A method is provided for adjusting power consumption in a device 200. According to the method, a command 400 to enter a low power mode is received, and, in response to receiving the command 400, at least one operating mode of the device 200 is adjusted so as to enter a low power operating mode. In one embodiment, the at least one operating mode that is adjusted includes at least one of a quality of service setting, a vocoding ratio, a BER threshold that initiates background scanning, a frequency of monitoring other communications networks, a definition of a function key, an operating mode of a display, a resolution of a display, a sensor, a CPU clock speed, and an alert time.