1. More and More Customers Asking for Battery Replacements

At our repair shops in Christchurch and Auckland, battery complaints are one of the most common issues for both Samsung and iPhone users.
After around 2 years of daily use, many people start to say:

• “I have to charge twice a day.”
• “Battery goes from 30% to 5% in a few minutes.”
• “Phone switches off even though it shows 20% left.”

Modern phones use brighter screens, higher refresh rates, 5G, GPS and background AI features.
So battery drain feels even worse compared to older models.
The good news: a few simple setting changes and better charging habits can slow this down a lot.

2. Do These Patterns Sound Familiar?

See if any of these feel like your day:

• Leave home at 100%, arrive at work around 70–80%.
• By lunchtime you are down near 40% and looking for a charger.
• On the way home the phone is close to dying, even with light use.
• You bring a charger or power bank everywhere “just in case”.

If that sounds like you, you are not alone. We see this every day.
That is exactly why this guide focuses on practical, real-world settings and habits that our customers use to stretch their battery life, without making the phone annoying to use.

3. Quick Checklist That Actually Works (Samsung & iPhone)

Below are the main changes we apply and recommend in-store for customers who complain that “the battery dies too fast”.
Try these in order – most people already feel a difference after step 1–3.

3.1 Screen & Display Settings

The screen is the number one power consumer on a smartphone.

• Brightness under 50%: Manually keep brightness around 30–50% indoors.
• Enable Auto-Brightness: Let the phone adjust to the environment instead of staying too bright.
• Use Dark Mode: On OLED screens (most recent Samsung & iPhone models), dark mode can reduce power usage, especially at night.

3.2 Samsung-Specific Tips

On many Samsung models, these changes give huge gains:

• Refresh rate: 120Hz → 60Hz
  Go to Settings → Display → Motion smoothness and choose Standard (60Hz).
  High refresh rate looks nice, but it eats battery.
• Power saving / Device care
  Settings → Battery and device care → Battery then enable Power saving when you need longer battery life.
• Adaptive battery & sleeping apps
  Use Adaptive battery and move rarely used apps to Sleeping or Deep sleeping so they stop running in the background.
• Protect battery (limit to ~85%)
  On some models: Settings → Battery → More battery settings and enable Protect battery to avoid 100% trickle charging overnight.

3.3 iPhone-Specific Tips

iOS has very effective built-in tools when used correctly:

• Check Battery Health
  Settings → Battery → Battery Health & Charging
  If Maximum Capacity is under ~80%, the battery is already quite worn and a replacement may be the cleanest fix.
• Optimised Charging
  Turn on Optimised Battery Charging so iPhone learns your routine and avoids staying at 100% for hours overnight.
• Low Power Mode
  Enable Low Power Mode when you know you cannot charge for a while. This reduces background activity, mail fetch and visual effects.
• Reduce “Background App Refresh”
  Settings → General → Background App Refresh
  Turn it off for heavy apps like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and some shopping apps.
• Limit Always-On / Raise to Wake (if available)
  On models with Always-On Display, turning it off can save power. Also, disabling Raise to Wake stops the screen from lighting up every time you move the phone.

3.4 Network & Location (Samsung & iPhone)

In New Zealand, signal quality changes a lot between suburbs, buildings and even rooms. Your phone wastes power when it constantly hunts for better signal.

• Consider 4G/LTE instead of 5G in weak areas
  If 5G coverage is poor where you live or work, forcing the phone to 4G/LTE can reduce battery drain and even improve stability.
• Location services: “While Using” only
  Change most apps to While Using rather than Always.
  Maps and ride-share apps can keep more access if needed.
• Turn off unused radios
  If you never use Bluetooth accessories or NFC, switching them off can save a little extra power over the day.

3.5 Background Apps & Push Services

Social media, email and messaging apps love waking your phone up all day.

• Limit background data for apps you rarely open.
• Remove unused apps. Keeping 100+ apps installed gives more chances for background activity.
• Use push email only for important accounts, change the rest to manual or longer fetch intervals.

4. Why Phone Batteries Wear Out (Short Technical Part)

Modern phones use lithium-ion batteries. They usually keep good performance for roughly 500–800 full charge cycles.
A “cycle” means 0% → 100% once, or for example 50% → 100% twice.

Over time, the internal structure of the battery changes. High heat, deep discharges (down near 0%) and staying at 100% for many hours all speed up this chemical wear.

That is why the three main rules for long battery life are:

• Avoid extreme heat – don’t leave the phone on the car dashboard, don’t play heavy games while charging, and keep an eye on wireless chargers that make the phone hot.
• Keep charge between roughly 20–80% when possible – occasional full charge is fine, but living at the extremes is harder on the battery.
• Use quality chargers and cables – unstable voltage or cheap, unregulated chargers can cause extra heat and stress to the battery and charging circuit.

If your battery is already heavily worn, these tips will still help with day-to-day runtime, but a physical battery replacement might be the only way to restore it to “like new” performance.

5. When It Is Time for a Battery Replacement

No amount of settings can fix a battery that is already at the end of its life.
In our Samsung and iPhone repairs, we usually recommend a check or replacement if:

• iPhone Battery Health shows around 80% or lower.
• The phone cannot last even half a day with light use.
• The battery percentage jumps suddenly (for example 40% → 5% → off).
• You see the screen lifting or the back cover bulging (possible battery swelling – this should be checked quickly).

If you are in Christchurch or Auckland and want a proper diagnosis, we can test the device, check the battery condition and give you a clear quote before any repair.

Contact:
Christchurch: 03 343 1078
Auckland (Westgate): 09 392 0039
Website: www.ezirepair.co.nz

6. Related Articles for New Zealand Users

If you live in New Zealand and often struggle with signal or network issues (which also affect battery life), these articles may help:

• 
  Why Your Phone Shows “SOS Only” or “No Service” in New Zealand
  
• 
  How to Check Your SIM & VoLTE After the 3G Shutdown in NZ
  
• 
  Why New Zealand Is Shutting Down 3G (and What It Means for Your Phone)