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Everyone wants their smartphone to deliver the best possible battery life. I certainly do. I want my phone to comfortably last an entire day, and ideally even longer when I am out and don’t have a charger with me. But I wasn’t getting that kind of endurance until I turned off these two hidden scanning settings. The difference was instant, and my phone’s battery life noticeably improved.
But how does scanning even drain your battery?
Your phone never stops “looking around”
Background scanning can quietly drain your battery, sometimes even more than your actual phone usage. Your phone’s radios, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other sensors remain active in the background and constantly search for nearby networks, devices or signals. This ongoing scanning uses power and occasionally mobile data, even when your screen is turned off. Since we’re already talking about the screen, you should also know which part is draining your battery life.
The battery drain becomes even worse in areas with weak network coverage, where your phone works harder to maintain and find a stable connection, leading to faster battery drain without even realizing it.
Change These Settings to Stop New Android Apps From Spying on You
Freshly-installed apps can do a lot more than you’d like, until you rein them in.
Two scanning settings you probably didn’t know about
Why your phone never truly sleeps
Your smartphone is constantly scanning for Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices, even when you’ve manually turned both off from the Control Center or Quick Settings panel. That’s because these scanning options are often enabled by default to improve features like faster device pairing and location accuracy, and nearby device detection. The downside to this is that the continuous background scanning keeps parts of your phone active, preventing it from fully entering deep sleep.
Deep sleep mode essentially tells your smartphone to take a break when you’re not using it. All the apps you haven’t opened are paused, and the phone’s processor shifts into a battery-saving mode. As a result, most background activity, like constant syncing or data checks, is restricted. This helps conserve your phone’s battery life, especially when the screen is off or when the phone is sitting idle.
How to finally shut this down
Time to put your phone to sleep
To disable these hidden settings on an Android phone, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app on your Android.
- Scroll down and tap Location.
- Now head to Location Services.
- Tap Wi-Fi scanning, then turn it off.
- Go back to Location Services, tap Bluetooth scanning, and switch that off as well.
For most everyday use, they don’t offer any real benefit. Turning them off allows your phone to enter deep sleep mode properly, reducing unnecessary background activity, and leading to an immediate, noticeable improvement in battery life.
I’m using the Google Pixel 10 Pro, so the steps mentioned above are based on that device. If you’re using a different Android phone, and can’t find the exact menu, simply search for “Location Services” in the Settings app. The option is available on all Android phones, though the wording or placement may slightly vary by brand.
On an iPhone, disabling this setting is just as simple. Open the Settings app and scroll down to Privacy & Security. Tap Location Services, then scroll all the way to the bottom and select System Services. Here, turn off Networking & Wireless. You’ll see a confirmation pop-up on the screen, tap Turn Off to proceed. And that’s not it! You should also know about these three app permissions to double your battery life.
Is this safe to turn off?
Nothing to worry about here
It’s absolutely natural to worry that turning these settings off might affect everyday use, especially since so much of what we do on our phones depends on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The short answer is: it won’t. Disabling these options doesn’t stop your phone from connecting to Wi-Fi networks or pairing with nearby Bluetooth devices when you actually need them. Instead, it simply prevents your phone from running unnecessary background scans when you’re not actively using those features.
Navigation apps like Google Maps, along with other location-based apps, continue to work normally in daily use. To give you an example, I’m sitting in a café right now. After turning off these settings, I connected to the café’s Wi-Fi without any issues. I also paired my smart glasses with both my iPhone and my secondary Android phone, and both devices detected and connected to the glasses instantly.
In short, you’re not breaking anything or losing functionality. You’re stopping your phone from doing extra work it doesn’t need to do. And yes, it’s completely safe to turn off these settings.
This tweak can be especially effective on slightly older phones. For example, if you’re using a device like the Google Pixel 7 series or an iPhone 13, turning off these scanning settings can make an even bigger difference. Since battery efficiency naturally declines over time, reducing unnecessary background scans helps these phones conserve power more effectively, resulting in noticeably better battery life.
Teaching your phone the joy of staying idle
Switching off unnecessary background scans lets your phone enter deep sleep mode when idle. At the same time, it does not interfere with normal Wi-Fi or Bluetooth usage when you actually need them. Your phone will still connect to networks and pair with devices, just like it always has. Plus, these six small habits will give you more out of your Android phone’s battery.
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