I set up a Samsung routine that cuts my overnight battery drain to almost nothing

Published Aug 18, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT I am an author and features writer at Android Police. I primarily writes guides, how-tos, and roundups on the latest smartphone apps and features for Android Police since joining the team in early 2022. While my work often diversifies depending on the topic, you'll often find me writing about the newest entertainment or hidden utility Android apps or discussing my paranoia about digital privacy and poor smartphone practices. I will occasionally dabble in Samsung's latest features in One UI. On the games side, my area of expertise is in action RPGs and gacha games, but I will play and study the occasional competitive shooter. But most of all, my appetite for new stories still goes unquenched — as shown with my personal love for the Trails series. Before joining Android Police, I studied chemistry and graduated with an honors specialization in Chemistry in 2016, leading me to spend many hours toiling around the lab as an undergraduate. Eventually, all those hours spent at the lab led me to develop my analytical mindset. So now, if you give me a problem, I will relentlessly tackle it to find a solution. My favorite pastime as a student was always writing reports, presentations, tutorials, and literature reviews, which guided me into completing a graduate certificate in technical writing in 2019. Thanks to my current role with Android Police, I learned to appreciate user security and privacy, leading me into studying Cyber Security. My first Android phone was the Samsung Galaxy Note II in 2012, which gave me a taste of how a small piece of powerful hardware can open up endless opportunities for my favorite hobbies. Though if you ask about my purchasing regrets, I will always say missing out on the Google Nexus still stings to this very day. I've also been a gamer for over 20 years, starting with Super Mario Bros. on the NES. Thanks to those early influences, I now own over 15 devices for gaming, ranging from handhelds to consoles. Nowadays, you'll find me studying spreadsheets and assembling data to theorycraft new teams and builds for Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Wuthering Waves, and Zenless Zone Zero. You'll also see me digging deeper to uncover the truth behind AI as a field: which part is actually useful, or it just a bunch of bloat being sold with your phone? I had a conversation with my mother the other day about her charging habits, mainly because I was working on a feature that compared our phones (we have the same one). I asked her how often she charges her phone and, if she ever left it uncharged overnight, what percentage she loses. When she told me it was around 25%, my jaw dropped — comparatively, I only lose a third of that, maybe slightly less. Generally speaking, I never charge my Samsung Galaxy S25+ overnight. This isn't paranoia that I might overcharge my device — that's actually very outdated — it's more because I don't need to. I use a specific Samsung mode and routine that heavily preserves the battery; as a result, I rarely top it off in the morning. My custom daily Samsung nighttime mode and routine It only needs to be programmed once This section focuses on creating a custom Samsung mode. While this is my preferred method of control, you can skip to the next section and add power-saving and sound options, along with a specified time, while setting up your routines. Samsung phones have powerful automation settings. You can choose a preset or customize your own. Setting automations isn't only for power users, and they don't have to be related to productivity. You can set them up for everyday use, which is what I like to do. I have one set for bedtime mode and one set for nighttime/overnight mode. The nighttime routine is where I customize how my phone behaves while I am sleeping. Then I add power-saving to my mode and routine combination, reduce the brightness, silence my phone, and turn off my Always On Display. The setup is easy if you're using a Samsung device. Open your Settings > Modes and Routines. Scroll down to the bottom and tap Add mode. Name it and choose an icon; I usually pick blue or gray to signify an after-hours routine. Select the symbol at the bottom. Then select Done. When you're there, set the condition by tapping When to start this mode under the Turn on automatically header. This should be a time period when you're asleep — or at least when you're not using your device. Choose Time period. Select the radio buttons for Time and Every day. Then specify the time under the Time header. Select Done. Scroll down to Other actions. From there, locate Power saving (select Maximum) and Sound mode and volume (choose Mute). Maximum Power Saving severely limits background app refreshes and data sync. If you rely on overnight alerts (like emergency messaging apps or work emails), stick to a standard Power Saving option. Customize your nighttime mode with routines Link set conditions with actions Next, I construct a routine that complements my custom mode. This is where I fiddle with the brightness and Always On Display. Technically, you can do this in the routine settings too — and I recommend it if you prefer the "set it and forget it" approach — but I want some control in case I enable bedtime mode instead of my custom nighttime. In Modes and routines settings, tap Routines below and select the Plus Sign. Under the If header, choose Add what will trigger this routine. From here, select Mode active, choose your custom Nighttime mode (for me, it is "Nighttime ZZZ"), then select Done. Next, go to the Then header and tap Add what this routine will do. Scroll down to Display > Brightness. Swipe the Brightness slider all the way to the left to set it to 1% brightness. I set this to 1% as a safeguard — if an incoming notification accidentally wakes the screen overnight, it draws minimal power and won't blind you in the dark. Select Add action under the Then header. Choose Lock screen and AOD > Always On Display > Off. Tap Done. Technically, in this case, the order of your list of actions doesn't matter, but if you're doing smart home automation — it might, especially if one of those actions involves turning on and off your Wi-Fi source. After you finish creating your routine, tap Save. Opening your custom nighttime mode triggers this routine — I like connecting my modes to routines because it is an easy way to toggle them on and off. But you can also set general conditions and then choose a time period in that same section. Since I have mine tied to a mode, I set the time in routines to forever, meaning it doesn't need set time restrictions since the Mode controls the schedule. The only tricky part is that you can only toggle one mode at a time, so if you browse your phone before bed and use bedtime mode to settle down with your screen time, you'll need to turn that off and then manually turn on your custom nighttime mode. Keep taking advantage of Samsung's Modes and routines If you're reading this as a Google Pixel user wondering how to do the same, the news isn't great. I have tried to find a substitute on my Pixel 8 since that's the device with the most battery issues and rarely survives the night if I don't leave it plugged in. But so far, I haven't had any success, as Pixel Rules is bare-bones in comparison. The next step is to check Tasker, which is a paid app, but it offers a seven-day free trial. All in all, if you have a Samsung, keep tinkering with your Modes and routines to replace manual actions. Even as a long-time Samsung user, the automation potential still impresses me.