Tag: Android phone.

HOW TO CALIBRATE THE BATTERY ON YOUR ANDROID PHONE OR TABLET

Battery problems are among the biggest concerns for smartphone users, which is why we offer so many useful tips for solving battery drain issues. If you notice that your battery performance and duration has decreased, it could be time to calibrate your battery.

How do I know whether my battery is the problem?

First of all, you need to identify why your battery performance has decreased: is it the Android system’s calibration or the battery itself? We’ll move onto calibration in the sections below, but you should check if your battery itself is damaged first.

If your phone has a removable battery cover, turn off your phone, remove the cover and inspect the battery. Look for bulges or leaks. In the image below, you’ll see what a normal battery looks like next to a swollen one. If your phone doesn’t sit flat on the table anymore, that could also be a sign of a swollen battery too.

What is calibrating a battery?

The Android operating system has a feature called Battery Stats, which keeps track of battery capacity, when it is full or empty. The problem is that it sometimes becomes corrupted and starts displaying data that isn’t real, which, for example, causes the phone to turn off before it reaches 0 percent. Calibrating your Android battery simply means getting the Android OS to correct this information so it is reflective of your actual battery levels once again.

It’s important to understand that you can’t actually calibrate the battery itself: it is, after all, just a cell that stores power and discharges. However, lithium-ion batteries do include a printed circuit board (PCB), which serves as a protection switch to stop them exploding or deep discharging.

How to calibrate an Android device battery without root access

The old ‘fully charge and discharge’ approach stands as one of the simplest ways to ‘recalibrate’ your Android battery. We’ve warned you in the past about low voltage problems in lithium batteries and the negative impacts of fully draining a battery on its lifespan and the same holds true here. But, if your phone battery is causing you real problems, it’s worth taking the risk.

Method 1

  1. Discharge your phone fully until it turns itself off.
  2. Turn it on again and let it turn itself off.
  3. Plug your phone into a charger and, without turning it on, let it charge until the on-screen or LED indicator says 100 percent.
  4. Unplug your charger.
  5. Turn your phone on. It’s likely that the battery indicator won’t say 100 percent, so plug the charger back in (leave your phone on) and continue charging until it says 100 percent on-screen as well.
  6. Unplug your phone and restart it. If it doesn’t say 100 percent, plug the charger back in until it says 100 percent on screen.
  7. Repeat this cycle until it says 100 percent (or as close as you think it’s going to get) when you start it up without it being plugged in.
  8. Now, let your battery discharge all the way down to 0 percent and let your phone turn off again.
  9. Fully charge the battery one more time without interruption and you should have reset the Android system’s battery percentage.

Remember that it is not recommended to perform this process regularly. Even when your battery is so dead your phone won’t even turn on, your battery still has enough reserve charge to avoid system damage. But you don’t want to poke the tiger with a stick. Perform this process once every three months at the most. If it is required more often than that, you have bigger problems at hand.

Put plainly: fully discharging a battery is bad for it. Trying to overload a battery is also bad for it. The good news is that charging batteries will shut off automatically when they’ve reached their safe limit and there’s always a little in reserve even if your phone won’t start. Again: only do this when really necessary, because it does have a negative impact on battery life.

How to calibrate an Android device battery with root access

Even though I’m not convinced that clearing the batterystats.bin file has any meaningful effect on how the Android system reports remaining battery charge, there are those who swear by this method.

So in the interest of fairness, we’ve included the process for you here (it is true that different manufacturers use the batterystats.bin file for different things). It’s basically the same process as above, but with the added step of using a root-enabled app.

Method 2

  1. Discharge your phone fully until it turns itself off.
  2. Turn it on and let it turn off again.
  3. Plug your phone into a charger and, without turning it on, let it charge until the on-screen or LED indicator says 100 percent.
  4. Unplug your charger.
  5. Turn your phone on. It’s likely that the battery indicator won’t say 100 percent, so plug the charger back in (leave your phone on) and continue charging until it says 100 percent on the screen as well.
  6. Unplug your phone and restart it. If it doesn’t say 100 percent, plug the charger back in until it says 100 percent on screen.
  7. You want to repeat this cycle until it says 100 percent (or as close as you think it’s going to get) when you start it up without it being plugged in.
  8. Now, install the Battery Calibration app, and before you launch it, make sure your battery is at 100 percent again, then restart.
  9. Immediately launch the app and recalibrate your battery.
  10. Once you’ve calibrated your battery, discharge it all the way down to 0 percent and let your phone turn off again.
  11. Fully charge the battery one more time without interruption while it’s switched off, and the Android system’s battery percentage will be reset.

That’s it. Have you tried any of these methods? Do you know an alternate way to fix battery problems? Let us know in the comments.

6 ways to make the most of Android’s Clock app

Who needs an alarm clock when you’ve got your Android phone handy? In the past year or so that I’ve relied on the Clock app on my Nexus 5X, I’ve rarely overslept. Now that I’ve got the hang of the Clock app’s various features and foibles, I’m close to replacing that “rarely” qualifier with a “never.”

6 ways to make the most of Android's Clock app

Read on for six eye-opening tips and tricks for the Android Clock app, from setting alarm tones that gradually increase in volume to making sure your Do Not Disturb rules don’t override your morning wake-up alarm. (For the basics on setting alarms on your Android phone, click here.)

Note: I tested these tips on a Nexus 5X running on Android version 7.1.2. Your settings and features may vary depending on the make and model of your phone.

Open the clock app with a single tap

The Android Clock app isn’t the sexiest app on my Nexus phone, but it’s certainly in the top five when it comes to apps I use the most—and given that, I hate having to dig around the Android app drawer to find it.

Luckily, there’s a handy one-tap shortcut to the Clock app, and it’s probably already sitting on your home screen.

Just tap the Clock widget—the one that looks like a digital or analog clock face—and you’ll jump immediately to the Clock app. That may sound obvious, but I only discovered the shortcut myself a few weeks ago, and I can’t believe I’d missed it so long. (If you’re not already using the Clock widget, just tap and hold a blank space on the Android home screen, tap Widgets, then install a Clock widget by tapping its icon.)

Use the clock as your screensaver

When I get up in the middle of the night (the older I get, the more it happens), I like taking a peek at the time—and I’d rather do it without having to click a button on my Android phone.

That’s why I love using the Clock app as my Android screensaver. Now, whenever I’ve got my Android phone docked or plugged into a charger, the current time flashes on the screen of my handset, and there’s even a night mode that keeps the screen relatively dim while leaving the clock visible.

The trick: Tap Settings > Display > Screen saver, select the Clock option, then tap the Settings button (the one shaped like a gear) to pick the style of the screensaver clock (analog or digital) and to toggle “night mode” on and off.

Gradually increase sound of alarm

For some deep sleepers, nothing short of a blaring alarm will wake them up. For me, it takes a lot less—indeed, just the sound of my Android phone vibrating can rouse me.

That’s why I’m a fan of the Clock app’s “Gradually increase volume” setting. Turn it on, and your alarm tone will start off whisper quiet, then slowly build until it reaches full volume, perfect for those of us who prefer a gentler wake-up call.

To turn on the setting, open the Clock app, tap the three-dot menu button in the top-right corner of the screen, tap Gradually increase volume, then pick how long you’d like the effect to last—anywhere from five seconds to a full minute.

Use any sound file as an alarm tone

Nope, you don’t have to wake up to a canned Android alarm tone. As it happens, you can set the Clock app to rouse you with any song or sound you want, from Van Halen’s “Jump” to a sound file you grabbed from the web.

Just open an alarm in the Clock app, tap the Alarm sound setting (the one that looks like an alarm bell), then tap Add new. Doing so will open the Downloads browser—and from there, you can pick any sound file in the Audio folder, or one you’ve saved in Google Drive.

Manage Do Not Disturb mode

If you’re wondering how you overslept an Android alarm, Android’s Do Not Disturb feature is a likely culprit. When it’s set to “Total Silence” mode, Do Not Disturb will muzzle all Android notifications and alerts, including alarms.

The good news is that Android does a pretty good job of warning you if you’re about to override an alarm by switching on Do Not Disturb mode manually. The bad news? It’s easy to get tripped up by Do Not Disturb’s “automatic rules,” which can easily muzzle your alarm clock if you’re not careful.

When creating an automatic Do Not Disturb rule (which you can do by tapping Settings > Sounds > Do Not Disturb > Automatic rules) and you’ve set Do Not Disturb to “Total Silence” mode, consider enabling the Alarm can override end time setting—or, better still, switch from Total Silence mode to Alarms only.

If you don’t, just know that any alarms you set during a particular automatic rule period won’t go off, meaning you may doze right through any early-morning meetings.

Silence an alarm after a set amount of time

One of the pitfalls of getting up early is forgetting to switch your alarm off—something you may realize when you step out of the shower and hear your alarm wailing…and wailing, and wailing.

As long as you’re not one of those deep sleepers who won’t wake up unless the alarm has been blaring for half an hour, you might want to set your Android alarm to turn itself off automatically after a brief period of time.

Open the Clock app, tap the three-dot menu button, tap Settings > Silence after, then pick a setting (up to 25 minutes).

4 ways to turn off annoying notifications on your Android phone or iPhone

So there you are, doing your best to connect with a friend over a cup of coffee, but you can’t help but notice the pulsing alert on your phone’s touchscreen. What if it’s your babysitter trying to reach you, or a nasty email from your boss?

You surreptitiously unlock your phone to see what the fuss is about—and just like that, you become one of those people who can’t keep their hands off their handsets, even when there’s a flesh-and-blood person in front of them. (Oh, and that message on the screen? It was a promo for a half-off sale. Great.)

The good news is that your Android phone or iPhone boasts a series of tools that can help you concentrate on the people who matter, rather than being distracted by random calls, messages, and alerts.

Read on for four ways to keep your eyes and hands off your phone, starting with…

Let Do Not Disturb mode screen your calls (Android and iOS)

Sure, activating Do Not Disturb mode for iOS (tap Settings > Do Not Disturb, or tap the Do Not Disturb button from the swipe-up Command Center pane) or Android (flick down with two fingertips to reveal Quick Settings, then tap the Do Not Disturb button) is a great way to keep your phone from buzzing during lunch, but you may still find yourself tempted to check your messages. After all, what if your spouse is trying to reach you—or your irate supervisor, for that matter?

Here’s a trick that’ll help keep your mind on your Caesar salad: just set Do Not Disturb to screen your calls and text messages, allowing only the most important ones through. That way, you’ll be confident that your silent Android phone or iPhone isn’t actually ringing off the hook with mission-critical calls, and more likely to pay attention during your lunchtime chat.

For Android:

  • Tap Settings > Sound > Do not disturb > Priority only allows, then pick some options. For example, you can set “priority only” to include incoming calls and texts from contacts, reminders, event alerts, and repeat callers. To restrict call and text alerts to your innermost circle, make sure Calls and Messages is set to Starred contacts only, then go through the Contacts app and star only those contacts who really, truly matter to you. Finally, a Repeat callers setting will allow a caller to get through if they’ve called twice within 15 minutes.
  • To enable Priority mode, flick down from the top of the screen to reveal Quick Settings, tap Do Not Disturb, then make sure the Priority only tab is enabled.
  • Finally, sit back and give your full, undivided attention to a (grateful) friend.

Note: Android’s version of Do Not Disturb boasts three different modes: Priority Only, which blocks specific alerts for apps, calls and texts; Alarms Only, which blocks all alerts except for the Android alarm clock; and Total Silence, which blocks all alerts, no matter what. While the Alarms Only and Total Silence modes will guarantee you a peaceful lunch hour, they may also block critical alerts, calls or alarms. In general, you should stick with Priority Only mode unless you’re certain you don’t want any interruptions, period.

For iOS:

  • Tap Settings > Do Not Disturb > Allow Calls From, then pick the Favorites setting. Once you do, calls and text messages from those on your iOS Favorites list will ring through even with Do Not Disturb mode switched on.
  • You can also pick a specific contact group for the Allow Calls From setting, but you can only set up contact groups using the Mac version of the Contacts app. Open the Contacts application on your Mac desktop, then click File > New Group to get started. As long as you’re syncing your contacts using iCloud, your desktop groups in Contacts will sync up with the Contacts iOS app.
  • You can also enable the Repeated Calls setting, which will allow urgent callers to break through Do Not Disturb mode if they call twice within three minutes.

Enable ‘VIP’ alerts for email messages

There’s little chance you’ll get through an important meeting without glancing at your iPhone or Android phone if your screen is constantly flashing with alerts for new email messages. Follow these steps to ease your email notification overload.

For iOS:

Mail’s ‘VIP’ alerts give you separate notifications for your most important email contacts, perfect for leaving you alone unless a message from a close friend or someone in upper management lands in your inbox.

  • Open the Mail app, back up to the main Mailboxes screen, tap the little ‘i’ next to the VIP mailbox, then tap Add VIP to add a contact to your VIP list.
  • Once you’ve added some names to the list, tap VIP Alerts to manage your VIP notifications. You could, for example, give messages from VIPs a special ringtone or a custom vibration when they arrive in your inbox, or allow VIP alerts—and only VIP alerts—to light up your lock screen.

For Android:

Android doesn’t have its own version of iOS’s handy VIP feature, but you can replicate it using filters in Gmail.

Turn on alerts for Gmail’s Priority Inbox—and off for all your other inboxes (Android only)

If you’re not interested in hacking iOS’s VIP alerts into your Android phone, you can take advantage of Gmail’s secret formula for determining which messages are most important to you.

Using your prior emailing habits as a guide, Gmail’s Priority Inbox sifts through your incoming messages, finds the email that you’re most likely to answer, and puts them into an “Important and unread” folder. Everything else (such as random email promos, newsletters, and other lower-priority messages) goes into the aptly-named “everything else” section of your inbox.

Once that’s done, you can set the Android version of Gmail to alert you only when new messages land in your Priority Inbox—and hopefully, you’ll feel better about leaving your silenced phone alone.

  • First, you’ll need to enable Gmail’s Priority Inbox feature. Open Gmail, tap the menu button in the top-left corner of the screen, tap Settings, pick a Gmail account, then tap Inbox type > Priority Inbox.
  • Tap Manage labels, then make sure that Priority Inbox is the only Gmail label with notifications turned on. (If you don’t see a Sound on, Notify once or similar tag next to a label, then notifications are off for that label.)

Turn off unneeded lock-screen notifications (Android & iOS)

So, you’re in a meeting, your phone is sitting dutifully—and silently—on the table in front of you, and you’re giving your colleagues your full attention. But then it happens: Your phone’s lock screen lights up, and your eyes can’t help but flick down to the display … which is nothing more than a random Facebook update.

Luckily, it’s easy to pare odwn your lock-screen notifications to an absolute minimum—or turn them off completely, even when you don’t have Do Not Disturb or Priority mode switched on.

For Android:

  • To keep your phone’s lock screen from lighting up when notifications come in, tap Settings > Display, then toggle off the Ambient Display setting. Or, here’s another option: Tap Settings > Sound > Do not disturb > Block visual disturbances, then enable the Block when screen is off setting. Doing so will keep alerts blocked by Do Not Disturb from lighting up your phone’s lock screen.
  • You can completely turn off notifications for a specific app by tapping Settings > Notifications. Tap an app, then enable the Block all setting. You can also choose to show an app’s alerts silently—but remember, even silent notifications can be tempting.
  • Another way to disable an app’s alerts is by long-pressing its notification when it appears. When you do, you’ll get the chance to block its alerts or show them silently.
  • While you’re at it, you might also want to turn off your handset’s pulsing notification light—you know, the one that’s saying “Look at me, look at me!” all the time. Go back to Settings > Notifications, tap the Settings button (the one shaped like a gear) in the top right corner of the screen, then toggle off the Pulse notification light setting.
  • Just below the Pulse light notification toggle is a setting that can disable all lock-screen notifications, regardless of whether Do Not Disturb is switched on. If you’re willing to forgo any and all lock-screen alerts, tap On the lock screen, then choose the Don’t show notifications at all setting.

For iOS:

  • To completely turn off an app’s notifications, tap Settings > Notifications, tap an app, then toggle off the Allow Notifications switch.
  • If you only want to disable an app’s lock-screen notifications, leave the Allow Notifications switch on but turn off the Show on Lock Screen setting.