U.S. Cellular Announces a Battery Swap Program

Owning a cell phone has become a convenient necessity in this day and age, but nothing can be more annoying than dealing with a low battery just when you need to make that all important phone call. This is especially the case if charging is not an option because you are too far away from your home or office.

U.S. Cellular has good news for cell phone owners. The company has launched its Battery Swap program, where customers can come into any store and change out a dead or dying battery for a fully-charged one, for free. U.S. Cellular is the first wireless company to offer this service.

Customers no longer have to worry if they are at work, running errands or traveling and forgot their charger. If their battery starts to run low or dies, they can go to a U.S. Cellular store and swap it for a fully-charged one.

“Our Battery Swap program is a convenience for people who depend on their wireless devices as their lifelines, such as business people, parents, not to mention heavy users who drain their battery daily,” said Jay Ellison, executive vice president and COO of U.S. Cellular. “We’re offering this service to help our customers stay connected whenever they need it.”

Simple ways to extend your battery life

There are some things that you can do to extend your battery life that you might not be aware of. Turning your cell phone off while charging not only will help extend the life of the battery, it also acts as a reset similar to your computer. Power cycling, or turning the cell phone off and then on again, will allow your cell phone to use the optimum tower for its location and clears the cache of the phone. If you get stuck on a screen or have problems texting, power cycling often helps.

If these options don’t work for you, then it might be time to swap it for another battery. A brand new battery normally costs about $40. Plus, you will help reduce the chance that the battery ends up in a landfill.