Do you wish your Samsung Galaxy phone had slightly better battery life? I think it’s safe to say we all look for ways to improve our phones, and that’s why you’ll love these two little settings hiding on your phone that will quickly make a big difference.
These days, we all take Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and all the location services on our phones for granted. Google Maps always knows exactly where you are, your weather app updates your location automatically, and so much more. And while that’s great, some of the technology running in the background is constantly draining your battery.
So, whether you want better battery life, more privacy, or you’re simply setting up a new Galaxy phone, here are two location settings you’ll want to consider before turning them on. I’m talking about Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning, which run 24/7 to improve location accuracy.
The first offender is Wi-Fi scanning
What it does, and why you don’t need it
When you head into Settings > Location, and tap Location services near the top, you’ll see a fewoptions. And while the first few are for location-based information for emergencies, amber alerts, and things like that, a few rows below is the Wi-Fi setting we’re looking for.
Depending on your phone model and One UI version, itmay be called Wi-Fi scanning, always-on scanning, or scanning always available. This is a setting you probably agreed to during phone setup without knowing very much about it.
Wi-Fi Scanning is a helpful feature on all Android phones, but it runs in the background 24/7, scanning for nearby Wi-Fi networks. This happens even when Wi-Fi is turned off, and when it finds a network, it uses that information for accurate location services on your phone and apps.
The main benefit of Wi-Fi scanning is better, more accurate location data, regardless of whether you’re inside or outside. The thing is, it never turns off and constantly wakes up your phone, processor, GPS, Wi-Fi, and other radios. As you can imagine, this decreases battery life. Here’s how to turn it off.
While you’re in Settings > Location > Location Services, simply toggle the switch to OFF and turn off Wi-Fi Scanning. It’s that easy, and now it’ll stop doing all those things in the background. But, unfortunately, it’s not the only one.
Bluetooth scanning is more efficient
But you can turn it off, too
If you still want some sort of location services running to ensure your map, weather, and other apps maintain some level of accuracy, you can keep Bluetooth scanning turned on. That’s because Bluetooth is a bit more efficient than Wi-Fi.
However, those looking for more privacy and longer battery life will want to disable both. In the same Settings > Location > Location services menu as the Wi-Fi control, you’ll see the same type of setting for Bluetooth scanning. Go ahead and flip that switch to off, too, and you’ll be all set.
Just like Wi-Fi scanning, Bluetooth scanning will allow your phone to turn on Bluetooth even when the main setting is off, then constantly search for and find nearby Bluetooth devices to provide more accurate location data. When you combine the two, our phones are very precise. When turned off, you’ll have to grant access to apps more often, or you may find that your apps and services are slightly off and relying solely on GPS.
Both of these settings offer benefits for Android, especially for apps and services that rely on your location. But just because it’s beneficial doesn’t mean you need to use it. I still find that Google Maps works well, and my weather app uses my zip code most of the time, so that’s not much of a concern.
At the end of the day, both of these settings keep your phone’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, CPU, and other chipsets running in the background, constantly scanning for networks or devices and communicating. If you want hours of battery life back, turn em’ off.
Little changes with big results
Again, these settings certainly have benefits, and I know a lot of people who don’t want to ever mess with location, so they keep it turned on. The only real reason that’s actually worth keeping them enabled is for “Find My” services if you lose your phone. However, if you’re trying to figure out why your battery drains so fast, especially when you haven’t used it for several hours but it’s still siphoning power, this could be the culprit.
I’ve had both of these turned off for years, and it’s one of the first things I do after setting up any new Galaxy device. It doesn’t harm anything. Wi-Fi still scans and connects to store and hotel Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth still works as it should. It doesn’t affect how these operate; it simply stops them from scanning and collecting data in the background.
Whenever I travel or need more accurate location data, I re-enable the BT scanning option, but Wi-Fi scanning is always turned off on my phone.
