The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are two excellent Android phones — except when their battery life drains faster than expected. While tons of battery advancements have been made with smartphones in recent years, that’s not to say they’re perfect. Whether it be a misbehaving app, mismatched settings, or a phone simply not having a large enough battery capacity, there are many reasons why a device doesn’t last as long as it should.
In the case of the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, both phones look like battery champs on paper. Each handset is equipped with a 4,500 mAh battery and supports 65W wired charging. That’s enough juice to get the phones from 0-100 percent in just 29 minutes, making it one of the fastest charging systems available in the U.S. Wireless charging is also present on both devices, but only the OnePlus 9 Pro has snappy 50W speeds that can charge it from 0-100 percent in 43 minutes. The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are two of the most convenient Android phones to charge, but even with their breakneck refuel speeds, an ideal world would see them lasting longer between those times. For anyone with either device who isn’t thrilled with how often they need to plug it in, here are a few tips on getting more endurance out of the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro.
To begin diagnosing OnePlus 9 battery woes, the first step is to dive into the phone’s battery settings. Open the Settings app, scroll down the screen, and tap ‘Battery.’ This shows an overview of the OnePlus 9’s current battery health, including its current charge and a host of settings to tinker with. At the top of the page, OnePlus will let users know if it’s detected any apps draining more power than they should. If there are any, it’ll say so and give the user option for stopping that app. If all is running like normal, it’ll say ‘Apps are running normally’ as shown in the photo above. If there aren’t any misbehaving apps but battery life still isn’t ideal, it’s worth tapping the ‘Battery Optimization’ button on that same page. This shows a full list of installed applications and how they’re being optimized. Most apps should be placed under Intelligent Control by default, which OnePlus says will “Automatically adjust background power strategy according to app characteristics and your usage.” This allows for the best app performance with the least impact on battery life, but users can place greater restrictions on their apps for additional battery savings. Tap an app on the Battery Optimization page, and if it’s on Intelligent Control, tap the ‘Optimize’ option below that. Once selected, Optimize will “Restrict app background activities to extend battery life.” It is noted that “App notifications and other features may be affected,” but for someone that needs the most battery possible, it’s a feature worth using.
Other OnePlus 9 Battery Saving Tips
While on that main battery settings page, the last feature to check out is ‘Optimized Charging.’ It should be turned on already, but if not, tap the toggle to enable the feature. Once on, this will “Optimize charging pattern according to your usage habits to reduce battery load, and to extend battery life.” That battery page houses the best tools for extending OnePlus 9 battery life, but it’s not the only option users have at their disposal. From the Settings app, tap ‘Display,’ and then tap ‘Advanced.’ Here, OnePlus 9 users can change things like the resolution and refresh rate. If the resolution is set to QHD+, tap on it to change it to FHD+. While the screen won’t be quite as sharp, it’ll still look excellent and allow for “lower power consumption.” Similarly, if the refresh rate is on Smart 120Hz, switching to Standard 60Hz will also allow for better battery life. The switch from 120Hz to 60Hz is much more noticeable than going from QHD+ to FHD+, but it’s another option available to make the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro last as long as possible.
Then there are some more general tips. Have a lot of apps installed? It's worth looking through all of them and deleting any unused ones. The more installed apps, the more that are sending notifications, running in the background, etc. If there are a bunch of apps someone just isn't using, deleting these can do wonders for battery life. And if things get really dire, there's always the Battery Saver mode. Swipe twice down from the top of the screen to view the Quick Settings, find the 'Battery Saver' toggle, and tap it. Doing so restricts some background activity, animations, and other features, but it can go a long way in extending the endurance of the OnePlus 9.
Source: OnePlus