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Banish the fear of 0%: How do I go easy on my battery when streaming?

21. January 2019 Published by Raphael Doerr

Video streaming is growing in popularity. According to an online study by the TV stations ARD and ZDF, 60% of Germans watch online videos at least once a week. And since they like mobile streaming, the smartphone is becoming more and more important for that. After all, it’s also simply too convenient: If you’re too tired in the evening to view the episode of your favorite series to the end, you can simply watch the rest on your smartphone on the way to work in the morning. Yet a nasty surprise is often in store in the afternoon: The battery is low. Video streaming gobbles up a lot of power. A few tricks can help ensure that the battery is still sufficiently charged so that you can also watch your favorite program on the way home.

Light off: Reduce the display’s brightness

It may sound banal, but the brighter the display, the more power is used. So if you want to be gentle on your battery, you should adjust the brightness to the surroundings.

Background check: Data transfer

Apps often transfer and synchronize data in the background, which naturally eats up valuable battery power. So the best thing to do is to prevent transfer of data in the background and automatic synchronization in the settings. Alternatively, there are also power-saving apps that do that for you.

Mobile data: Simply disable it

Being online all the time uses up power. So to save it, it’s worthwhile disabling the use of mobile data. That needn’t stop you from watching videos, however. Content can often be downloaded beforehand from the streaming service. So by planning ahead, you can save quite a bit of battery power and watch your favorite series conveniently in airplane mode.

Care for your battery properly

It’s also sensible to take preventive action. Because batteries last longer if they’re looked after. The rule of thumb: no extremes! For a battery to have as long a service life as possible, its charge level should be kept between 30% and 70% as far as feasible. Do you prefer to recharge it overnight? That can also be bad for the battery. If a smartphone is fully charged and connected to the mains for too long, this will reduce its service life in the long term. Especially given the temperatures now in winter, it’s also important to prevent the battery from becoming too cold. You can read how to protect your smartphones in winter here.

Be prepared for every eventuality

If all that doesn’t help and you have no chance to recharge your phone, then you simply need a powerful battery. Our Gigaset GS185, for example, is a real powerhouse and, with its 4,000 mAh battery, only needs to be recharged every few days.