Can You Extend the Battery Life of Your Samsung Galaxy?

Your Samsung Galaxy phone is meant to go with you, no matter where you're headed. While you might sit next to electrical outlets for part of your day, few of us want to be plugged into power all the time.

Cellphone batteries don't last forever, and at some point, you will need to either replace yours or get a new phone.

But in the interim, there's plenty you can do to keep your phone charged and humming with its original battery. The key is to both charge your phone properly and ensure you're not sapping juice unnecessarily.

Here are a few good steps to take to keep your battery humming along properly.

Keep It Charged

It may sound obvious, but your battery relies on you for health. The more you neglect it, the shorter its lifespan. Two common habits could harm your battery and make replacement more likely.

The first: Using an off-brand charger. While it's true that plenty of companies sell their own phone chargers, and many of them are both inexpensive and adorable, they're not designed to offer your phone an ideal experience. They can run too hot for your phone to handle, or they can be so weak that your device expends energy trying to get enough juice.

Stick with the charger that came with your phone. If you've lost it or need a new one, go back to Samsung for help.

Next, make sure your phone stays charged. Samsung recommends plugging in your phone when you hit the 20 percent remaining mark. Discharging the battery completely isn't good for it, and it can shorten its lifespan. Don't take chances. When you're running low, plug in.

Manage Your Connections

Your smartphone works hard to keep you connected, and that means it's talking to several different types of systems almost all the time. Chances are, you don't need all of these concurrent links. Leaving them on can drain your battery for no reason.

Your phone can connect to:

Your cell provider
GPS
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth

Some of these systems are redundant. For example, if you have a strong Wi-Fi connection, your cell tower can take the day off. And if you're not streaming music into a speaker while walking down the street, you don't need either GPS or Bluetooth.

Think about where you are and what you're doing, and tap to turn off the connections you don't need.

Control Your Apps

Tiny computer programs make using a smartphone so much more convenient. But each app asks for power, and some can take down your entire device. Don't ignore your apps after you install them. Perform routine maintenance to ensure they're not draining your battery and prompting more charges.

You might be surprised to learn how much RAM, and therefore power, your apps require. Android Authority suggests that these common apps need the following amounts of RAM:

Google Play: 200 MB
YouTube: 230 MB
Alexa: 350 MB
Twitter: 400 MB
Gmail: 500 MB
Instagram: 700 MB

Your phone does a good job of turning apps on and off as needed to preserve power. But each time an app is turned off and must reboot, it needs a little more juice to flip the switch.

Head to the Battery screen within Settings, and you'll see an app breakdown for your phone. Look for the programs that take the most power, and ask yourself if you really need them while on the go. Chances are, you'll spot one or two that seemed vital at the time that you just don't need anymore. Uninstall them and watch your battery come back to life.

In the Apps screen in Settings, you'll see a list of applications that are running in the background of your phone. If you see something there you don't use, you can turn that application off with a push of your finger.

Mind Your Appearance

The Galaxy is a beautiful phone, and it's understandable if you want the screen to glow and buzz and pop with activity, so everyone around you is jealous. But your flashiness comes at a cost to your battery.

Lifewire says one of the easiest ways to reduce battery pressure is to lower your phone's backlight. You'll still see everything clearly, but your phone won't work so hard to push energy to the bulb.

Navigate to Display and Brightness in the Settings screen. Aim to keep things at 50 percent or lower for maximum battery health. And then, look for the Automatic Brightness slider, and turn that on. This will allow your phone to decide how bright the screen should be, and it could save your battery.

Let Your Phone Help

Samsung doesn't want consumers to grow weary of their phones and switch to different manufacturers. As a result, the company has popped software into many Galaxy phones that can help you control battery-damaging drain.

Most Galaxy phones have a "power saving mode" that lets your phone take the wheel when your battery is running low. It's called different things on different phones, but it's typically located within the Device Maintenance or Battery menus.

Use this setting when your battery is drained, but consider employing it when you're at full power too. Your phone is a better judge of what should be turned on or off, and it can adjust its work to a degree that you just can't.

Is It Time for a New Battery?

You've gone through your phone and taken all these steps. Even so, your phone can't hold a charge long enough to get you through the day. What comes next?

Changing a battery on a Samsung phone isn't expensive. According to PC Magazine, a new one should cost about $50, which is a bargain compared to Apple's $79.

But you'll still need to hand over your phone for the work to get done, and if you don't live next to a retailer, you'll need to mail it in and wait for it to come back.

Some companies offer quick battery replacements, but be sure to ask about:

Price. If the company can't beat Samsung's cost, why bother?
Parts. Does the company use quality battery replacements? Can they prove it?
Guarantees. Does the company stand behind the work done? For how long?
Security. Does the company perform background checks of employees?

Any reputable company will answer your questions quickly and professionally, so you'll know you're working with a company you can trust. If you don’t have that experience, keep looking for a partner.

When your new battery is installed, don't let your optimization habits slide. Just as you attempted to protect your old battery, you'll need to do the same to ensure the new one stays active for years.