How to Make Your Phone Last Longer on Longer Hikes

Today, it’s often important to make your phone last longer on longer hikes because phones have become such important pieces of hiking gear.

Many people don’t have the skills to read a map, use a compass, or utilize a GPS unit. Smartphones have made doing these things easy for hikers. But smartphone batteries don’t last forever.

The most common battery killers on smartphones are features like GPS, cameras, poor signal, and extreme temperatures.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to make your phone last longer on longer hikes, whether you’re going on a day hike or a longer backpacking adventure, so that you can have one less problem to worry about.

Start With a Full Charge to Make Your Phone Last Longer on Longer Hikes

Before you begin your day, make your phone last longer on longer hikes by charging your phone up to 100% and keeping it plugged into the charger until you reach the trail.

A fully charged phone is going to last a lot longer than one with less than 100%.

If you need to update any apps or download maps, do this at home while the phone is plugged in. Don’t wait until you’re at the trail to make downloads because you might not have the signal to do it. And it’ll definitely drain your battery.

Once you reach the trailhead, restart your fully charged phone before heading out on the trail, as it will kill any processes that shouldn’t be running so it can help conserve battery life.

Download Offline Maps Before Your Hike

You’re better off downloading trail maps before you leave home.

You’ll have to signal to do it at home. You might not have a lot of signal on the trail. If you have any, it might take longer to download and drain more battery life in the process.

Using offline maps will put less strain on the phone as it searches for signal, which will ultimately help conserve battery life on your device.

Test your offline map at home before heading to the trail to make sure it is working properly.

Turn On Battery Saver Mode to Make Your Phone Last Longer on Longer Hikes

If your phone offers features to help you save your battery, enable these features when you’re not using it on your hike.

If you have an iPhone, you can enable “Low Power Mode” to help conserve your iPhone’s battery life. If you have an Android, you can enable “Battery Saver” mode to do the same for that type of phone. These modes reduce background activities while keeping essential functionality available.

Even if you use your phone for a lot of stuff on the trail, when you’re not using it, you could save the battery life by enabling that feature until you need to use it again.

Use Airplane Mode When You Don’t Need Service

One thing that will make your phone last longer on longer hikes is enabling airplane mode.

Phones typically drain quickly in the woods because they constantly search for a signal. This will drain the battery life quicker than anything else. Oftentimes, you feel like your phone is broken because of how fast it drains the battery life.

If you’re in a remote area and you notice you have poor to no signal, enable airplane mode to help conserve battery life.

If you need to check for service or do something on your phone, you can always disable airplane mode quickly.

Lower Your Screen Brightness

One thing that many people forget about when hiking is screen brightness.

If you want to make your phone last longer on longer hikes, then lower the brightness on your phone display. The brightness setting on your phone is a good way to quickly drain your battery. If you lower it, you’ll take load and temperature off your phone, and it will help conserve your battery life.

Use the auto-brightness feature or manually reduce it, and make sure you turn your screen or display off when you’re not using it.

Limit Unnecessary Apps

If you’re like me, then you use a lot of apps on your phone throughout the day.

If you want to make your phone last longer on longer hikes, then close out apps you don’t need open on your phone. Otherwise, your phone is trying to process those unnecessary apps the whole time you’re hiking. This will significantly save your battery life.

Remember to disable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and even the background app refresh feature because in most cases, you won’t be using these features in the backcountry.

Another tactic is to disable notifications from apps to help conserve your phone’s battery life.

Avoid Constantly Recording Video to Make Your Phone Last Longer on Longer Hikes

If you want to make your phone last longer on longer hikes, don’t use the camera features.

I don’t follow this advice because I’m a content creator. If you’re not a content creator, then you can follow this advice. Even if you are, you can still adjust settings to make using the camera more efficient for battery life.

For example, recording in 4K or higher is going to use a lot of power, and most people are still watching everything on 1080p more than 4K.

If you take a lot of video with your phone, consider the length of your clips. Instead of taking longer video clips, shorten them down. I try to keep my clips anywhere from 8 to 15 seconds in length.

Taking photos with your phone is way easier on the battery life than taking videos.

Keep Your Phone at a Comfortable Temperature

Temperature extremes can drain your phone battery life quicker than you might expect.

If you want to make your phone last longer on longer hikes when it’s cold outside, keep your phone closer to your body. This will keep your phone warmer. Cold temperatures will make it go dead quickly.

The same goes for hot temperatures, too. Hot temperatures will make your phone overheat, drain the battery, and potentially damage the phone. Keep your phone out of direct sunlight if you can help it.

Bring a Portable Power Bank

If you know your phone is likely going to have its battery drained or you’re doing overnight hikes, then you need to take a portable power bank with you.

A portable power bank will enable you to charge your phone and other electronic devices usually multiple times. You can usually get these in very lightweight styles that are easy to pack. Make sure you bring a dependable charging cord with you that fits the bank and your phone.

You can charge your phone up during breaks, longer lunches, and when you’re sleeping for the night if you’re backpacking.

Consider a Small Solar Charger for Multi-Day Trips

If you’re doing an even longer backpacking trip, then you might need a solar charging bank instead of a normal power bank.

You can use the solar feature to charge your devices or even keep the power bank charged. Charge the power bank on breaks and charge your devices when you go to bed for the night. Keep the process simple, consistent, and efficient.

Just keep in mind that solar is usually a slower charging method and, of course, it relies on sunshine in order to actually work properly.

Save Battery for Emergencies

If you don’t need your phone for anything on your hike, then consider turning the phone off while you hike.

This will be your ultimate battery saver tactic. You can turn it on when you need it in an emergency situation. Other than that, it stays off and in your pocket without any life draining from the battery.

Try to prioritize what you would need it for, such as emergency navigation, weather updates, emergency communications, and even something that’s purely recreational such as photography.

Mistakes to Avoid to Make Your Phone Last Longer on Longer Hikes

If you want to make your phone last longer on longer hikes, try not to make these mistakes while you’re hiking, as they will be the big reasons your battery drains quicker.

• Forgetting to download offline maps. Do this at home.
• Leaving multiple apps running. Close any you don’t need running.
• Keeping maximum screen brightness. Lower it as much as possible.
• Constantly searching for cell service. Put it in airplane mode.
• Bringing a dead power bank. That’s just useless extra weight.
• Waiting until your battery is nearly empty before conserving power.

Make Your Phone Last Longer on Longer Hikes: Conclusion

You can make your phone last longer on longer hikes by keeping your phone fully charged and using it efficiently while out enjoying nature.

As a bonus tip, if you use your phone to record your hikes for Strava, AllTrails, or something like that, consider getting a sports watch for that instead. That will significantly decrease the use of your phone and help you save battery life.

A little preparation before hitting the trail goes a long way toward ensuring your phone lasts as long as your hike.

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And until next time, I’ll see you on the trail!