Tips

Master the Art of Phone Charging: 9 Tips to Avoid Battery Degradation and Extend Your Device’s Lifespan

The common habits of leaving your phone on charge overnight or using it while it's plugged in can have a detrimental effect on your battery health.

Administrator

3 September, 2024

Maintain Battery Level Between 20-80%

Modern phones usually notify users of low battery when it reaches 20%. At this point, your phone consumes more energy to function, and so does the battery. When your battery hits this level, avoid using it further and plug it in to avoid battery degradation. If you can’t charge it immediately and don’t need to use it urgently, power it off until you find a charging spot. Don’t let your phone shut down due to a drained battery.

The ideal battery range of 20-80% helps prolong your phone’s battery life.

Additionally, avoid fully charging your battery. For lithium-ion (Li-on) batteries, keeping them constantly at 100% means the battery is always at a high level of electricity, which can lead to long-term damage. The ideal range is between 80-90%, ensuring your phone maintains durability and longevity.

Use Official and High-Quality Charging Cables

Charging cables are one of the most critical factors affecting your phone’s battery life. Be cautious of using chargers of unknown origin. Using inappropriate chargers can quickly degrade your phone’s battery and reduce its lifespan.

Opt for official and high-quality charging cables to prevent battery degradation.

Ensure you’re using an official charger recommended by the manufacturer and that it’s compatible with your phone to achieve the most effective charging.

Avoid Overnight Charging

Charging your phone overnight is a common habit, but it’s not beneficial for your phone’s battery. As mentioned, the ideal battery level is between 80-90%. Charging for extended periods accelerates the aging process of lithium-ion batteries, leading to faster degradation and potential damage.

Overnight charging not only affects your battery but also poses a safety risk.

When lithium-ion batteries age, they become less effective at storing and providing energy to your device. You’ll notice a rapid decline in battery capacity and slower charging speeds. Additionally, charging your phone on a bed or couch can trap heat, leading to potential fire hazards, although the chances are low. Therefore, overnight charging can be detrimental to your phone, its battery, and your safety.

Don’t Use Your Phone While Charging

Using your phone while it’s charging is a common habit, but it can lead to energy wastage and inefficient charging. If you continue this practice, your battery will degrade faster, even if you’ve been using your phone for a short time.

Using your phone while charging can also be dangerous and may lead to unexpected explosions.

Keep flammable objects away from the charging area and ensure it’s out of children’s reach.

Avoid Charging or Using Your Phone in Extreme Temperatures

Extremely hot or cold temperatures are detrimental to electronic devices and phone batteries. They can lead to reduced battery capacity, degradation, or even damage. If your phone is exposed to such conditions, avoid immediately charging it and wait until it returns to room temperature.

Wait for your phone to reach normal temperatures before charging or using it.

The ideal temperature range for charging is between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. During charging, keep your phone away from heat-emitting devices like heaters, refrigerators, or water coolers. Additionally, avoid direct sunlight exposure, as the high temperatures can damage the battery, deplete energy faster, and reduce its lifespan.

Ensure Your Phone Stays Cool During Charging

When charging, ensure your phone is not placed near objects that emit high temperatures. Phones, especially iPhones, can get warm during charging. Avoid placing your charging phone on fabric or bedding, as it can trap heat and impact the battery.

Flat and hard surfaces are the best environment for charging your phone, allowing heat to dissipate easily.

Remove Phone Cases While Charging

Leaving your phone case on while charging is a common practice, but it can hinder heat dissipation. If you charge your phone with the case on for extended periods, it can impact the internal components and lead to battery degradation or even device damage.

Therefore, before charging, remove your phone case to allow the battery to “breathe.”

Enable Low Power Mode

There’s a common question about whether enabling low power mode harms the battery. In reality, low power mode does not damage your phone; it only reduces performance to conserve battery life and is an optimal solution for iPhone users.

Low power mode only reduces performance to extend battery life and does not cause battery degradation.

However, if you frequently use low power mode, your overall user experience may be impacted as the performance is reduced to extend the usage time.

Turn Off Apps, Bluetooth, and WiFi for Faster Charging

Instead of relying on fast chargers that can degrade your phone’s battery, you can speed up charging by disabling all unnecessary connections like WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G/4G, or GPS, preventing unnecessary battery drain.

Turn off any unused apps running in the background to ensure efficient charging.

You can also adjust your screen brightness according to your surroundings to significantly increase battery life.

Frequently asked questions

To prolong your phone’s battery life, develop good charging habits such as using the official charger and cable, avoiding extreme temperatures, and optimizing charging levels. Calibrating your phone’s battery and reducing screen brightness and animation effects can also help.

Avoid complete discharge and full charge. Stick to a charging range between 20% and 80% to reduce stress on the battery. Fast charging and wireless charging, while convenient, generate more heat and accelerate battery degradation, so use them sparingly.

Extreme temperatures, whether hot or cold, are harmful to lithium-ion batteries. High temperatures accelerate capacity loss and permanent damage, while cold temperatures temporarily reduce battery life. Keep your phone at room temperature as much as possible.

Look out for signs like sudden shutdowns, rapid battery drain, phone feeling hotter than usual, or the phone struggling to charge. If your phone exhibits these behaviors, it’s likely that the battery needs to be replaced.

Try to keep your phone’s charge between 20% and 80% most of the time. When you need to go beyond this range, adjust your charging habits accordingly. For example, if you know you’ll be away from a charger for an extended period, charge to 80-90% before leaving. If you won’t be using your phone for a while, discharge to 50% and store it in a cool, dry place.