How to improve HTC Desire S battery life
How to improve the battery life of the HTC Desire S? This is a question often heard from new users of many smart phones and not just the Desire S. The new social networking abilities, vivid colors and powerful multimedia and gaming features entice heavy usage and increase the demands for a longer battery life. If battery life is really important to you (you don't want to charge your phone very often), you should learn how to save your battery's life and manage your phone so there is no extra unnecessary power is used. By default (or by some habits), some unnecessary features and services are continuously running and draining the battery quickly.
Only use what you need
It is not that the HTC Desire S Battery is weak but sometimes there are many services and functions running all the time draining the power. Also, it has been noticed that some phones need to be used and recharged for a few times before the battery works with its full power. Another thing is that new users tend to play and explore their new phones for hours and test its abilities to the limits, which obviously will give a false impression that the battery isn't that good. Here are some things you can adjust to save up some of the power:
- Stop Background data sync and Auto synchronization. Auto synchronization will exhaust your battery and your monthly internet plan if you are using 3G. Go to Settings > Accounts & Sync, then un-check the Auto Sync and Background data options. Note that you will need to check background data when you use the Android market but un-check it again after you finish using it.
- Brightness of the screen. This dramatically helped my battery life as I used to choose the highest brightness level. You can find it at Settings > Display > Brightness, slide that bar to decrease it and un-check Automatic Brightness. It is important to say that you will need high brightness in direct sun light, so it will be easier to make a short cut at the home screen or use the power widget.
- Turn off WiFi, 3G, bluetooth and GPS as long as you don't need them. Shortcuts allows fast switching on and off these features or use the power widget which controls all of them in one bar.
- Live wallpapers, they are animated wallpapers. It looks cool but if we are saving power, it might be wiser to ditch the unnecessary fancy stuff.
- Running services. Applications don't just usually close when you stop using them and keep eating up your battery power and memory. If you go to Settings > Applications > Running services, you will find a list of all services and apps working in the background. some of them are important but if you find a game, an app you closed, maps, etc, choose it and hit Stop.
- Turn off vibration if you don't need it. There is an option to vibrate the phone when you touch the soft keys at the bottom. Turn that off by going to Settings > Sounds > Vibration feedback.
- Choose a short screen timeout period so the screen turns off when you don't touch the phone for a while. Go to Settings > Display > Screen timeout and choose a low value. The shortest period is 15 seconds.
- Gaming is luxury. If you are on a trip and really want to save the battery's power, don't play heavy games.
How to check the Battery level in HTC Desire S?
Go to Settings > About > Battery > Battery level, it will show you a bar indicating how much is left. You can also download a battery indicator app or widget and put it on one of the home screens to see exactly a percentage of how much left in your battery.
How long can the HTC Desire S battery last?
It really depends on usage. Calls, WiFi and 3G consumes a lot of battery power. With very heavy usage, any phone will only last for hours. My Desire S can last for more than a day and a half without recharging with medium use.
The tweaks and tips in this article can apply to many other HTC and Android phones but the options may vary a little. The menus and options here apply to the HTC Desire S. If you have more ideas for increasing the battery life of Android phones feel free to share it with us in the comments section below. I hope you found some of this useful.
