Power Up Your Phone With These Smart Tips

Avoid live wallpapers

Try to avoid using live wallpapers. There are many available in Google Play and also a selection built-in to each Android device. But besides offering a more engaging experience on home screens, they offer little. Expect battery drain and slowed performance if you use one.

Turn off Location access

Location access is very useful for a number of apps and services, but if you are struggling with battery or general performance, you can temporarily turn it off in Settings>Location access to save some juice.

Selective sounds

You may not need all of the sounds that are set by default on your Android device. Go to Settings>Sound and choose only the ones you need. The benefits are minimal, but they will make a difference over time.

Speed up data entry

Performance can be down to you as well as a tablet or smartphone, and so speeding up your typing will have a dramatic effect. Apps like Swype let you input data without moving your finger from the screen and can greatly speed up your typing in text messages, emails and anywhere else.

Reduce the brightness

Automatic brightness is useful and shown in Settings>Display, but is not always ideal in every lighting situation. You can untick this setting and choose your own lower level which will have a positive effect on battery performance.

2G only

3G uses a huge amount of battery power and on many phones you can select to use 2G only. Data will be much slower, but battery performance will be greatly increased.

Cut the widgets

Widgets can be useful and provide a lot of useful information at a glance, but remember that they are technically background processes. If you use one rarely, you will be better off just jumping to the associated app instead and removing the widget from the home screen altogether.

Sync intervals

You can adjust the synchronisation intervals in many applications, such as your email, and lowering it to one-hour intervals will help performance and battery life markedly.

Quick locking

Try to use a quick security method such as pattern locking so that you can get into your device very quickly. The pattern lock is also extremely secure.

The correct time

The date and time must be fairly accurate or you may be barred from accessing the Google Play store. This is a common problem for many Android users across the ecosystem.

Clever notifications

The notifications that are accessible by tapping the top bar on the home screen are not merely designed to tell you what is happening. They can be used as shortcuts and to potentially let you spot problems. If you see a notification and are not sure which app it is from, hold your finger down on it and an ‘App info’ dialog box will appear. Tap this and you will be taken to the settings screen for that app where you can uninstall it immediately if required.