Saving battery

[HeavyFoot]

The battery life of my quite new iPhone 6 is frankly pathetic. It usually needs a charge a day, two days at best.

My concern is with it running out while I’m running out. Namely, I’m contemplating working up to a slow solo marathon.

I use SportsTracker app which is similar to Strava, and I’m generally pleased with it.

What I have tried to do to extend battery is:

Turn off all unused apps

Turn off VPN

Turn off Wi-fi

But still it’s dropping by 10-15% per hour

What’s next?

Go to monochrome?

Data roaming off?

Suggestions gratefully received.

Happy running 👺📱

[roseabi]

Maybe check out some Cyber Monday deals on running watches? My Garmin had plenty of battery left after my recent 50k 😊😊😊

[Lizcanrun Graduate10 in reply to roseabi]

50K!!!!

[roseabi in reply to Lizcanrun]

I like to run a long way 👍

[HeavyFoot Graduate10]

I tried again this afternoon: turned off

Wi-fi

VPN

Bluetooth

Mobile data

All other apps but SportsTracker.

In 45 minutes battery dropped from 63% to 52%

Megapathetic!!

So I’ve been talking subtly to my wife about a Garmin 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

[roseabi in reply to HeavyFoot]

🥰

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Yes, I find certain applications really drain battery life. You might be able to see which ones when you go to Settings—> Battery. I found I needed to turn location services off for many apps, (except the run tracker) and that helped.

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to CBDB]

I’ll try that. So many things keep track and seem to switch themselves back on. Thank you.

[Tasha99 Graduate10]

Buy a watch!

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Tasha99]

Okay, okay!!! I just RUDDY WELL bought a 45. I did crumble!!!!

[Lizcanrun Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Hurrah!

[roseabi in reply to HeavyFoot]

Lol! Merry Christmas 😊

[Tasha99 Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Yay! 🤣

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Ha ha 👍🏽

[Cmoi Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Bien joué ! 🤣

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Cmoi]

Beenandgoneanddunnit, Madame. Enjoying our new 20km limit?

[Cmoi Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Yes, I celebrated by running beyond the 1k limit for my first Speed Challenge run! 🙃

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Cmoi]

Good isn’t it? 20km radius is good enough for anyone. Just dying now for a restaurant to open.

[Mummycav Administrator Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Yay!!!

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to Tasha99]

Bully! 😜

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

Yup! I let myself be bullied by myself. I’m sure Amazon knows I’ve been perusing Garmins every month 🤑

[Littleoyellow Graduate10]

Good luck 😁 try a bit of extra pampering on your better half and make sure you're on the nice list this Christmas 🎅 then send your wish list off and hope for the best 😁👍 I use android and there's a power saving mode?

Best wishes with the solo marathon- slow or otherwise- I'm applauding 👏👏👏

[nowster Graduate10]

Using GPS is battery-hungry, I'm afraid.

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

I think that’s it. I delved into battery usage and the SportsTracker app itself used loads. I’m going to give Strava a whirl.

[ArthurJG Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Strava still uses GPS though. Worth remembering however that GPS doesn’t require Internet so you can put your phone on flight mode while you run. But GPS itself is a big drain on battery.

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to ArthurJG]

I’ll give that a go. Thank you. I had assumed that flight mode cut off GPS as well. I’ll give that a try on my next walk.

[Irishprincess Graduate10]

Have you got the screen brightness turned up high? I’ve just discovered that’s what caused my mum’s iPhone to lose battery life very quickly. I have mine turned to nearly dark all the time. Much kinder for the eyes too 😎

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Irishprincess]

I’ll give it a go. I know that bright colours are one way the internet companies use to keep us connected, clicking and looking at ads.

[Grannyhugs Graduate10]

Enjoy your new garmin, hopefully you will be happy with all its stats and the battery lasts days rather than hours with a very short time for a full recharge. Happy running 🤗

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Grannyhugs]

Thank you. Watch me become a geek! I’m looking forward to reading my heart rate and learning what VO2 max is. 🥱

[Grannyhugs Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

I advice ignoring HR for a few runs to see what your actual max HR is then resetting it on your Garmin, garmin will work out the zones for you. The more you run in low HR zones the better your VO2MAX, so if you want a good VO2MAX run slow 🤣🤣. You may also want to switch off the move alert, garmin doesn’t like you to sit still for too long, even if you spent the morning running up hills it still buzzes you.

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Grannyhugs]

Thank you. That is invaluable advice. Have I bought a rod for my own back? I’ve kept things really simple until now with a simple stopwatch. B*gger the move alert - it better not interfere with my naps!!!!

[Grannyhugs Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

🤣You can make garmin as simple or complicated as you want. Start on a need to know basis and work up on the functionality as you feel the impulse. Plenty people here to help with any questions.Enjoy

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Grannyhugs]

Thank you, GH. I have read some reviews of the FR45 and watch a couple of the YouTube videos.

The features are quite daunting for a newbie and, as you say, I’ll be starting on a Need to Use basis: distance, pace, steps at first, then HR and VOMax next. Apart from just telling the time. Any other suggestions?

My wife took the news very calmly. Probably she is planning an outrageous purchase. But I don’t know how to break it to my SKMEI £10 stopwatch. It has been brilliant 😪

[Grannyhugs Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

When you have it paired to your phone through garmin connect it’s really easy to access all the stats and graphs. Just remember to press start at the start of your run and save at the end.. 🤗

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Grannyhugs]

That’s useful advice for a technical numptie like me 👍On one of my saddest runs, I realised that I hadn’t started my stopwatch. About five minutes in. But that did teach me a lesson to stop being unthinkingly competitive! 🙄

[mrrun Graduate10]

Good sir, as an owner of iPhone 6 I can testify that such device is considered nothing less than ancient. My household members own the latest phones and the old 6 is, sadly, a museum piece. Having said that, mine lasted for the duration on my 50k distance, and had plenty of life left. The key is not to have many other bits switched on (apps, music, etc...), and the little guy will do the job. If in doubt, pop into any phone selling shop and seek advice. Mind you, they'll jump at a chance to flog you some £900 beast, so come prepared.

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to mrrun]

Thanks for the advice !! This is supposed to be a new generation 6 bought only in March. Harrrumph. It’s a perfect size as I cannot see the point of having a phone almost the size of a Kindle.

I’ll grab a spotty Vodafone salesperson.

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to mrrun]

PS. Were you running a distance app on your 50km?

[mrrun Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

Yes. I had Endomondo on throughout. As well as a Garmin watch, to be on the safe side, haha. Main reason for having a phone is the fact that I always run alone, and far. You just never know. 😉