How to Extend Battery Life on Android in 15 Minutes

Your phone hit 20% before lunch again, and you are wondering whether that is just how phones are now. Usually it is not. If you want to know how to extend battery life on Android, the fixes live in a handful of settings that most people never open, and you can work through all of them in about 15 minutes. This guide is for anyone with a Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, Motorola or other Android phone. The menu names below come from Google's own help pages, so a few labels may read slightly differently on phones from other makers.

Before you start

• Charge the phone to at least 50% so a restart or update does not leave you stranded.
• Note which version of Android you run (Settings > About phone). Google says some of the battery steps only work on Android 13 or later, and a few need Android 14.
• Have your Google account password handy in case an app update asks you to sign in again.
• Give yourself a day or two afterward to judge the results. One heavy morning of navigation can hide real progress.

Stage 1: Find out what is draining the battery

1. Open the Settings app and tap Battery. Most phones show a usage list here that ranks apps by how much power they used since the last full charge.
2. Look for anything that surprises you. A shopping app near the top of the list, or an app you have not opened in days, is a sign that something runs in the background when it should not.
3. Write down the top two or three offenders. You will deal with them in Stage 3.

Google's battery help page for Android is blunt about the biggest drains: keeping the screen on for navigation, video or graphics heavy games, running a hotspot, streaming, and using GPS for long stretches. If those are what you do all day, settings will help, but a power bank will help more.

Stage 2: Turn down the screen

The display is usually the single largest power user, so start here.

1. Go to Settings > Display and lower the brightness. Turn on automatic brightness so the phone dims itself indoors.
2. In the same menu, shorten the screen timeout so the display turns off sooner when you set the phone down. Thirty seconds or one minute is plenty for most people.
3. Turn on Dark theme in Settings > Display. Google notes that dark theme can save battery on some screens, which in practice means phones with OLED displays, where black pixels draw almost no power. You can also add the Dark theme tile to Quick Settings and switch it from there.

Stage 3: Rein in background apps

This is where the forgotten apps from Stage 1 get handled.

1. Make sure Adaptive Battery is on. On a Pixel, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Saver, tap Adaptive Battery, and turn on Use Adaptive Battery. According to Google's Pixel help page, it learns which apps you use and limits the rest. It is on by default, so this is mostly a check. Google does say it can delay some notifications.
2. Restrict the worst offenders. Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps, tap the app, then App battery usage. Under Allow background usage, choose Optimized, or switch background usage off entirely for apps that never need to work while closed.
3. Delete apps you no longer use. An uninstalled app cannot wake your phone at 3 a.m.
4. Remove old accounts. Google lists deleting unused accounts as a battery saver, because every account syncs mail, contacts and files in the background. You will find them under Settings > Passwords & accounts or a similarly named menu.
5. Turn off keyboard sounds and vibration in your keyboard's settings. Each tap costs a little, and you tap thousands of times a day.

Stage 4: Cut radios you are not using

1. Turn off Bluetooth when you are not wearing earbuds or a watch.
2. Use Wi-Fi instead of mobile data whenever you can. A weak cellular signal makes the phone work harder.
3. Turn off Location when you do not need maps or weather from a quick swipe down in Quick Settings.
4. Use Airplane mode in places with no signal at all, like a basement office or a long flight. Searching for a tower all day drains a battery fast.

Stage 5: Set up Battery Saver to kick in on its own

1. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Saver and turn it on, or swipe down and tap the Battery Saver tile.
2. On a Pixel, tap Schedule and reminders, turn on Turn on based on battery level, and slide the bar to the percentage you want. Keep Turn off at 90% on so it switches itself off after charging.
3. Know what it changes. Per Google's Battery Saver guide, it turns on Dark theme, stops apps from running in the background, turns off location while the screen is off, stops "Ok Google" listening, and may delay low priority notifications. Apps refresh only when you open them.
4. For emergencies on a Pixel 3 or later, set up Extreme Battery Saver in the same menu. It pauses most apps, slows the processor, stops hotspot sharing, and drops the screen timeout to 30 seconds. Under Essential apps you can pick the few apps that stay awake. Phone, Messages, Clock and Settings always keep working.

Samsung, Motorola and OnePlus phones have their own versions of these modes, often called Power saving, and they also sit under the Battery section of Settings.

Stage 6: Update and take care of the battery itself

1. Update Android under Settings > System > Software update. Fixes for battery bugs often arrive this way.
2. Update apps in the Play Store: tap your profile icon, then Manage apps & devices, then Updates available.
3. Keep the phone cool. Google warns that heat drains the battery faster, so do not leave it on a car dashboard or charge it under a pillow.
4. Use the charger that came with the phone, or a good quality one, as Google recommends.

When the battery still drains fast

If you did all of the above and the phone still struggles to last a day, work through these in order.

• Restart the phone. Google suggests holding the power button for about 30 seconds if the phone is stuck. A restart clears apps that got stuck in a loop.
• Recalibrate the battery reading. Google's tip is to occasionally run the battery below 10% and then charge it fully overnight. This helps when the percentage jumps around or the phone shuts off at 15%.
• Check for malware. An app you do not recognize at the top of the battery list can be a sign of something worse. Our guide on how to remove a virus from Android walks through it, and these signs your phone is hacked are worth a look too.
• Factory reset as a last step. It erases everything, so back up first. The steps for erasing an Android phone cover the backup and reset process.
• Consider the hardware. Batteries wear out with age. If your phone is several years old, a battery replacement from the maker or an authorized shop may cost far less than a new phone. If you do upgrade, our guide to choosing a smartphone can help, and the old one can find a second life with these ideas for old phones.

One last check before you call it done: open Settings > Battery again in two days and compare the usage list with the notes you took in Stage 1. If the top offenders have dropped down the list, the changes are working. For more phone and device guides, browse our gadgets section.