All the power saving features available in JuiceDefender and visible by activating the Advanced profile, are organised in three tabs as follows:

Controls

The Controls tab features what JuiceDefender controls on your behalf.

Mobile Data

This is one of the main ingredients in the recipe for effective battery saving. JuiceDefender can automatically enable and disable Mobile data following the rules you specify in the Schedules and Triggers tabs (e.g. disable it when battery is low or when the phone is idle, enable it when specific apps are running, etc.).

Additionally if you have a data-only plan (typically on a tablet) the Tablet mode option allows to disable the cell radio altogether instead of just mobile data, saving even more juice. Don’t use this option on phones though, as it interferes with phone calls, SMS and MMS when the phone is idle!

At any rate the user setting will always have priority, i.e. if you disable Mobile data in Android settings or through the power control widget, JuiceDefender won’t touch it until you explicitly re-enable it.

WiFi

Another slow but steady battery drainer, why keep the WiFi radio powered all the time, and not just when it’s actually used? JuiceDefender can automatically take care of that and, as for the Mobile data control, the user setting will always have priority, so if you disable WiFi in Android settings for example, JuiceDefender won’t touch it until you explicitly re-enable it.

Two useful extra options are available:

Auto disable will automatically disable WiFi after one minute if it’s not yet connected to a network to limit battery dissipation. JuiceDefender will then automatically try to re-enable it (when necessary) at 15 minutes intervals. Note that this option is not available when Location is enabled, as Location includes a much smarter Auto-disable feature :)

WiFi preferred will make JuiceDefender wait before enabling Mobile data/3G/4G to give WiFi a chance to connect first. The right delay to establish a connection to your WiFi networks is automatically calculated and kept updated by JuiceDefender. You should only enable this when Location is enabled; even then, this setting might cause unwanted delays before mobile data reconnects when you’re close to, but not within a WiFi zone.

The Location trigger is particularly useful to fully automate WiFi radio management; once enabled, this additional feature will make sure that JuiceDefender won’t even attempt to enable WiFi and connect when you’re far from any known WiFi network.

3G

Automatically switching to “2G only” when your phone is not in use saves a ton of juice and JuiceDefender has this one covered too, although this control is only available on certain ROMs due to Android limitations.

AutoSync

JuiceDefender can also toggle AutoSync so all your apps synchronize at once; this greatly optimizes power consumption – not just of the network radios but also of the CPU.

Should any app use its own, subpar, schedule for syncing with the cloud, thus creating problems, please email the developer and tell him to update the app already! These best practices, particularly the paragraph that titles “Optimizing battery life: Smart Services and using device state to toggle your manifest Receivers”, are a good guideline.

While waiting for action from the developer, here are some workarounds:

If, say, your stocks app does not work with the automatic schedule, use the Peak schedule. You most likely do not need stocks updates when the market is closed anyway, so JD can save at least some juice.

If your app allows it, lower the synchronization interval, thus increasing the chance for the two schedules to overlap.

Keep enabled

Have the specified radios/interfaces stay enabled even when the phone is idle and there’s no schedule running nor apps set to Enable (normally in that circumstance all connectivity is disabled). For example, enable WiFi below if you want the phone to always stay connected to WiFi when you’re at home, while still allowing JuiceDefender to disable it when you go out (via Location) or when the battery gets low. Note however that this will severely hamper JuiceDefender’s battery saving effort; consider setting the Peak schedule instead if possible.

Check the How-Tos section for some explanatory guides about the Keep enabled setting (the Minimal profile, the Couch potato profile) and the Peak schedule.

Timeout

Modern, large smartphone screens drink your precious juice like there’s no tomorrow. It is important to have a short auto-screen-off timeout interval, but having to enter the unlock pattern/pin every time becomes quickly annoying. JuiceDefender lets you specify a longer timeout interval for locking the handset, thus keeping you sane and your phone secure.

You can additionally set a separate, longer lock timeout (or no locking at all) for when the device is connected to a given WiFi network (typically your home network).

To avoid your phone from self-operating while in your pocket, JuiceDefender includes a quick, one-tap-unlock Keyguard (which also disables the hardware buttons); you can set a specific kick-in interval for it.

Brightness

This is another feature meant to minimize the huge battery drain caused by the screen. JuiceDefender can read the light sensor of your phone and auto-tweak screen brightness in a much more efficient way compared to Android’s automatic brightness.

Additionally you can set this feature so that your screen has much lower brightness levels in low light situations (e.g. when in a dark room); this can result in further, large battery savings, especially for AMOLED screens, with the nice side effect of eliminating that fastidious, eye-hurting glare at night.

You may also choose the reactiveness to ambient light changes; slower settings minimize flickering. If disabled (or if no light sensor is available), brightness control will only take into account sunrise and sunset, automatically calculated. It is also possible to apply tinting to the screen after sunset to somewhat approximate altering the color temperature (which cannot be done due to Android limitations) to something better suited for the night.

CPU

You can Let JuiceDefender automatically change the minimum and maximum CPU speed of your phone, to save some more juice when the phone is idle while unleashing the full horsepower when it’s actually being used.

GPS

JuiceDefender can automatically turn off GPS when the screen is turned off (after a one minute timeout). This helps saving juice when e.g. the Maps app gets stuck after you turned your screen off a while ago.

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Schedules

The Schedule tab lists all the different options for scheduling the background data syncing.

Schedule

Periodically enable connectivity to let background data sync occur (email, Twitter, Facebook, etc). A longer frequency will help in minimizing distractions while maximizing your battery life!

You can as well specify the duration of each scheduled event: select a longer duration if you need a longer sync “window” for legacy (“dumb”) apps. This is the minimum duration, JuiceDefender will wait for apps to finish syncing before cutting connectivity if the Traffic trigger is activated.

Night

Disable connectivity during the night. The periodic schedule won’t run during the specified time frame, but connectivity will be re-enabled (if Screen is enabled) when you wake your phone. You may also have JuiceDefender delay the start time of the night schedule (up to the specified maximum) if the phone is being actively used past bedtime; similarly, you can have the night schedule end prematurely if you wake up early.

The Vibrate and Silent options are also available if you don’t want to be awaken by texts and calls. Finally, if you want to save the most juice during the night, you can enable the Airplane option, which will completely turn off the cell radio.

The Night schedule can also be activated and deactivated manually via the QuickBox. This might come handy for example during meetings, or if you decide in the morning that you want to sleep all day :)

Peak

Keep connectivity enabled or run a higher frequency schedule during peak time, for example office hours, in case you need timely or instant email alerts, or to be always reachable via IM.

To keep the connectivity always enabled during the programmed time frame, set the frequency to on.

The Peak schedule can also be conveniently activated and deactivated manually via the QuickBox.

For a sophisticated customization – if you have particular needs – you can instruct JuiceDefender to only activate some of the radios/interfaces during the Peak schedule.

See the How-tos section for a possible use case of the Peak schedule and its custom controls.

Weekend

The weekend schedule allows you to run alternative schedules on the selected week days – typically the weekend, so that you can adjust the Night schedule start and end times or disable the Peak schedule.

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Triggers

The Triggers tab gives you control over anything that triggers an action in JuiceDefender.

Battery

Disable connectivity and all schedules when the battery goes below a certain threshold. This makes those last drops of juice last as long as possible, so that you will be able to make that urgent phone call. You may also configure JuiceDefender to enable connectivity while the phone is plugged to a power source; leaving this disabled for USB might allow for a quicker recharge from a PC/notebook, as USB ports usually have a limited current output.

Screen

Enable this if you want connectivity to be enabled while the screen is on. You may also configure JuiceDefender to ignore this when your battery is low – this is what the Aggressive profile does. It is also possible to only enable specific radios/interfaces for a sophisticated customization.

By default JuiceDefender will enable connectivity only after the device has been unlocked, to save some juice when you just want to quickly check the time; this can be changed in the Troubleshooting section (About tab), for example if you have a lockscreen replacement app that doesn’t work well, or if you want to to minimize the delay for getting online after connectivity has been enabled (with some carriers or cell towers it might take up to some seconds).

Traffic

Let JuiceDefender detect network traffic and keep your connectivity enabled, for example after you turn your screen off, until all data transfers are complete.

For most users the default settings should suffice. You can change the threshold or the minimum timespan before cutting connectivity if you often experience poor reception that causes downloads to be prematurely aborted.

Apps

Enable or disable connectivity when specific apps run. Configured apps have precedence over everything else, except manual control via the QuickBox, Toggle Mobile Data widget or Android settings.

Tapping on Configure apps will open a list of all the installed apps; you can configure each app by repeatedly tapping on its entry. (Note that the apps that don’t require internet access are at the bottom of the list, as it’s unlikely they need to be configured.)

The Interactive configuration mode, when enabled, monitors which apps are launched and will prompt you to configure on the fly those who aren’t configured yet.

Each app can be set to one of these states:

• Enable: enable connectivity while the app is running and visible, either with its main window or with a notification in the status bar.

• Enable/screen off: like Enable, but keep connectivity enabled also when the screen goes off; use this for online radio/audio streaming apps.

• Disable: disable connectivity while the app is running; useful for games, offline reading, or to behave data-hungry apps

• Do nothing: ignore this app – connectivity status won’t be altered.

Location

Let JuiceDefender fully manage WiFi for you – the battery saving way: after a bit of training, it will learn where the WiFi networks you access are, and only enable WiFi when you’re within range. When training a new location, you might find that JuiceDefender won’t always enable WiFi when it’s supposed to – just do it manually and connect, after a couple of times it’ll learn.

NOTE: this does not use battery-draining GPS to determine the current location, but the less accurate “network location”; so large accuracy values (up to several kilometres) are to be expected in some areas – don’t worry, it will still work!

For a more in-depth discussion of the Location feature, see Understanding Location.

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Backup

JuiceDefender lets you backup and restore its configuration settings, including WiFi networks for the Location feature; this is especially useful for complex customizations via the Advanced profile.

The Backup/Restore section is in the About tab. Here you can manually backup your configuration, for example before enabling or disabling some advanced features you’re not sure about – if after a bit of testing you find things don’t go as you wanted, you can safely restore JuiceDefender to the previous working configuration.

When you restore a backed up configuration you have the option to also override the current WiFi locations with the saved ones – note that if you choose this you will lose any additional training on those networks since the backup was made.

JuiceDefender automatically creates a backup after one week since the last one was made (either manually or automatically).

The backup file (JuiceDefender.backup) is stored in the Download folder on your SD card, and in the cloud (linked to your Google account) for supported devices; the cloud-stored backup will be automatically retrieved when you launch JuiceDefender for the first time after a fresh installation.

The How-Tos section has a detailed guide about migrating your settings to a new phone via the Backup feature.

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Troubleshooting

In the About tab you will find a small section labeled Troubleshooting. Usually these settings do not need to be changed, but may sometimes help with problems.

Disabling Enable after unlock under the Screen section might be useful if you’re experiencing problems with a lockscreen replacement app; it will also get you connected more quickly after screen on at the cost of a slight decrease in power saving.

On some devices Android does not turn off mobile data when Wifi is connected, leading to various problems. JuiceDefender can take care of it – that’s what the Disable on Wifi section is for.

If you see that occasionally mobile data doesn’t reconnect successfully (after hydrogen, buggy firmware is the most abundant thing in the universe), you can enable Mobile data autofix; it will attempt to solve the problem by automatically forcing a toggle cycle on the cell radio when mobile data is not connected within a reasonable timespan.

If you have problems with the smart Brightness control you can try different settings in the Brightness section.