5 Hidden Smartphone Features That May Be Affecting Your Device Health

5 Hidden Smartphone Features That May Be Affecting Your Device Health

Ashu Gupta

Apr 21, 2025

Your smartphone may have hidden features that are unknowingly harming its performance and battery life. In this blog, uncover 5 such features and learn how to keep your device healthy.

In this technologically advanced era, smartphones come with various features that are not well-known to users. Even though these features provide convenience and enhance productivity, they can also impact your battery health, leading to fast battery drain, affecting your phone's performance, and causing lag. Change these settings to improve your smartphone experience if your phone is lagging, overheating, or if the battery is draining quickly. In this article, we will cover five hidden smartphone features that affect your device’s health and how they can lead to better performance.


Why is Smartphone Health important?


Smartphone health doesn't always mean the battery performance but it is also about the phone’s performance, lag issues, and storage. Changing certain setting in your phone can overcome various issues like

  1. Fast battery drain
  2. Overheating 
  3. App crash
  4. Data privacy


5 Hidden Features Affecting your Smartphone’s Performance


1. Background App Refresh: New and technologically advanced smartphones usually allow apps to refresh content in background by default, even when you are not using the apps frequently which affects the phone’s health. The phone may keep various apps ready with new data but it also drains battery quickly, uses mobile data and impacts performance.


How to Stop:


Android: Settings- Apps - See all apps - Select app - Restrict action


iPhone: Genera - background app refresh


2. Location Service: There are various mobile apps which ask permission for location service to work smoothly. However, keeping on the location services for all apps is not important. Leaving the location at all times increases the risk of data piracy and also affects your battery health. To manage this, follow these steps:


Android: Settings- Location- App 


iPhone: Settings- Privacy- Location


3. System Animations: The animations may help make your phone look good as they provide different transition effects, but they also consume battery and CPU. On budget or mid-range phones, disabling the animations can help improve the phone’s performance. To manage these animations, you can follow these steps:


Android: Settings > About phone > Tap ‘Build Number’ 7 times > Developer options > Window animation scale / Transition animation scale / Animator duration scale — Set to ‘Off’


iPhone: Settings- Accessibility- Motion- Reduce Motion


4. Live Wallpaper: Even though the live wallpapers may look fancy and beautiful, they consume free space and battery, which hurts the phone’s performance. To remove the live wallpaper, follow these steps:


Android: Settings- Wallpaper- Choose static


5. Device Diagnostics: Most smartphones have this feature enabled by default which usually sends usage data, crash reports, or other data in the background without your knowledge. It may be focused on improving the service but affects your phone as well.


Android: Settings > Google > Ads & services > Usage & diagnostics > Turn off

iPhone: Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements > Turn off Share iPhone Analytics


Checklist for Good Device Health


  1. Turn off background refresh for apps
  2. Turn off location when not required
  3. Turn of system animations
  4. Stop sending usage data
  5. Use static wallpaper



Need Mobile Repair Services?


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FAQs


Q1. How frequently should I look for hidden features in my smartphone's settings?

after significant system updates or at least once every month.


Q2. Will my phone get damaged if I turn off animations?

No, it only uses fewer resources and makes transitions instantaneous.


Q3. Is turning off an app's background refresh safe?

Yes, you may safely disable some programs while leaving others running, like chatting or email.


Q4. Even when I'm not using my phone, why is the battery going so quickly?

It's possible that background programs, location services, auto-updates, and system analytics are using power without being seen. You can increase standby time by adjusting these parameters.


Q6. Does smartphone performance change with system updates?

Yes, system updates may by default activate new background services even though they frequently enhance security and features. 


Q7. When not in use, should I switch off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Location?

Indeed, shutting down these services when not in use conserves battery life and minimises superfluous background activities.


Q8. Describe Developer Mode and whether it is safe to use.

On Android, Developer Mode opens up more complex features like system logs and animation scale tweaks. If you stay away from unknown choices and only change performance-related settings, it's safe.


Ashu Gupta