• Diyan
• On December 7, 2015

How to extend the battery life of your Windows 10 Phone

Here are a few tips that will help you increase the battery life of your Windows 10 Phone. While phones like Lumia 1520, Lumia 640 and 640 XL are commonly known with its excellent batteries, users of Lumia 920, 930, 950, 950 XL, and some other devices, have reported a disappointing battery life of their phones. Of course, the battery life depends on daily usage and habits, but all phones will definitely last longer if you follow these 10 tips:

1. When activating the phone for the first time or after a hard reset: First you will see a few screens to change Region, language, and confirm the software policy. Keep an eye for a screen where you are prompted to use ‘Recommended express’ settings or to personalize the settings by yourself. Click on ‘Customize’ and then remove the ticks to prevent the phone from sending information/reports to Microsoft’s servers.
   

2. Disable ‘Hey Cortana’: disabling ‘always listening’ will help you save the battery. The feature is available only for high-end models like Lumia 930, 1520, Icon, 950 & Lumia 950 XL. Go to Cortana → Notebook → Settings → Disable Hey Cortana

3. Switch to 3G if you don’t need higher speeds: reducing data speeds and using 3G network will prevent your battery from draining. In Settings → Mobile & SIM → SIM Settings → Mobile Networks → Highest Connection Speed → 3G

4. Set Display Brightness to low or medium. Do not always use Auto brightness.

5. Turn off NFC: The feature is ON by default. To switch it off go to Settings → Devices → NFC. Disable ‘Tap to share’ and ‘Tap to Pay’
   

6. Sounds and vibration: Disable sounds and vibration while typing, pressing navigation buttons and use Camera. Settings → Sounds → Disable ‘Key Press’ and ‘Camera shutter’. To disable the vibration when tapping the navigation keys go to Settings → Extras → Touch.

7. Windows Hello: Lumia 950 and 950 XL include Iris Scanner that is eating a lot of battery. Turn the feature off if you want to extend the battery of your phone.

8. Limit Background apps: System → Battery Saver
   Battery Saver gives you details on battery consumption, estimated time remaining, and the ability to limit background activity and push notifications. Click on ‘Battery Use’ to see which apps are consuming more battery. Click on ‘Change background app settings’ to choose which apps can receive info and send notifications on the background. Switch off background activity for all apps you don’t need to stay up-to-date.
   

9. Disable notification banners: all apps that support push notifications show notification banners and play sound by default. The problem is that your screen turns on every time you receive a notification. To prevent the screen from turning on every time go to Settings → Notifications & Actions. Click on the app you want and disable the second and the fourth options – you will only hear sound and the screen won’t turn on.

10. Limit the Glance Screen to 30 seconds. Set the standby time to the shortest period you can – 30 seconds. Settings → Extras → Glance Screen

These ten 10 tips will help you improve the battery of your Windows 10 Mobile phone. If you know some other tricks you are welcome to share them with us in the comment section below.