How to save battery and traffic on your smartphone while traveling

1. Download everything you need in advance

Places with good Wi-Fi on the way are not often encountered, and mobile Internet is always scarce and expensive, so it would be right to take care of downloading the necessary content in advance. In addition, almost all applications allow you to do this.

How to save traffic. Find an offline map

How to save traffic. Download offline map

Download Google Maps maps of the region you are going to. Open "Settings" → "Offline maps" → "Select a map" and specify the area on the map, the data of which you want to cache.

Do not forget about other applications that you may need: sightseeing guides, delivery services, various local services.

Check a few of your favorite playlists on Apple Music, Google Play Music, or another service for offline listening. Download a couple of movies and download a few episodes of the new series.

2. Disable content updates and notifications

By default, all installed apps update background data with new tweets, photos, news, and other content. This saves you time while waiting for downloads, but it wastes internet and battery power. Fortunately, the opposite scheme also works.

How to save traffic. Find in the settings "Content Update"

How to save traffic. Disable updating unnecessary apps

When every megabyte and percentage counts, it's better to turn off content updates. On iOS, you can prevent programs from downloading data in the background in Settings → General → Content Update. Android, starting from the eighth version, has a traffic saving mode that does about the same. It is enabled in "Settings" → "Network and Internet" → "Data transfer".

Notifications, like content updates, also have a negative impact on traffic and battery life. We recommend that you leave only the really important ones, and turn off all the rest. On the iPhone, this is done through “Settings” → “Notifications”, in Android, the desired menu is hidden in “Settings” → “Sounds and notifications” → “Notifications” → “Application notifications”.

3. Use traffic savings in applications

Many popular applications have a special traffic saving mode in which mobile traffic is used to download basic data or not at all. It is important not to forget to turn it on.

How to save traffic. Find in the settings "Useful services"

How to save traffic. Turn on traffic saving mode

Snapchat has this mode in the "Useful services" section of the settings. On Facebook, you can manage autoloading in Settings → Settings & Privacy → Settings → Videos & Photos. There are similar options on Instagram, Twitter, and many other apps as well.

4. Turn on power saving mode

To conserve battery power, all modern smartphones now use a power saving mode, which reduces background activity of applications and services. It automatically turns on when the battery power drops to 20%. But it is not at all necessary to wait for this moment. If you need to extend the autonomy as much as possible, then it is better to turn on the power saving mode immediately after charging.

How to save traffic. Power saving mode is automatically activated when the battery power drops to 20%

How to save traffic. Power saving mode can be enabled in settings when the battery is fully charged

In iOS, this is done through the "Control Center" shutter or through "Settings" → "Battery". Android users need to swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the "Power Saving" icon.

5. Turn off your smartphone when you don't need it

At first glance, this is banal advice, the importance of which is underestimated by many. But in vain, because not always and not everywhere a smartphone is needed. In the mountains where there is no cellular network coverage, or in areas with a weak signal, turning off your smartphone is the best solution to save precious battery power.

Alternatively, you can use airplane mode. It is useful in cases when calls and the Internet are not needed, but you want, for example, to take a photo or record a video.