Hacks to Make Your Phone’s Battery Last Longer

Having your phone means never missing a picture of a beautiful sunset, recording a quick video of your kids playing in the water, or getting directions to the place everyone says is a "must-see." However, being on vacation with a phone that has a dead battery is a real bummer. Instead of searching for a place to plug in your phone so it can recharge, don’t miss a minute of fun with these ten hacks for saving your phone’s battery.

• Switch to Airplane Mode: Even if you aren’t flying, airplane mode is a great way to preserve your phone’s battery. Instead of your phone working hard to find a signal — and draining your battery while it does this — airplane mode gives your phone a break. So when you need your phone, you’ll have plenty of battery left.

• Quitting Apps Isn’t Always the Answer: When we see that our battery is getting low, usually the first thing we do is kill any active apps. However, it actually takes more battery to turn those apps back on. So instead of turning off the app and a few minutes later pressing the app to use it again, save your battery by not shutting down the apps you use frequently.

• Turn On Low Power Mode: When you notice your battery is getting low, switch your phone to Low Power Mode. This means your phone won’t constantly check emails, will deactivate some non-essential features, and will preserve your battery giving you longer before you have to charge.

• Adjust Your Location Services: While it’s super helpful to have apps know your exact location like Google Maps and Waze, there are plenty of other apps that are constantly working and draining your battery to find your location. So when you are on vacation, save your battery by heading to settings and turning off location services for all apps. If you need directions to the nearest restaurant or sightseeing adventure, turn on the location services only for the gps apps.

• Turn Off Background Refresh: Another helpful feature that can zap your battery is background refresh. You’ll be shocked how much your social media apps drain your battery even when you aren’t scrolling on your phone. Head to settings and turn this feature off to give your battery a break.

• Lower Screen Brightness: This one seems like such a small change but it can leave you with more battery later in the day.

• Avoid the Heat: Allowing your phone to sit out in the sun or to get overheated can actually drain your battery faster. So leave it in a bag so it’s away from the sun or if you have a cooler, place your phone in a plastic bag and let it stay cool next to your snacks.

• Download Before You Go: If you plan on using your phone to listen to podcasts or watch a movie, be sure to do all of this before you leave the house or hotel. This way you can keep your phone totally changed instead of using the battery to download your entertainment.

• Bye-Bye Wifi: Unless you have the Wifi passwords for your location, turn off wifi and bluetooth. Otherwise your phone will simply drain its battery trying to get connected. Super easy and super helpful.

• Pack a Portable Charger: You’ve tried all the tricks and hacks to save your phone’s battery but you still need some juice to get your phone through the day — use a portable charger. Small enough to fit in your bag but powerful enough to give your battery some extra life. Just don’t forget to have the portable charger all charged up before you go.