Some cell phones seem to die when we need them most – so CTVNews.ca has collected some top tips to improve your battery life.

If you find yourself suffering from battery anxiety when out-and-about and constantly running for the charger at home or work, there are ways to help keep your battery charged for longer.

With people spending more and more time on their phones, it means their batteries are under pressure to keep up.

And with smartphones doing more and more, phone makers are playing catchup in their attempt to make batteries last longer.

Streaming video, playing games and using apps that frequently refresh can eat up battery life.

Most phones now have a low power mode for those moments when we see our battery running low.

In extreme cases, airplane mode will conserve power, but this comes with the loss of cell or wifi service.

Lowering the screen brightness can also help. Setting the screen’s brightness to “automatic” so that the phone adjusts to external lighting conditions may also reduce battery usage.

Another screen-based battery saver involves setting the display to go to sleep after 15 or 30 seconds of inactivity.

Reducing how often your phone looks for new emails can save battery life too.

For devices that use iOS, this is done in the iPhone’s settings. Tap settings, then accounts and passwords, and then fetch new data.

Fetch checks your email every 15, 30, or 60 minutes and downloads any messages that have arrived since you last checked. This can be set to check manually to save battery life.

On Android, go to email settings, then scroll to sync schedule. Tap sync schedule and select the desired time, for example every 30 minutes.

Settings may vary depending on the email account type, but the less often you check email, the more battery you'll save.

If you're still noticing your battery quickly depleting, it may be time to replace your battery or get a new phone.

As phones get bigger, manufacturers have more space for larger batteries, which generally means a better battery life.

With a report from CTV Toronto’s Consumer Reporter Pat Foran