Before I owned an iPod Touch I owned (and still do) an iPod Photo. The first thing I noticed about the Touch was that its battery appears to drain much quicker. Of course it doesn’t really if I only play music as I did with my old iPod. The touch can do so much more, but the price you pay for all the great energy sapping features of the iPod Touch or iPhone is a pretty short battery life. There are a few things you can do to maximise the battery life and I have tried to compile here a comprehensive list of ways in which you can squeeze as much time out of a single charge as possible. Of course the whole point of having an iPod or iPhone is to use and enjoy it but if you find your self in a situation where you wont be able to charge it for some time you may want to consider some of the following.
Keep it sleeping
Make it sleep quickly.
Obvious, I know but the longer your device is awake the more power it uses. You can help minimise awake time by making sure the Auto-Lock feature is set to put your device to sleep as quickly as possible. Go to Settings > General > Auto – Lock and set it to the default 1 Minute. Don’t forget that you can also manually put it to sleep by pressing the sleep button at the top of your device.
Avoid turning it off
Unless you intend not using your device for quite a long time it is probably best to avoid turning your device off completely. Restarting your iPod or iPhone is likely to use more power than you will save. When not in use for short periods of time just use the sleep mode.
Turn off features you don’t need.
Turn Off WiFi
If you’re not in range of WiFi or just don’t need to use it you could save a bit of juice by turning it off. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and switch it to off. Whilst there you could also turn off “Ask to join Networks”
Turn Off EQ
Having EQ turned on uses more of your devices processor and battery power. Turn off EQ by going to Settings > Music > EQ and selecting Off.
Turn Off Bluetooth
If this is something you dont use much make sure it is turned off. Go to Settings > General > Bluetooth and turn it off.
Turn off Location Services
Decide how often you use this feature and if its not very often, turn it off. Go to Settings > General > and flick the switch next to Location Services.
Minimise the number of times your device performs automatic tasks
Reduce how often your device fetches mail.
Applications such as Mail, fetch data automatically at pre set intervals. You can save a bit of battery life by reducing how often this happens. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and select a longer period of time in the Fetch list. Even better set it to manually. Whilst here you could also turn off Push. Rather than emails constantly being pushed to your push mail accounts they will simply be received according to your Fetch settings.
Stop your iPhone from searching for a network
If you know you are in an area where there is a very weak or no mobile network it may be a good idea to turn on Airplane mode. This will stop your iPhone from constantly trying to find a connection. Go to Settings and switch on Airplane mode.
Turn Off 3G
If you don’t require the speed that 3G offers, you may be able to save a bit of energy by just using EDGE. Go to Settings > General > Network and set 3G to Off.
Avoid bright screens
Turn down the screen brightness
The display on the iPod Touch & iPhone is a major battery drain. When its bright and busy its using lots of pawer. You can minimise its effect on your battery by keeping the brightness down as low as possible. Go to Settings > Brightness and drag the slider to the left as far as you feel comfortable with. You can also make it even more efficient by switching on Auto-Brightness.
Minimise the use of third party app’s
Using app’s that keep the screen illuminated such as games will of course drain the battery. The more you can avoid using these the more your battery will thank you. The most efficient entertainment your device can provide is playing music.
Don’t use colourful wallpapers
If you really want to take this to a silly extreme you could also make sure you don’t use any bright wallpapers. A black background requires little energy.
Avoid excessive processor use
Minimise the use of complex games
Its good to be aware that running many of the third party app’s such as games not only cause lots of battery draining screen activity, but also make the iPods processor work harder. This of course drains the battery.
If all else fails
Use a mobile charger or battery pack.
If you just enjoy using your iPod or iPhone too much to consider many of the above options, or you just need to play high octane 3D video games on your travels; you could always consider carrying an additional battery pack with you. Some battery packs also come with solar panels so you need never be without your iPod or iPhone again. Freeloader make a good range of solar and battery charging combinations. By far the most versatile and acclaimed is the Freeloader Globe Trotter. Take a look at the Freeloader range by clicking below.
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