Battery Control

Google Play Link

What is Battery Control?

Battery Control automatically disables and enables the wireless connections (mobile data, WiFi, Bluetooth) of the device in order to save battery. Additionally it can notify you if battery usage in stand-by is above average (e.g. if there is some background process active although the phone is in stand-by).

Battery Control keeps the wireless connections off as much as possible, but turns it on whenever they are needed (when the screen of the device is on, the device is charging, or on a regular basis). Furthermore Battery Control prevents turning off the mobile data connection if there is still network traffic active. It can also disable the mobile data connection when the remaining stand-by time is low.

Battery Control also works in conjunction with Roaming Control (which enables or disables the mobile data connection based on your current network).

Unlike other battery savers (e.g. JuiceDefender or Green Power), Battery Control is very easy to set up, and needs no further manual user intervention due to its very intelligent algorithms to turn on wireless connections as needed.

Why do I need Battery Control?

Battery Control helps you to conserve as much battery as possible by turning off unused wireless connections as much as possible, which usually are (besides the display) the most power consuming parts of a mobile device. It also helps you to identify you battery draining background applications.

How does Battery Control work?

Battery Control monitors different states of your device (WiFi connection, display state, charging state, network traffic, connected devices) in order to decide if a wireless connection needs to get turned off or on. To ensure a good user experience with your device, Battery Control turns on the data connection regularly for a short time in order to get any online updates/notifications.

Established connections (mobile data with active traffic, WiFi connected to access point or a connected Bluetooth device) are kept automatically.

Settings

The following settings are available:

Save Battery

  • Mobile Data Connection: if turned on, the mobile data connection is managed automatically
  • WiFi: if turned on, the WiFi connection is managed automatically
  • Bluetooth: if turned on, the Bluetooth connection is managed automatically

Battery Alarm

  • Battery Fully Charged: if turned on, Battery Control notifies you if the battery has been fully charged
  • Usage Above Average: if turned on, Battery Control notifies you if the battery usage in stand-by is above the average
  • Alarm Threshold: choose a percentage (in relation to the average battery usage) that is needed to trigger the battery alarm
  • Required Exceedings: choose a number of required consecutive occurrences of threshold exceedings before triggering the alarm
  • Remaining Stand-By Time: Battery Control notifies you, if the remaining stand-by time drops below this value
  • Turn off Data: if turned on, the mobile data connection gets disabled when the remaining stand-by time drops below the threshold

Advanced Settings

  • Interval: choose an interval to turn the mobile data connection on for a short time
  • Screen On: if turned on, always keep the data connection turned on when the display is on
  • Charging: if turned on, always keep the data connection turned on when the device is charging
  • Network Traffic: if turned on, keep the mobile data connection turned on until there is no more network traffic

Note, that battery usage of the device is only monitored in stand-by mode, i.e. when you actively use the device, no alarms will occur - even when battery usage is high.

Notifications

  • Sound: select the notification sound that is played for notifications (you can also choose "Silent" or "Default")
  • Vibrate: if turned on, the device vibrates during a notification

Differences between Full and Trial version

The trial version offers the full functionality, but expires after 14 days.

FAQs & Troubleshooting

When does Battery Control turn on or off the mobile data connection?

If the automatic management of the mobile data connection is enabled, Battery Control keeps the mobile data connection:

  • off normally
  • on if the screen is turned on (if configured) - it is recommended to turn this option on
  • on if the device is charging (if configured)
  • on for a short time on a regular basis (the interval can be configured in the advanced settings) - it is recommended to use an interval of 15 minutes or longer
  • on if there is still active network-traffic (if configured) - it is recommended to turn this option on to complete background tasks (auto-sync, downloads) even if the screen is turned off
  • off if there is a WiFi connection established
  • off if remaining stand-by time is low (if configured)
  • off if Roaming Control wants the mobile data connection turned off
  • off if airplane mode is enabled

When does Battery Control turn on or off the WiFi connection?

If the automatic management of the WiFi connection is enabled, Battery Control keeps the WiFi connection:

  • off normally
  • on if the screen is turned on (if configured) - it is recommended to turn this option on
  • on if the device is charging (if configured)
  • on for a short time on a regular basis (the interval can be configured in the advanced settings) - it is recommended to use an interval of 15 minutes or longer
  • on if there is a WiFi connection established
  • off if airplane mode is enabled and WiFi is already off (it does not turn off manually enabled WiFi however)

If Battery Control decides to turn off WiFi again, it waits a short time until WiFi finally gets turned off. This is useful for cases where the WiFi connection might drop only for a few seconds.

When does Battery Control turn on or off the Bluetooth connection?

If the automatic management of the Bluetooth connection is enabled, Battery Control keeps the Bluetooth connection:

  • off normally
  • on if the screen is turned on
  • on if the device is connected to a Bluetooth device
  • off if airplane mode is enabled and Bluetooth is already off (it does not turn off a manually enabled Bluetooth connection however)

If Battery Control decides to turn off Bluetooth again, it waits a short time until Bluetooth finally gets turned off. This is useful for cases where the Bluetooth connection might drop only for a few seconds.

Why is the remaining runtime shown as "unknown"?

Battery Control needs to collect statistics about the average battery usage in stand-by mode. This may take several hours, and each turning on the screen or charging interrupts the process.

Why does Battery Control not support the airplane mode?

Although enabling the airplane mode can save much power (primarily because the phone radio is turned off), it does not make much sense:

  • The phone cannot be used for calls anymore (so you might miss important calls).
  • Turning off airplane mode (e.g. when screen gets turned on again) would ask for the PIN code for the SIM card - and again, the phone is not really usable until you enter the PIN code. You might overcome this restriction by disabling the PIN protection of the SIM card, but this does not seem a really good option.
  • Airplane mode could be useful during night time (when you do not expect calls usually), but exactly at this time most users have their phone plugged for charging anyway (so there is no need for saving battery).

Why does Battery Control not support switching auto sync on and off automatically?

Auto sync basically ensures that the device retrieves the most current information (emails, calendar entries, etc.) from a remote server. Whenever you decide to turn on the data connection (mobile data or WiFi), the main purpose is to retrieve data, so there is no point in turning off auto sync. This is also valid for regularly turning on data for a short time while the phone is in stand-by mode: the only real reason for this option is to retrieve emails while the phone is in stand-by mode, but auto sync is required to do this.