How To Improve/Save Battery Life On Your Android Device

Ultralinx asked me if I would do a writeup on the battery life improvement for Android video he did a few days ago.  For those of you who've watched it, it's full of great information for both regular and advanced users.  Since there might be people out there that don't have twelve minutes for the video he's asked me to condense the information.  Follow the link for more.

But if you don't want to read on and instead want to watch the video, check it out here - How To Improve/Save Battery Life

First and foremost, all users can benefit from keeping their homescreens neat and tidy.  What that specifically means is: don't overload on widgets.  Since many of these programs request information from remote sources, they need to update.  Updating this data is a huge drain on your battery. Also, remember that widgets are apps too and require power to be open all the time on your homescreens.

Apps can be battery life thieves as well.  Ultralinx uses Facebook and Twitter in the video as examples.  Programs like these auto-refresh in the background and while that's convenient, it's also a guaranteed battery drain.  Going into any app that pulls or refreshes data to extend the refresh interval setting can have a huge impact on how long your phone lasts between charges.  Some users even disable this automatic function and refresh their apps manually.  The nice part about this type of phone management is that any user can do it, no special apps or access is required.

Phone features can also be disabled to improve overall efficiency.  By toggling off things like wifi, account sync, GPS, and even 3G you can further enhance your phone while it sits idle.  One noteworthy thing Ultralinx didn't mention in the video is screen brightness.  Your phone's display is always going to be at the top of the battery consumption list and simply turning on auto-brightness control is a great way to regulate battery use.

For advanced users there are additional steps that can be taken to save battery.  As shown in the video, the app SetCpu can be used to do two very helpful things.  The first is underclocking.  Your phone's processor speed can be set to lower than max levels by SetCpu in order to save power.  This is underclocking.  Secondly, SetCPU allows the use of user profiles to regulate CPU frequencies during certain situations and under certain loads.  Using such an app requires root and is for advanced users.  While underclocking and profiles are powerful battery management tools, you may want to check the Android community for possible issues with doing such trickery with your phone.  Being a Samsung Galaxy-S user, I know this to be true.  Profiles in SetCPU cause these phones to do a few buggy things, so it's always worth the effort to ask around.
Here is a video on how to use and set up SetCPU - SetCPU Tutorial

Well, there you have it.  While the above isn't by any means a completely comprehensive guide to battery life, I think these tips cover the biggest culprits of battery drain.  Keeping homescreens clean, managing app/widget refresh intervals, setting auto brightness, and keeping phone features in check will take you a long way towards getting the most out of your Android device's battery.  Advanced users can go even further with SetCpu to boost efficiency.

As always, if you have questions or even suggestions, feel free to comment.

Images courtesy of Google Search.