10+ iPhone Battery Tips
The iPhone 3G is approaching, but here I am stuck with my old Edge’d iPhone. So, for me the new one can’t come any slower. Especially when my battery is receding faster than a slug in a salt mine.
To help your battery last long enough for the new iPhone, coming out July 11th. Here are a few tips to make the most out of your daily charge:
1. Hacking — First, don’t hack your iPhone. Yes, i know those apps and themes are sweet, but those themes take a little more display power. If you have a fancy theme with cool icons, you’ll notice the battery fluctuates a little more than normal. So, if you don’t hack your phone the standard software won’t cause erroneous readouts of your battery strength.
2. Auto-Brightness — Turn off the Auto-Brightness detection. If this feature is turned on, it will constantly check the brightness level of your environment. If you set it to manual, the power to do the continuous detection will be saved.
3. Brightness — Your display brightness setting is a factor of the battery life. Set your brightness towards the left/lower side to gain that power back. I have mine set to the ‘g’ in “Auto-Brightness” below the brightness slider.
4. Edge — The WiFi feature pulls more power than the Edge feature. If you use the Edge instead of WiFi, your battery will last longer. Also, due to the lack of speed on the Edge network you will most likely use it less. If there is any way for you to use another resource for Internet access, by all means, do it!
5. Mobile Web — Use the mobile version of the websites you visit. Sure, the iPhone can handle the standard website format, but most mobile versions look pretty sharp on the iPhone. Plus, they are faster on the Edge you just dedicated yourself to using on a constant basis.
6. Text Messaging — If you follow Twitter or BrightKite, instead of text alerts use the web interface. They both have mobile ports and are fast on the Edge. (See how I work it around here? Combining these tips like a pro.) Besides Twitter is getting worse and worse at spitting out those texts in a usable fashion. It would be better to web based tools like Summize to get your track on.
7. Bluetooth — If you aren’t using bluetooth for headset or connection to your computer (for no reason). Turn it off.
8. Vibrate — The other day my co-worker shut off the vibrate mode on his ringer. He noticed a difference in the battery life. He put two and two together and realized the vibrate feature drained the battery. So, don’t take my word for it.
9. Email Auto Check — Unless you are expecting an important message, why have auto email check on? When you check it manually it’s pretty speedy, and anticipation is sometimes better than the actual event.
10. Music Volume — It takes energy to deliver that music at bloodletting levels. Just like every other iPod the volume level will determine how long the battery will last. The higher the volume the more pull, so knock it down a couple of notches. You’d be surprised how much it’ll improve.
Bonus: War Driving — In the WiFi department there is a setting that will constantly scan for an open WiFi connection, and then it’ll ask if you’d like to connect. I’ve never been to an area where looking for an open WiFi was a must, plus around here WiFi areas aren’t dense enough. Well, at least not with open WiFi signals.
Bonus part deux: Call Forwarding – If the phone is constantly talking to the cellular servers, it’s using power. If you are near another phone, try forwarding the calls to it. When you leave move it back to the iPhone.
Well, I hope these tips help. With luck we can all survive the next few weeks for the new and improved iPhone. Then I’ll make a whole new list on saving battery juice on that beast.
