With the advancements in BlackBerry technology, your BlackBerry can now do more than ever before. With the ability to play all types of media, do instant messaging, email and “always on” access to social media like Facebook and Twitter, battery life for many Blackberry users can be a challenge. To help you manage your Blackberry battery life more efficiently, we would like to offer these helpful tips to keep you going.
1. Network Connections:
Unused network connections are one of the biggest culprits which shorten your battery life, turn off unused connections when not in use.
Turn off Wi-Fi®: Go to Manage Connections > uncheck Wi-Fi
Turn off Bluetooth®: Go to Manage Connections > uncheck Bluetooth
2. Vibrate and Ringtones:
Setting your BlackBerry to Vibrate then Ring, or vibrate only can be a battery killer. Also those MP3 songs you use as ringtones from your collection, set to the loudest ring setting, will drain your battery. Try setting your BlackBerry to normal unless you are in a loud outside situation, and turn off the vibrate feature unless really required.
3. Always on GPS, another battery killer:
GPS is a great feature, but not one most of us use everyday. If you run app that requires it, it will remind you to turn it back on.
Turn off GPS: Go to Options > Advance Options > GPS > GPS Services > Switch to E911 Only.
4. Applications:
One of the great things about BlackBerry is you can run several applications at the same time. The downside can be that these apps are constantly talking to the data network. If you have multiple apps running in the background, they will drain the battery. Press the Menu button and hold it down, this will bring up Application Switcher, which you use not only to switch apps quickly, but also shows a list of open apps you have running in the background. By default, you should see Phone, Home, BlackBerry Messenger, Browser, and Messages. If anything else is open or running, select it and hit menu to select close or exit. Whenever you are leaving an app, hitting the red end key does not shut it down, it just moves it to the background. Be sure you hit menu and then exit or close.
5. Display Backlight:
Reduce the amount of time the Backlight stays on: Go to Options> Screen/Keyboard> Backlight Timeout.
Turn Backlight Brightness down to 80% Go to Options > Screen/Keyboard> Backlight Brightness>
Use a device holster: (this turns off LCD automatically when you put your device away)
Set Audible Roll for your trackball to mute: Go to Options> Screen/Keyboard)
Key Tone Off: Go to Options> Screen/Keyboard)
6. Actually charge your BlackBerry:
Todays BlackBerry devices use lithium-ion smart batteries, so it will not over charge or require conditioning. It is not necessary to allow the battery to go dead before you can charge it. So you can charge your BlackBerry all the time, and even leave it on the charger when not in use.
7. Check for software upgrades for your device:
RIM does frequently put out an OS upgrade even for newly released BlackBerry models. An OS (Operating System) upgrade can do wonders sometimes for improving battery life.
What to do if your Battery is almost gone…
If your down to almost no battery with no chance to charge in site, try these last ditch methods to keep going.
Go from 3G to 2G: 3G is great for fast app downloads, streaming music or podcasts, or using some a GPS navigation app, but 3G can do a number on your BlackBerry battery life. BlackBerrys don’t require 3G to work well, as a matter of fact most BlackBerrys are not 3G. Unlike some other phones your BlackBerry still runs great even in 2G mode, and this will save you some battery life when you really need it.
Go to: Manage Connections > Mobile Network options > Switch from 3G to 2G. This will only work on GSM phones that support 3G and 2G services.
Shut down Facebook and any instant messaging or Social Network Clients: Many of us use apps like Facebook, Twitter, and different instant messaging clients. If your battery is running low, open the app and log out. This will save your battery and give you a little bit more time.
Turn Data Services off: Yes I know for some of us it’s a drastic measure but it will buy you some time and you can still text and make a call. Go to: Manage Connections>Mobile Network options > Turn Data Services to off.
<Contributing resource Al Sacco>
