How to prevent apps from draining battery on Android

Android’s idle and wallpaper optimizations have improved drastically over the past few years. However, having too many apps running in the background can lead to excessive battery drain. While some apps need to run in the background to provide important functions, few can run in the background for no reason. So, here’s how you can prevent apps from draining your Android battery.

First, find which apps are draining your battery?

To fix the problem, you need to get to the root of it, and we start by looking at which apps are actively running in the background and draining your battery. We can find these applications from two menus — Running Background Services and Battery Usage.

1. To check battery usage per app, open settings app on your device and go to Battery > Battery consumption.
2. Scroll down to see a list of apps and the percentage of battery they’ve used. This list will show the app with the highest battery consumption at the top, followed by the following apps.
3. To view the battery used by the phone’s components, tap the drop-down menu below “Battery consumption since last full charge” and select Overview by system.

Ways to solve battery drain problems on Android

1. Turn on the adaptive battery feature

When Adaptive Battery is enabled, Android learns from usage patterns and decides which apps and services are needed in the background and which aren’t.

1. To enable Adaptive Battery, go to settings > Battery.
2. Choose here Battery saving and tap Adjustable battery to expand this section.
3. Now you can turn on Use an adaptive battery switch.

While Adaptive Battery is a great option for reducing battery drain, be aware that it can reduce performance and delay notifications in a few cases.

2. Allow or restrict background usage

One of the best ways to prevent apps from draining your Android battery is to limit them from running in the background, if you don’t think it’s important for them to run. For example, it’s important to have WhatsApp running in the background so you don’t miss notifications; Running apps like Google Authenticator is not.

1. Open it settings app and go to applications.
2. Here, scroll down and tap Application battery consumption.
3. From the list of apps that appear, select the app you want to stop running in the background.

4. Now you can turn off Allow background usage turn on to prevent this app from running in the background
5. If you don’t want to completely dismiss the app from the background, tap Allow background usage (not the switch) and select Optimized.

Doing this for apps that you think are draining your battery unnecessarily should stop them from draining your phone’s battery.

3. Force stop battery-draining apps

If you don’t want to restrict the app from running in the background and want to stop it for a while, you might want to force stop it.

1. Enable developer options on your Android phone by going to settings > About the phone and tapping on Build a number seven times.
2. Once enabled, go to settings > System > Developer options.
3. Here, scroll down and tap Current services.
4. Now select the app you want to stop from the list and tap on it Stop.

5. Alternatively, you can force close apps on your device by going to settings > applications.
6. Now select the app you want to stop and tap on it Force stop.

Force stopping apps is a way to turn them off temporarily. When you do this, the app won’t run in the background until the next time you launch it.

4. Update the applications on your phone

Sometimes an app consumes too much battery due to bugs or if it is not well optimized for the platform. In that case, you might want to check if the app developer has pushed an update that fixes the battery drain issue. To check for app updates on your Android device:

1. Open it Google Play Store and touch yours profile icon in the upper right corner.
2. Select from the additional menu Application and device management and tap Updates available section.
3. You will now see all apps that have available updates. You can install the latest version of the application by tapping on Update button next to it. Or, you can tap Update everything to install all available application updates.

5. Uninstall unwanted applications

Too many apps installed on your Android phone can lead to serious battery drain. In such cases, it is always a good idea to uninstall applications that you no longer use or need.

1. To uninstall multiple apps at once, run Google Play Store and tap profile icon in the upper right corner.
2. Touch Manage applications and devices and select Govern tab at the top.

3. Select the apps you want to uninstall and tap on them I’m an icon in the upper right corner.
4. You can now confirm this action by pressing Uninstall from the dialog box.

If you’ve deleted apps by mistake, the Play Store also lets you bulk install the apps you want back.

You can uninstall third-party apps using the above method, but you cannot uninstall the system app. System apps can only be disabled on Android.

1. To disable system apps, go to settings > applications.
2. Now select the system app you want to disable from the list and tap on it Disable.

And these are some of the ways to prevent apps from draining battery on Android. What apps did you end up disabling from running in the background after reading this guide? Please revisit this article if it helped you gain control over your Android device’s battery life.