Android phones struggle with battery life, according to U.S. tech site PCMag.

However, several built-in settings can help improve battery performance. PCMag’s experts tested these features on a Google Pixel 6a running Android 15 and a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 running Android 14.

Enable power saving mode

Activating power saving mode is one of the most effective ways to extend battery life.

On Samsung devices, users can go to Settings > Battery and turn on Power saving to reduce background activity such as syncing, location tracking, and network use. For stronger savings, selecting Limit apps and Home screen restricts activity to only essential apps. Samsung also provides a Power Saving shortcut in the Quick Settings menu for easier access.

On Google phones, users can head to Settings > Battery and activate Battery Saver. For more aggressive power management, turning on Extreme Battery Saver will pause non-essential apps and notifications.

It is also advisable to keep Adaptive Battery enabled, which helps the system optimize battery usage based on app behavior over time.

A phone low on battery. Photo from Unsplash

Use dark mode

Switching to dark mode is another simple way to extend battery life while also reducing eye strain, according to tech site CNET. Google has confirmed that dark mode can help conserve energy, especially on phones with OLED displays, which require less power to show darker pixels than lighter ones.

To enable dark mode, open the Settings app and search for Dark Mode, Dark Theme, or Night Mode. Users can set it to turn on automatically based on a daily schedule or allow the phone to switch modes at sunset and sunrise using location data.

Limit Always on Display

The Always on Display feature shows the time and notifications even when the screen is off, using a small but constant amount of battery.

On Samsung phones, it can be turned off via Settings > Lock screen. Users may also adjust it to activate only at certain times or when tapped. On Google phones, related settings can be found in Settings > Display > Lock screen, where users can customize when the feature should be active.

Shorten screen timeout

Reducing how long the screen stays on when idle is another simple way to save power. Both Samsung and Google phones allow users to set screen timeout durations via Settings > Display > Screen timeout.

Options range from 15 seconds to 10 minutes, with shorter durations helping conserve battery life.

Restrict background app activity

Apps often continue running in the background even when not in use, slowly draining battery power.

On Samsung phones, users can access Battery > Background usage limits and enable Put unused apps to sleep to prevent unnecessary activity. Specific apps can also be added to the Sleeping apps or Deep sleeping apps lists, which limits or suspends their background functions unless actively opened.

On Google phones, enabling Adaptive Battery in Battery > Battery Saver reduces background activity for rarely used apps. To control individual apps, users can go to Apps > App battery usage, select an app, and adjust its background settings or ensure it is set to Optimized.