I have been happily using the iPhone 3G since it was released. All-in-all it is a great device – Internet access, music, photos, endless information, even a lightsaber. And it makes phone calls, too. I am not much of a phone person. Anyway, the only aspect of the iPhone 3G that I have found disappointing is the battery life.
There is a reason why the iPhone 3G’s battery charger is so compact — you need to bring it almost everywhere! For example, I headed into midtown Manhattan around 2pm the other day with about a 75% charge and was in the red at less than 20% by 9 PM. My old clam shell phones would last for 2 or 3 days on one charge… but to be fair, those phones didn’t have GPS, WiFi, e-mail, a built-in iPod, or a big, bright touchscreen.
The iPhone 3G with all of its sophisticated features is a born battery-killer. Here are a few tips for optimizing your iPhone 3G’s settings to get the most out of every charge.
Apple’s suggestions for battery preservation
Apple’s iPhone Batteries Page runs through a number of settings for power conservation:
- Turn off 3G when you don’t need it.
- Don’t need to use location services? Turn off GPS.
- Don’t need push mail at the moment? Turn it off.
- If you don’t use Bluetooth, don’t leave it turned on.
- Dim the screen’s brightness. Less light required, less power used.
- Disable the iPod’s equalizer settings.
Visit the Apple article for instructions on modifying each of these settings.
Use a full battery cycle every month
Apple’s article also suggests going through a full battery cycle at least once per month. This means charging your iPhone 3G all the way up, and then using it until the battery is fully depleted. This practice helps keep your battery health, and applies to other battery-powered electronics like laptops as well.
Bump up the e-mail checking interval
For e-mail accounts that do not have push technology, Mail will poll your account at a set interval to check for new messages. Mac software developer Jeff Lynch suggests changing that interval to something longer that the default setting.
Stop polling for WiFi
If WiFi is turned on and you are not connected to a network, your iPhone will continually search for available signals. The very first battery-saving advice I received from a friend with a first-generation iPhone was to turn off WiFi.
If you don’t need to look for wireless networks, there is no sense in letting the iPhone waste battery life searching for them. Tap “Settings” → “Wi-Fi” and drag the Wi-Fi slider to the “OFF” position.
Shut down unused applications
MacRumors forum poster Djmx advises shutting down unused applications. According to Djmx, pressing the “Home” button only minimizes an application… to shut it down, you must hold down the “Home” button for a few seconds. Do this with applications that you do not expect to use again any time soon, and you can save some juice.
Djmx’s post is from 2007 which means it pertains primarily to the first-generation iPhone. I tried it on my iPhone 3G, and it took roughly 10 seconds of holding the “Home” button before an application would shut down.
iPhone battery tips from Gizmodo
Gadget blog Gizmodo’s iPhone 3G battery tips include turning off vibration in games, limiting your use of games and applications that render graphics in 3D, auto-locking your phone after 1 minute, and buying songs and applications from iTunes on your computer instead of your iPhone.
