GENE’S TECH CHECK: How To Increase The Life Of Your Batteries

(This post originally appeared on Forbes)

Tech Check is a weekly blog that offers suggestions for solving some of the biggest headaches business professionals face with technology.

David Walke, President and CEO of goCharge, a 10-person distributor of mobile device charging kiosks located in New York, NY.

The problem:

David’s biggest technology frustration:  limited battery life. He (like many of us) finds himself constantly having to charge devices and rarely makes it through a day without needing to plug something in.  Unfortunately, he finds himself with few options to resolve this issue. “Unfortunately, we’re still working on solving it,” he says. “Battery life just needs to catch up with consumers’ frequency of use, which has not happened yet.”

Our expert’s advice:

Anthony Mongeluzo, the President and CEO of Pro Computer Service in Philadelphia, has these four suggestions:

1. 1. Close all background applications that are running. On many of your mobile devices, applications run and waste useful battery life. Software applications will use your Internet and your GPS, both of which can tax the battery.
   2. Dim the screen brightness. Dimming the screen a little bit extends battery life.
   3. Shut down services that you are not using. For instance, if you are not using a Bluetooth device, turn off Bluetooth.
   4. Use WiFi whenever possible. Cellular data is one of the biggest drains on your battery. When possible (and secure), utilize WiFi networks wherever you are.

My thoughts:

I’ve downloaded an app called Advanced Task Manager for my Samsung S8 that closes apps running in the background. I also rely heavily on my device’s power savings mode, particularly if I’m travelling and know that I won’t be using many of the phone’s features.  Airplane mode – even when not in the air – cuts back on some battery-draining activities. Finally, I always carry a spare USB charger with me – it’s cheap, small, and really does the trick!