Things You'll Need:
- iPhone 3G
- iTunes 7.7
- iPhone syncing cable
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Step 1
Turn WiFi scanning off, or turn Wifi off completely. While Wifi uses less battery than the 3G radio and the EDGE radio, it is constantly consuming battery, even while in your pocket. Keeping WiFi off until you need it will dramatically improve your battery.
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Step 2
Turn down the screen brightness. The iPhone 3G has a brighter screen with warmer colors. Therefore, it is ok to turn down the brightness a bit. Unless you are in full-sun, there is no need for full brightness. I keep mine at the 10-15% mark. Do this in settings > brightness.
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Step 3
Turn off vibrate in games. Many games feature vibration feedback for more realistic play. Unless you "have to", use the game's options to disable this feature. Remember, every sound or movement your iPhone 3G makes eats a little battery.
Also, when playing games, remember that 3D games or games with rapid graphic changes are going to consume more battery than 2D games or games with a more static screen. -
Step 4
Set the auto-lock feature to 1 minute. After you set the iPhone down, or when you get distracted, the screen will continue to glow. By setting the auto-lock to 1 minute, you can minimize the wasted screen time and maximize the battery life. You can do this in settings > general > autolock.
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Step 5
Buy iPhone applications and music in iTunes. I know that the 3G and WiFi settings allow for ubiquitous access to media and computing. That is one of the greatest things about the iPhone 3G. But, when you are trying to conserve battery, focus on iTunes for your data and music downloads.
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Step 6
Turn off the 3G radio by default. Like with any other sports car, you don't always drive it in top speed. The iPhone 3G is no different. In settings > general > network, you can toggle the 3G radio off.
Reserve the 3G speeds and abilities for important calls, big downloads, or browsing the internet. -
Step 7
Work with your push and fetch settings. The iPhone 3G allows you to push email, calendar dates, and contacts from an Exchange server or MobileMe. Unfortunately, push uses a lot more battery.
If you are sitting at your desk, there is no reason to have push on. You might want to use fetch while you are in the office (you know when you are getting emails) and check for updates every hour. When you are away from your office, you can set it to check every 15 minutes. You might want to reserve push for when you are expecting something very important or when you are doing large updates to a calendar.
